By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
The game was epic, one that will be talked about for years to come.
And I was there to take it all in.
Of course, I’m talking about Saturday night’s WIAA Division 1 State Softball championship game between Westosha Central and Kim-berly.
By now, everyone knows the details. Kimberly outlasted the Falcons 6-5 in 15 innings to earn its seventh state title and prevent Central from defending its championship.
But final results aside, and I know it’s a tough pill to swallow if you’re a Falcons’ fan, what captured my attention was the atmosphere inside Goodman Stadium, a beautiful facility tucked within the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
In a word, it was electric.
And the voltage started to flow from the very first game, when the Division 4 championship was decided between perennial powerhouse Oakfield and Cochrane-Fountain City.
Those small-school state matchups always draw the most enthusiastic crowds, and that opener Saturday certainly didn’t disappoint, as the stands were nearly full, even at 10 a.m.
Even though I now call Wilmot my coaching home, I will always have a special understanding and enjoyment for the smaller schools, as I cut my coaching teeth at Williams Bay as an assistant softball coach for 11 years.
And the state tournament always will be special as well, as I was fortunate enough to be on the staff of a championship softball team back in 2007.
The atmosphere back then matched what I saw Saturday, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Fast forwarding to the main event and the tilt between Central and Kimberly, I don’t think I’ll ever see another game quite like that one.
From the Wilmot perspec-tive, we faced the Falcons three times this year and Kimberly once when we faced the Papermakers in the first round of the Chippewa Falls Tournament.
So two of our other coaches, Pat Dopke and Ty Webster, and I, who sat in the front row all day and into the night, certainly had plenty of familiarity with both teams.
Technically speaking, it wasn’t the cleanest game we had ever seen, as both teams had their chances to end things well before the 15-inning mark.
But from an excitement perspective, I don’t know how you can top it. Kids on both sides just spilled their guts on that field in the quest for a title. There were huge plays on both sides, a few collisions that definitely didn’t look like fun, and an exhausted group of girls, coaches and even umpires (yes, umpires, let’s not forget them) when the final out had been recorded nearly four hours after the first pitch.
And that’s what it’s all about. Putting yourself out there to chase a dream, to be put into the record books forever.
Even though Central came up short, this is one time a second-place finish will be remembered for years and years.
And rightfully so.
Any coach or athlete who loves the sport should strive to compete in that same spotlight.
Isn’t that why we keep score?
What I saw Saturday leads me to making a statement that may get me in trouble with some people. Through the years, I’ve heard multiple times about how club sports are heads and shoulders above high school.
In some ways, that may be true. Playing at the club level in any sport can certainly pay dividends, whether it’s for better competition or to catch the eye of a college coach.
And both are all well and good. I get the desire to earn a scholarship and the benefits it can create financially for a family. I totally understand that.
But show me a club tournament on the AAU basketball circuit or in summer softball that draws the kind of exposure, excitement and overall atmosphere that you get at a high school state championship.
You can’t do it, because it doesn’t exist. And I’ll argue that point to the end of time. The game Saturday was re-lived in media markets all around the state Sunday morning, both in print and on television.
For those who participated in the game, those memories will last a lifetime. You can’t duplicate what they just went through even if you try.
Seven years after my Williams Bay team reached the pinnacle, I still think about that squad often, even now that they’re all grown women who have entered new chapters in their lives.
We will always have that connection, that team photo in the school gymnasium and the trophy proudly displayed in the front lobby of the school.
That’s what it’s all about. Building memories and making history. For both teams Saturday, they did just that, both in defeat and victory.
And they’ll never forget that day in Madison. I know I won’t, because I had the privilege of being there.
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