A familiar face will reportedly be roaming the sidelines for the Green Bay women's basketball team in the upcoming season.

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Kayla Karius will be named the new head coach of the Phoenix later this week. Karius has spent the past two years as the head coach at South Dakota and went 23-13 this season. Karius's maiden name is Tetschlag, and her time with the Phoenix was spectacular. Individually, Karius was a first-team all-conference selection twice, the league’s co-player of the year, and made the all-defensive team her senior season. The team won four conference championships, made three NCAA appearances, and went to the program's only Sweet 16.

Post Phoenix career, she played in Europe before bouncing around the coaching ranks at South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Drake before landing the top job at Green Bay. 

Two of the area's soccer team split their matchups on Monday ahead of more action slated for Tuesday.

Sturgeon Bay scored early and often at host Green Bay West in a 9-0 win. They are scheduled to get back after it Tuesday night when they host Elkhart Lake at 5 p.m.

The Luxemburg-Casco soccer team could not claw their way back into the win column Monday night, falling to Wrightstown 2-1.

In other soccer action, Sevastopol/Gibraltar will travel south to take on Kohler for a 6 p.m. first touch.

The Green Bay Gamblers will try to take a series lead in their matchup against the Muskegon Lumberjacks Tuesday night when they host game three at the Resch Center.

In their 4-1 loss Sunday, the Lumberjacks scored three straight goals, effectively sending the series to Green Bay. Lev Katzin's second-period goal was the only time the Gamblers got on the scoreboard in the game, a tally that the Lumberjacks would match in the second period. Gavin Moffatt stopped 22 of the 26 shots he faced. 

Puck drop for Tuesday and Wednesday's games at the Resch Center is set for 7:05 p.m. A split over the next two games would send the series back to Muskegon.

The Sevastopol track team will take on the hosting duties for this year's Door County Classic when the first events begin at 4:30 p.m.

Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door, Gibraltar, and Sevastopol will all compete for the first time since last week's Packerland Conference Relays at Kewaunee. The Southern Door girls won their side of the meet while the Southern Door boys took third.  The Eagles boys won the 4x100m and 4x800m relays and the Eagles girls were led by Elise Jackson (100m and 300m hurdles) and the 4x200m relay. Results from that meet can be found here.

A three-game winning streak is on the line Monday afternoon when the Luxemburg-Casco softball team plays a pair against Fox Valley Lutheran.

In their last game, the Spartans overcame an early 2-0 deficit and four errors during Friday's game against Oconto Falls to win 7-3. Kate Van Ess had the biggest offensive day for the Spartans, going 3-4 while knocking in three runs. Erin Cherovsky earned the win in relief, allowing two hits while striking out eight across the final five innings.

The Foxes are also riding a three-game winning streak into the game, which includes a Saturday sweep of their opponents at the Shiocton Triangular.

First pitch is set for 4 p.m. in Appleton.

Photo by Ron LeCloux

Two local soccer teams will take the field on Monday, hoping to kick off their weeks with wins.

Sturgeon Bay hopes a match on the road at Green Bay West will help them forget their 8-0 loss to Appleton North on Friday. Kickoff from Marcelle Stadium is slated for 5 p.m.

Luxemburg-Casco aims to build on the momentum from its 4-0 win over Denmark when they welcome Wrightstown to town. They will play under the lights at 6:30 p.m.

The Packerland Conference brings its clubs to Oconto's Vernon Hills Golf Course the next leg of its season on Monday.

Last Thursday, Kewaunee's Evan Maccaux made history at Little River Golf Course in Marinette, becoming the first in school history to win a Packerland Conference golf meet. With a score of 38, Maccaux was one of two golfers to break 40 across nine holes. Oconto's Carter Koch shot a 39. Southern Door golfers Tyler Plzak and Finley Lavine tied for third place as they both shot a 40, one stroke better than fifth-place finish Finn Salm of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar, Kewaunee, NEW Lutheran/Providence Academy, Oconto, Peshtigo, Sevastopol, Southern Door, and Sturgeon Bay are all slated to be there when the round begins at 4 p.m.

