Milwaukee, WI
Homestead’s big week leads off Milwaukee-area girls basketball takeaways
Catholic Memorial vs Arrowhead girls basketball video highlights
Arrowhead girls basketball defeats Catholic Memorial, 78-55, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 at Arrowhead.
By this time next weekend, the anticipation for the WIAA girls basketball tournament brackets will be at a fever pitch.
For some, the first goal is checked off the list with conference titles. For others, it’s going to take a couple more victories to bring some hardware home this season.
In this week’s takeaways, we take a look at a trio of teams that have clinched conference titles, who is close to winning their own titles, and one of the hottest teams in the area capping a big week with a personal milestone.
Homestead vaults itself into thick of North Shore title race
They still need some help to preserve their North Shore Conference title streak, but what a week for the Highlanders.
Not only did Homestead hand Hartford its first conference loss in yet another thriller between the two programs, the Highlanders moved their winning streak to seven with an 84-46 rout of Slinger on Friday night to sit at 12-2 in NSC play with four games left. After a stretch where the Highlanders lost four of five games from Dec. 21 to Jan. 14 against stellar competition, they all of a sudden look like a dangerous team that will be tough to eliminate in a few weeks.
Hartford (13-1), Whitefish Bay (12-2) and Homestead (12-2) all have four conference games to play, with a Valentine’s Day matchup between the Blue Dukes and Highlanders coming next week. If Hartford handles its business against Grafton, Cedarburg, West Bend East and Slinger, it is the outright NSC champion. But, if the Orioles slip in one of those four games, the door swings open for both the Blue Dukes and Highlanders in the title chase.
On top of a crucial week, senior guard Grace Zortman also joined the 1,000-point club Friday night. She became the third player on the current Homestead roster (Madison Fitzgibbon and Natalie Mueller) to score at least 1,000 points in a career.
The Prairie School, Salam and Union Grove clinch conference crowns
The Prairie School (Metro Classic) and Union Grove (Southern Lakes) officially clinched outright conference titles with victories Friday night. The Hawks cruised past a streaking Racine St. Catherine’s side with a 74-45 victory to move to 18-2 (12-0) on the season. It’s the fourth straight season the Hawks have either captured a split or the outright MCC title and they moved to 18-0 against in-state competition this season.
In the Southern Lakes Conference, it’s Union Grove’s world again. For the sixth straight season, the Broncos have captured at least a share of the SLC title. The Broncos (19-2, 11-0) dispatched Elkhorn in a 75-41 blowout for their fifth straight victory and the 10th in their last 11 games to win the outright title. Coincidentally, the lone loss came in a 67-61 defeat against The Prairie School on Jan. 18.
Despite a 37-30 loss to Kenosha Christian Life on Friday night, a 49-34 victory over University Lake/St. John’s earlier this week clinched the outright Lake City Conference title for Salam (16-3, 13-0) with three conference games to play. The Stars raced out to a 32-16 halftime advantage and put it in cruise control for their third straight conference title.
Other title races that could come down to the final week of the season
Classic 8 Conference: Muskego (11-1, two conference games left), Arrowhead (11-2, one conference game left), Catholic Memorial (8-3, three conference games left).
East Central Conference: Kettle Moraine Lutheran (9-0, three conference games left), Winneconne (9-1, two conference games left).
Greater Metro Conference: Wauwatosa East (13-1, two conference games left), Brookfield East (13-1, two conference games left).
Midwest Classic Conference: Lake Country Lutheran (12-0, four conference games left), Watertown Luther Prep (10-1, five conference games left).
Milwaukee City (Blue) Conference: Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Arts (11-0, three conference games left), Milwaukee Vincent (8-2, two conference games left).
Milwaukee City (Gold) Conference: Milwaukee Golda Meir (11-0, three conference games left), Milwaukee King (9-2, three conference games left), Milwaukee School of Languages (9-3, two conference games left).
Southeast Conference: Oak Creek (11-0, three conference games left), Kenosha Bradford (9-1, four conference games left).
Woodland (East) Conference: Whitnall (10-0, two conference games left), Greenfield (9-1, two conference games left).
Woodland (West) Conference: Pewaukee (10-0, two conference games left, plus a crossover game), Pius XI (10-1, one conference game left, plus a crossover game).
Other happenings around the area
- With its 59-47 victory over Shorewood on Friday, Whitnall (17-2, 10-0) stayed perfect in Woodland East play behind a 27-point performance from senior star Riley Ward. The 17 victories are the most for the program since the 2008-09 campaign, when the Falcons won the Woodland East title with a 17-5 overall mark and a 9-1 record in conference play.
