PULASKI (NBC 26) – The Kaukauna softball team returns to the WIAA state tournament with a chance at a fourth straight state championship.
The Galloping Ghosts defeated Ashwaubenon 4-0 in Thursday’s sectional final round. Kaukauna’s star pitcher Karly Meredith threw an out, and the Ghosts offense quickly mowed down the Jaguars, scoring one run in the first inning and three more in the second.
“It never gets old,” said longtime coach Tim Roehrig, who led the team to a record 107 straight wins, said moments after the final break.
Roehrig admitted that the team had some material on the bulletin boards this week. W7 productions, online streaming service focusing on high school girls’ sports in Wisconsin he chose Ashwaubenon to upset the Galloping Spirits.
“There has been a lot of talk over the last few days about the decline of softball in Kaukauna,” Roehrig said, tongue in cheek. “I tell you what, we don’t listen.”
“We made sure (the team) knew it, but they were a little feisty,” he added.
“W7 said Ashwaubenon would beat us, so maybe that gave us a little extra momentum,” Meredith said. “We thought, ‘It’s not going to happen.’ I’m glad we managed to do it.”
Both sides are having fun with the away predictions; W7’s Gary Wipperman posted a video on X congratulating Ghosts after their victory.
With the victory, Kaukauna improved its season record to 26-0; The Galloping Ghosts are now three wins away from their fourth straight WIAA state title.
If they succeed, they will join Stevens Point as the only schools to win four straight state championships; SPASH operated from 2001 to 2004.
Kaukauna is now just five wins away from breaking the national record for consecutive wins by a high school softball team. He currently belongs to Vandebilt Catholic (Louisiana), which won 112 straight in the early 1980s.
Since they can play a maximum of three games at the state tournament, the Ghosts could match that mark early next season.
The WIAA state softball tournament begins next Thursday at the Goodman Diamond in Madison. Four other local teams also qualified: Waupun (Division 2), Mishicot (Division 3), Coleman (Division 4) and Oakfield (Division 5).