The Green Bay Gamblers will host the Muskegon Lumberjacks for at least two games of the Clark Cup Playoffs after losing on Sunday 4-1.

After a scoreless first period, the Lumberjacks scored three straight goals, effectively sending the series to Green Bay. Lev Katzin's second-period goal was the only time the Gamblers got on the scoreboard in the game, a tally that the Lumberjacks would match in the second period. Gavin Moffatt stopped 22 of the 26 shots he faced. 

Puck drop for Tuesday and Wednesday's games at the Resch Center is set for 7:05 p.m. A split over the next two games would send the series back to Muskegon.

It was the pitchers turn to shine for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday.  The Wisconsin offense combined for 27 runs on 27 hits over their last two wins over the Cedar Rapids Kernels.  In the series finale at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, Edwin Jimenez and four relievers combined on a three-hit shutout in Wisconsin’s 2-0 win.

Dylan O’Rae started the Wisconsin first inning by drawing a walk. He scored two pitches later when Jadher Areinamo doubled to the corner in right for a 1-0 lead.

O’Rae, the Rattlers lead-off hitter, has reached base to start the first inning in five straight games.  He has scored in the first inning in four of those games.  The only time O’Rae didn’t score in the first inning during the streak was on Saturday when he was thrown out at the plate on a stolen base attempt.

Matt Wood drove in Areinamo with a sacrifice fly later in the first inning for a 2-0 advantage for Wisconsin (10-5).

That was it for the Rattlers offense.  After the first inning Wisconsin had two singles and didn’t have runner reach second base.  Five Timber Rattlers pitchers made sure that didn’t matter.

Jimenez allowed two hits and struck out four over five scoreless innings to earn his third win in three starts this season.  His defense helped with some big plays.

The Kernels (6-8) had runners at first and second with two outs in the third inning.  Ricardo Olivar sent a sinking line drive to center and Luis Lara made a sliding catch for the final out.

In the fifth, a single and a wild pitch put a Kernel on second with no outs.  Jimenez got the first out on a weak tapper in front of the plate that kept the runner at second.  Then, Keoni Cavaco sent a hard grounder to short.  Areinamo made a diving stop, held the runner at second, and fired to first in time for the second out.  Jimenez ended the inning with a strikeout to keep the lead intact.

Chase Costello was the first Wisconsin reliever, and he tossed a perfect sixth with two strikeouts.

Stiven Cruz was next man up for the bullpen.  He got the first out on a big defensive play on a tricky grounder by Dylan O’Rae where Cruz had to race over to cover first base and take the throw.  The next two batters reached on a single and a walk.  Cruz escaped the jam on a 6-3 double play.

Aaron Rund and Craig Yoho closed out the game in style for Wisconsin’s second shutout of the year.  Rund pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning on another sparkling defensive play by Areinamo and two strikeouts.  Yoho followed suit by pitching a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for his third save of the season.

Wisconsin has outscored their opponents 21-8 in the first inning this season.
 

The Timber Rattlers won the final three games of the series to win the six-game series with four wins against the Kernels.  Wisconsin has won all three series they have played this season.

The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday.  They return to action on Tuesday to start a series with the Peoria Chiefs at Dozer Park in Peoria, Illinois.  Wisconsin has Patricio Aquino (1-0, 2.70) as their scheduled starting pitcher.  The Chiefs have named Brycen Mautz (0-2, 9.82) as their starting pitcher.  Game time is 6:05pm CDT.

Whether you call it an accomplishment or a punishment, there will be a new team state champion at Division 2 for wrestling after Luxemburg-Casco lost its appeal earlier this week.