- In the 35th Street rivalry, Oak Creek (13-7, 11-0) continued to roll with a 46-31 victory over Franklin, moving one step closer to the Southeast Conference title. The win marked the seventh victory in the last eight contests for the Knights, who still have matchups with Racine Case and Park next week before a Feb. 18 matchup against Kenosha Bradford that could decide the SEC champion. The Red Devils kept the heat on the Knights with a dominant 77-24 victory over Racine Horlick on Friday to move to 18-2 (9-1) on the season.
- There’s just two undefeated teams remaining in the state and one of them resides in the Milwaukee area. Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Arts moved to a perfect 17-0 (11-0) on Friday night with a 59-32 win over Milwaukee South. Out of its 17 wins this season, 13 have come by double digits for the Trojans. With three wins next week against Milwaukee Pulaski, Madison and North, the Trojans could finish the regular season at a flawless 20-0.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Panthers Putting Together a Great Run in the NCAA Tournament – World Baseball Network
The Milwaukee Panthers are in the driver’s seat in the NCAA Tournament’s Auburn regional. The Panthers have two wins over the Auburn Tigers and UCF Knights and made it to the regional final.
The Panthers are looking to make it to their first super regional in program history.
From a rocky start to a red-hot Horizon League Tournament run
Milwaukee did not have a smooth start to the 2026 college baseball season. The Panthers were 5-22 overall on April 3 and had an uphill battle to climb to end the season.
From April 3 to the end of the regular season, Milwaukee went 17-9. However, they still had a below-average overall record of 22-31. The Panthers needed to win the Horizon League Tournament to make it into the NCAA Tournament as an automatic bid.
The Panthers posted a solid conference record of 14-10 in 2026. This gave them the number two seed in the Horizon League Tournament, which was played at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.
Milwaukee defeated Northern Kentucky and the tournament host, Wright State, twice to win the tournament title. They outscored their opponents 23-7 across those three games. The 2026 Horizon League Tournament title is the first conference tournament title for the Panthers since 2010.
Milwaukee’s wins over Auburn and UCF
An automatic bid placed Milwaukee as the fourth seed in the Auburn regional. The Panthers faced off against the Tigers on Friday, May 29.
Milwaukee got off to a huge, early lead on Auburn. Heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Panthers had a 10-0 lead on the Tigers. Milwaukee would go on to win 13-8.
Joey Spence, John Hadley VI, and Grant Ross led Milwaukee offensively with three hits apiece. Spence had two doubles in the game and an RBI. Hadley VI had a double and a triple against Auburn.
Charlie Marion and Bradyn Horn both had three-run home runs early on in the game that were huge for the Panthers. Those home runs allowed them to gain a big 10-0 lead early.
The magic did not stop on Friday for Milwaukee. On Saturday, May 30, the Panthers defeated the UCF Knights in the “1-0” game by a score of 13-6.
Ross continued his big performance in the regional. After a three-hit game against Auburn, the Milwaukee third baseman hit a home run and a double against UCF. He finished the game with two hits, three RBIs, and five runs scored.
Marion finished with a multi-hit game against the Knights. Milwaukee’s center fielder, Dylan O’Connell, had two doubles in the game that led to four RBIs.
Up next for Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Panthers will play the winner of the game between Auburn and UCF in the Auburn regional final on Sunday, May 31.
The Auburn-UCF elimination game is at 3 p.m. ET at Plainsman Park, and the game can be watched on ESPN2. Milwaukee’s game against the winner will be at 8 p.m. ET. That game will be on ESPN+.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Via Dominic Kibler on Instagram (@dominic.kibler)
How will Auburn baseball approach pitching for rest of NCAA regional?
What’s Auburn baseball’s strategy on the mound after its upset loss to 4-seed Milwaukee? Here’s what Butch Thompson said.
Milwaukee proved its offensive outburst in the Auburn Regional opener was no fluke, though UCF’s pitchers certainly aided the Panthers’ efforts on May 30.
The Horizon League champs tagged the Knights for five extra-base hits and capitalized on five walks in the first three innings to cruise for a 13-6 victory at Plainsman Park. Milwaukee (27-31) sits in the driver’s seat to become just the 10th regional No. 4 seed to advance to supers in NCAA baseball tournament history.