According to WisSports.net, Luxemburg-Casco appealed their anticipated elevation to Division 1 after winning their second straight team state championship in their third consecutive appearance. Because of that success, they joined Fennimore, Prairie du Chien, and Coleman in moves to different divisions for the 2024-2025. Kaukauna has had similar success to those programs, but they are already at Division 1 and cannot move. While Fennimore accepted their fate, Coleman Luxemburg-Casco and Prairie du Chien tried stopping their moves through the appeal process but were ultimately denied. In fact, the WIAA denied 11 of the 12 appeals, only accepting the Albany/Monticello girls basketball team's request to stay at Division 5. Head Coach Chas Treml was asked about the likely move shortly after they won their team state championship, saying that they would be prepared for the challenge.

The first appearance in the second round of the Clark Cup in over a decade went well as they beat the Muskegon Lumberjacks 4-3.

The two teams scored in every period, with the Gamblers' second first-period goal proving to be the difference. Jayson Shaugabay scored two goals, while Charlie Russell and Blake Bechen each registered a goal and an assist. Ryan Humphrey recorded two assists. 

Gavin Moffatt stopped 26 of the 29 shots.

The Gamblers and the Lumberjacks meet again on Sunday at 2:10 p.m.

The Gibraltar/Washington Island Vikings baseball team responded to a 4-1 loss in game one to the Southern Door Eagles with a 10-8 win in the second contest.

The Southern Door Eagles softball team needed just eight innings to score 30 runs across two games in a pair of 15-0 wins over Gibraltar on Saturday.

The Luxemburg-Casco baseball team won a pair of close games against Wrightstown on Saturday, beating them 2-1 and 3-2.

The Sturgeon Bay baseball team recorded a pair of big wins on Saturday in Gillett, beating Crandon 7-6 and the host Tigers 20-9.

The Kewaunee Storm baseball team gave up two but scored three in one inning on Saturday, and that is all they needed in a 3-2 win over Green Bay Preble at Fox Cities Stadium.

The Algoma Wolves baseball team trailed by four runs before taking charge and winning their matchup against Peshtigo 9-5.

The Kewaunee softball team broke out of their slump on Saturday, beating NEW Lutheran 10-0 and 15-3.

Mike Boeve and his .553 batting average were promoted from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to the Biloxi Shuckers of the Southern League early Saturday morning by the Milwaukee Brewers.  Boeve’s now former Timber Rattlers teammates didn’t miss a beat as they bashed fifteen hits, drew seven walks, and stole five bases to race past the Cedar Rapids Kernels 14-8 on Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  Gregory Barrios led the Rattlers hit parade by going 4-for-5 with five RBI.

Wisconsin (9-5) took the lead in the bottom of the second on back-to-back doubles by Jadher Areinamo and Jesús Chirinos.  The Rattlers loaded the bases with no outs, but a double play left the Rattlers with runners at second and third and in danger of not adding to their lead.  Dylan O’Rae extended the frame when he drew a walk to reload the bases.  Then, Barrios lined a single to right to score two runs for a 3-0 lead.

Cedar Rapids (6-7) put their first two batters of the top of the third on base.  Wisconsin starter Alexander Cornielle struck out the next two hitters.  However, Rubel Cespedes blooped a 2-2 pitch into shallow center for an RBI single.  Cornielle walked the next batter to load the bases and the call to the bullpen was made as he was at 35 pitches for the inning.

Tyler Wehrle took over and gave up a three-run double to Danny De Andrade and an RBI single to Jay Harry to put the Rattlers down by two runs.

The Rattlers didn’t stay down for long as they exploded for five runs in the fourth to take an 8-5 lead.

Ram?n Rodríguez and Terence Doston pulled a double steal with one out to get runners on second and third for one out.  O’Rae knocked in both runners with a single to tie the game.  Luis Lara singled to center with two outs and O’Rae was going from first to third when the throw to third from the outfield sailed out of play to allow O’Rae to score the go-ahead run.  Luke Adams and Jadher Areinamo followed with consecutive RBI singles to cap the scoring in the inning.

The Kernels scored a run against Wehrle in the top of the fifth to cut into the deficit but that seemed to get the attention of Wisconsin’s offense again as they loaded the bases.  Barrios knocked in two runners with a double before Lara added a sacrifice fly for an 11-6 advantage.