UCF (32-22) will meet Auburn (39-20) at 3 p.m. Sunday in an elimination game. The winner will turn around and face Milwaukee at 8, needing to upend the Panthers twice.
Milwaukee scored the game’s first nine runs to win for the 22nd time in their last 30 games. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead the day before to stun Auburn.
Andrew Williamson demolished his fourth home run of the regional to lead off the sixth inning, a 443-foot blast with an exit velocity of 110 mph off the bat. Evan Jones gave the Knights a chance at an improbable comeback with a career-high 4⅓ innings of two-run relief.
Here are three takeaways from an untimely upset that puts the Knights on the brink of elimination.
UCF had no answers for the top of Milwaukee’s order
Milwaukee’s big bats at the top of the lineup set the tone and proved to be near-impossible outs for UCF’s pitchers.
Panthers leadoff hitter Grant Ross reached base in each of his five plate appearances, including an unorthodox solo home run deflected off the head of UCF center fielder De’Amez Ross — reminiscent of an infamous 1993 José Canseco blooper in Cleveland.
“We’re just gritty, man. We’re grinding it out,” Grant Ross told the ESPN+ broadcast crew after the game. “We knew we had the talent all along. It’s just clicking.”
Charlie Marion singled twice, walked twice, was hit by a pitch and scored twice. Dylan O’Connell smacked doubles in his first two at-bats and drove in four runs.
The Panthers chased Mateo Gray after 1⅓ innings. He found the strike zone on just 13 of his 27 pitches, allowing three hits and three earned runs. UCF burned through five of its bullpen arms, a potentially problematic situation for the rest of the weekend.
Home plate umpire exits after taking foul tip off mask
Play was halted for 20 minutes in the second inning when home plate umpire Blake Felix absorbed a foul ball off the face mask — a fastball thrown by Milwaukee starter Aric Ehmke that UCF catcher Zak Skinner tipped.
Felix was visibly shaken up, and he met with the on-site athletic training staff before heading into the dugout. He underwent testing for a concussion and did not return, replaced behind the plate by second base umpire Travis Carlson.
Alan Gorewitz filled the void at second base for the remainder of the evening.
UCF faces elimination against No. 4 national seed Auburn
The Knights will need to knock out the fourth-ranked team in the country to keep hope of a first trip to supers alive.
Auburn rebounded to eliminate NC State in a 17-13 slugfest in earlier action Saturday. Five Tigers had multi-hit games; Ethin Bingaman and Cade Belyeu each homered twice, and Chase Fralick drove in six RBIs.
UCF has a 5-6 all-time record against the Tigers, though it swept a three-game series at Plainsman Park during the abbreviated 2020 season.
Auburn’s pitching staff has allowed 26 runs through two regional games. During the regular season, the Tigers ranked fourth in Division I with a 3.45 ERA.
Jeremy Peña of the Houston Astros slides into home against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 30. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images)
HOUSTON – Christian Walker hit a three-run homer and Jeremy Peña had a home run among his three hits to help the Houston Astros roll to a 9-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
By the numbers:
Peña’s two-run shot made it 3-1 in the second and the Astros added three runs in the fifth to pull away after the Brewers got within 1. Walker’s shot to the seats in right field made it 9-2 with two outs in the eighth.
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It’s the seventh win in nine games for the Astros and snaps Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak.
Houston starter Peter Lambert (4-4) allowed five hits and two runs with three walks in five innings for the win.
Milwaukee’s Brandon Sproat (1-4) permitted six hits and five runs in 4 1/3 innings.
William Contreras gave the Brewers an early lead with a two-out RBI double in the first.
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Cam Smith was on second base with one out in the second when he scored on a single by Jake Meyers to tie it.
The home run by Peña came with two outs in the inning to put the Astros on top 3-1.
Garrett Mitchell walked to start the fifth and moved to second on a wild pitch by Lambert with one out. Christian Yelich walked with two outs before the Brewers cut the lead to 3-2 on an RBI single by Jackson Chourio.
The Astros had runners on first and third with one out in the fifth after Sproat hit Walker with a pitch. Sproat was replaced by Carlos Rodriguez and Taylor Trammell hit an infield RBI single to make it 4-2.
Isaac Paredes then doubled to left field to score two more and put the Astros up 6-2.
What’s next:
Houston RHP Tatsuya Imai (2-2, 6.17 ERA), who was the starter in a combined no-hitter his last time out, starts in the series finale Sunday against RHP Jacob Misiorowski (5-2, 1.83).
The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.
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