Gabriel Gonzalez and Rubel Cespedes helped Cedar Rapids stage a two-out rally in the top of the sixth with an RBI double and an RBI single and the Rattlers were only up by three runs.

Wisconsin doubled that lead in their half of the sixth as they loaded the bases with two outs.  O’Rae was hit by a pitch with two outs to force in the first run.  Barrios sent a grounder up the middle and O’Rae beat the flip to second for what would have been the final out.  The speed of O’Rae got Barrios his fourth hit and fifth RBI of the game.  Lara drew a bases-loaded walk to score the final run of the game.

Childers didn’t allow a run in the seventh.  Jake Polancic tossed a scoreless eighth and Yerlin Rodriguez closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.

Barrios reached base seven straight times between the games on Friday and Saturday.  He is 13-for-18 with six doubles and eight RBI in the five games of this series with the Kernels.

Rodríguez, Eduarqui Fernández, and Doston, the 7, 8, & 9 hitters in the Wisconsin lineup, each scored three runs in the game.  Doston walked three times.

The Timber Rattlers hold a 3-2 lead in the series as they head into the final game of the series with the Kernels on Sunday afternoon.

Wisconsin has Edwin Jimenez (2-0, 6.55) as their scheduled starting pitcher.  Cedar Rapids has Darren Bowen (0-1, 19.29) as their starter.  Game time is 1:10pm.

After a busy Friday for some of the area's teams, Saturday's slate of baseball and softball games will feature the return of Kewaunee baseball to Fox Cities Stadium.

The Storm will face Green Bay Preble at the home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Other baseball action scheduled for Saturday includes Sturgeon Bay traveling to Gillett to face the home school and Crandon (10 a.m.), Gibraltar hosting Southern Door for a doubleheader (11 a.m.), and Algoma traveling to Peshtigo for a doubleheader (11 a.m.).

Saturday's softball slate includes Gibraltar hosting Southern Door for a doubleheader (11 a.m.) and Kewaunee playing at home against NEW Lutheran in a twinbill (11 a.m.).

Friday's action included:

The Southern Door Eagles softball team trades blows with Two Rivers on Friday, coming out on the right end of a 6-5 win ahead of a doubleheader against Gibraltar on Saturday.

The Luxemburg-Casco softball team overcame an early 2-0 deficit and four errors during Friday's game against Oconto Falls to win 7-3.

The Gibraltar/Washington Island softball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but gave up at least three runs in each inning after that to lose to Coleman 19-4 in four innings on Friday.

The Gibraltar/Washington Island Vikings beat the Coleman Cougars 8-1 on Friday, beating them for the first time since 2014.

The Kewaunee Storm baseball team did not look past the Brillion Lions before their matchup against Green Bay Preble at Fox Cities Stadium, beating the Lions 7-2.

The Green Bay Gamblers will try to keep their Clark Cup hopes alive on Saturday when they face the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

The Gamblers skated away with a 3-2 win on Wednesday against the Chicago Steel to advance to the USHL Clark Cup Playoffs. After a scoreless first period, Ben Poitras scored two goals in five minutes to give the Gamblers a 2-0 lead. After the Steel tied the game up in the third period, the two teams played extra hockey for the sixth time in 12 games. It had a happy ending for the home fans as Aidan Park netted the game-winner with four minutes remaining to send the Gamblers to Muskegon for the second round of the playoffs. 

Games 1 and 2 will be played at Muskegon on April 20th and 21st starting at 6:05 p.m. The Gamblers won four of its five matchups against the Lumberjacks this season, including a three-game sweep in Muskegon in October.

The Green Bay Blizzard only trailed once in front of over 6,600 of its home fans on Friday night, beating the Sioux Falls Storm 48-35.

The deficit came in the first quarter when the Storm converted their point after touchdown attempt to make it 7-6. Tied at 14-14, the Blizzard on the last possession of the first half and the first possession of the second half to stake themselves to a 28-14 advantage they would not relinquish.

Max Meylor scored six touchdowns in the game, throwing for three scores to go along with his 150 yards passing. He also ran for three touchdowns and 63 yards. Lowell Patron was the biggest beneficiary of Meylor's exploits, catching six balls for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.

The Blizzard are back in action on April 26th when they host Iowa.

The winning momentum from Thursday's win over Sevastopol/Gibraltar came to crashing halt on Friday with Sturgeon Bay losing to Appleton North 8-0.

Six different players scored goals for Appleton North, including a hat trick by Kalli Drexler. Six of the eight goals came via an assist.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers trailed the Cedar Rapids Kernels 1-0 after the top of the first inning on Friday Night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  The Rattlers changed the game immediately as they scored eight runs in their first offensive turn on the way to a 13-3 victory over Cedar Rapids.

The Kernels (6-6) took the lead in the first inning on an unearned run.  Wisconsin starting pitcher Brett Wichrowski committed a throwing error on a grounder back to the mound and instead of two outs with no one on base, Cedar Rapids had Gabriel Gonzalez at second with one out.  Wichrowski got the second out on a grounder that moved Gonzalez to third base.  Gonzalez scored when Wichrowski committed a balk to put the Kernels were up 1-0.

Wisconsin (8-5) stormed back by sending twelve men to the plate in the bottom of the first inning.

Dylan O’Rae started the rally with a walk and a stolen base.  He would score on a throwing error off a grounder from Luis Lara.  Mike Boeve drew a one-out walk.  Then, Gregory Barrios doubled to left to score both Lara and Boeve for a 3-1 lead.  Matt Wood singled to drive in Barrios and that was the end of the line for the Kernels starting pitcher Miguelangel Boadas, who retired just one batter in his first start of the season.

Jacob Noble relieved Boadas and got the second out of the inning but walked the next two hitters to load the bases.  O’Rae in his second at bat of the inning beat out an infield single to drive in a run.  Lara followed with a two-run single. 

Wisconsin’s final run of the inning scored when Lara stole second as Noble’s pitch home went to the backstop to allow O’Rae to score on a wild pitch for an 8-1 lead.

Wood cracked a three-run home run in the bottom of the second.  The homer was his first of the season to give him four RBI on the night.

Boeve continued his torrid start with an RBI single in the third inning for a 12-1 lead.  Boeve was 2-for-2 with a walk on Friday after going 3-for-3 with a walk on Thursday to reach base in seven straight plate appearances.  Boeve is 8-for-11 with three walks in four games of the series with Cedar Rapids.  He is also 21-for-38 (.553) with thirteen walks in thirteen games this season.

Cedar Rapids scored a run off Wichrowski in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Agustin Ruiz.  The Kernels had runners on first and third with one out in the inning before Wichrowski ended the frame with back-to-back strikeouts.

Aaron Rund relieved Wichrowski to pitch a scoreless fifth.  Brian Fitzgerald pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh before allowing a run on a one-out RBI single by Ricardo Olivar in the eighth inning.  Fitzgerald allowed nothing else in the inning thanks to consecutive highlight defensive plays by the defense.  Fitzgerald speared a liner back through the middle for the second out.  Barrios went deep in the hole to flag down a grounder and a strong throw to first for the final out.

Wisconsin put one final run across the plate in the bottom of the eighth when Cedar Rapids committed a two-out error with the bases loaded.  The Kernels were charged with four errors in the game.

Chase Costello pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the game.

Boeve isn’t the only Timber Rattler having a great offensive series.  Barrios was 3-for-3 with two walks on Friday night.  He is 9-for-13 with five doubles.  O’Rae, who was 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored on Friday, is 6-for-14 in the series.

The series is even through four games with each team collecting two wins.

Game five of the series is Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  Alexander Cornielle (1-1, 5.40) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin.  Cedar Rapids sends CJ Culpepper to the mound.  Game time is 1:10pm.

While some teams may have gotten some at-bats on Thursday, other teams will see some uncommon foes on Friday.

The baseball slate features Southern Door hosting Bonduel (4 p.m.), Kewaunee facing Brillion on the road (3:30 p.m.) and Gibraltar heading to Coleman (4:30 p.m.).

Softball action includes Luxemburg-Casco traveling to Oconto Falls (4:30 p.m.) Southern Door is visiting Two Rivers (4:30 p.m.), and Gibraltar is heading to Coleman (4:30 p.m.).

In Thursday's action:

Baseball

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans baseball team held off a late rally by the Sturgeon Bay Clippers Thursday night to win the non-conference matchup 2-1 under the lights of Memorial Field.

Softball

The Sevastopol Pioneers softball team only played eight innings across two games on Thursday, but they were still able to score 30 runs on 26 hits in a pair of 15-0 wins over Sturgeon Bay on Thursday.

A four-run seventh inning by the Valders Vikings snatched a win away from the Kewaunee softball team on Thursday as they fell 6-3.

Seven runs in the second inning was all the Luxemburg-Casco softball team needed in its 11-1 victory over Marinette on Thursday.

After playing against their county rivals on Thursday, the Sturgeon Bay girls' soccer team is back in action on Friday.

The Clippers will travel south to Appleton to face Appleton North for a 7 p.m. first kick.

In Thursday's action:

Sturgeon Bay notched its first conference win, 2-0, over the Sevastopol/Gibraltar United team Thursday night at Clark Field.

The Luxemburg-Casco soccer team had their most dominating win of the season on Thursday, beating their rivals from Denmark 4-0 on the road.

The Luxemburg-Casco golf team will step out of conference play on Thursday to face various teams from across the region. Brillion, De Pere, Denmark, Kiel, Manitowoc Lincoln, Mishicot, New Holstein, Roncalli, Sheboygan Falls, St. Lawrence Seminary, Valders, and Wrightstown will also meet Seven Lakes Golf Course in Reedsville. Tee time is set for 11 a.m.

Sturgeon Bay will also play at a tournament in Coleman featuring Crandon, Crivitz, Gillett, Lena, Marinette, Niagara, Oconto, Oconto Falls, Oneida Nation, Peshtigo, and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Tee time for that tournament is at 9 a.m. at Parkway Golf Course.

In Thursday's golf action, Kewaunee's Evan Maccaux made history on Thursday at Little River Golf Course in Marinette, becoming the first in school history to win a Packerland Conference golf meet.

Two meteorological phenomena will battle each other at the Resch Center on Friday night when the Green Bay Blizzard host the Sioux Falls Storm.

Friday marks the second time in a month the Blizzard has come into a matchup with an extra week of preparation. In their last game, the Blizzard scored in every quarter and held onto its halftime lead in a 32-24 win over the Quad Cities Steamwheelers. The Blizzard's Skyler Perry scored three total touchdowns while throwing for 59 yards and running for another 67 yards. Jalyn Cagle made the most of his limited touches, rushing for two scores on four carries and 20 yards.

Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m.

The area's baseball and softball teams hope their fields are dried enough to allow them to play on Thursday.

If they do play, Luxemburg-Casco is traveling to Sturgeon Bay (6:30 p.m.) for baseball while on the softball diamond, Sturgeon Bay is hosting Sevastopol for a doubleheader (4:30 p.m.), Kewaunee welcomes Valders (4:30 p.m.), and Luxemburg-Casco is playing at home against Marinette (4:30 p.m.). 

The Packerland Conference will converge on Kewaunee High School on Thursday for its annual relays meet.

Algoma, Gibraltar, NEW Lutheran/Providence Academy, Oconto, Peshtigo, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Kewaunee and Sturgeon Bay will all compete in the event that features mostly relays and field events. Last year's event was canceled.

The first events begin at 3:30 p.m.

The area's soccer teams will look to break up their non-winning streaks on Thursday, though it will come at the expense of the other in one of the matchups.

Sturgeon Bay and Sevastopol/Gibraltar will duel at Clark Field beginning at 6 p.m. while Luxemburg-Casco travels to Denmark for a 4:30 p.m. first touch. All three teams either lost or picked up a draw in their last two matches.