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Redbirds get off to a slow start
DarlBBB598
DARLINGTON SENIOR Jesse Sturtz crosses the plate in a cloud of dust during Saturdays opening game of the Luke Wiegel Memorial Baseball Tournament at Otto Ruf Field. The Redbirds went 0-2 at the tournament.

    DARLINGTON – Runs have been tough to come by for the Darlington baseball team, who split a pair of low-scoring SWAL games and dropped a pair of tight games at the Luke Wiegel Memorial Tournament over the opening week of their season.
    The Redbirds (1-3 overall, 1-1 SWAL) started off with a tough 2-1 loss to Fennimore in their opener at home on Tuesday, April 4, and then turned the tables by beating Cuba City, 2-1, at CCHS on Friday, April 7.
    Senior third baseman Hayden Hardyman put the ‘Birds up 1-0 with a run-scoring ground out in the first inning, but the Golden Eagles struck back with a two-run by Jordan Williams in the top of the third inning and the guests made that lead hold up.
    The Redbirds had only five base runners over the final six innings. Bailey McGuire’s lead-off single in the fourth inning was the team’s lone hit of the day.
    Trevor Neuroth out-battled senior Jesse Sturtz (0-1) on the mound. Neuroth surrendered a lone unearned run on one hit and five walks with nine strikeouts over six innings to earn the win. Sturtz allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with five Ks over seven innings to take the tough loss.
    The ‘Birds were involved in another barn-burner at Cuba City on Friday, but they were able to come out on top in this game thanks to Hardyman’s RBI-double in the third inning and senior Chad Golackson complete-game gem on the mound.
    Darlington went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning when senior outfielder Brayden McDonald doubled and came around to score for the ‘Birds.
    The Cubans answered back in the bottom of the second with an RBI-single by Andy Clendenen to tie the score at 1-1.
    Senior Ryan Glendenning started off the Redbirds’ third inning rally with a single and came in to score on Hardyman’s two-bagger for a 2-1 lead.
    Golackson (1-0) retired 13 of the final 16 batters he faced to secure the victory. He yielded a run on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts to best Cuban ace Tyler Hartl, who allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and five Ks over seven solid innings to take the loss.
    McDonald and Glendenning each had two hits for the Redbirds.
    Back at Otto Ruf Field for their annual tournament, the Redbirds fell to Dodgeville, 6-2, in the opening game, and dropped a 6-4 decision to Brodhead in their second game to finish 0-2 on the day.
    Dodgeville plated single runs in six of their seven turns at the plate to top the ‘Birds. Home runs by Jack Heilman in the fourth inning and #32 in the seventh inning powered the Dodgers, who got a combined one-hitter on the mound from Braeden Vivian and Tanner Bockhop.
    Hardyman’s RBI-double in the first inning plated Sturtz to tie the game at 1-1, and Christian Carr reached on an error and scored on another to deadlock the score at 2-2 in the second inning. The Dodgers scored runs in each of the final four innings to pull away from the ‘Birds.
    Brodhead jumped out to a 6-1 lead on the heading into the bottom of the sixth inning when the Redbirds broke through for three runs to cut the deficit to 6-4. The Cardinals got out of the sixth without any further damage, and then retired the ‘Birds in order in the seventh to hang on for the win.
    Hardyman went 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored for Darlington. McGuire and Nick Andrae drove in runs for the ‘Birds.
    The Redbirds had non-conference games at Argyle on Thursday, March 30, and at Lancaster on Monday, April 3, postponed due to weather. They will make up the game at Lancaster on Thursday, May 4, at 5 p.m., and will play the Orioles at Argyle’s Veteran’s Park on Monday, May 22, also at 5 p.m.
    Darlington has a SWAL game scheduled at Riverdale (Muscoda) on Tuesday, April 18, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Darlington… 101  000  0 – 2  5  1
Cuba City…. 010  000  0 – 1  3  3
Leading hitters: Brayden McDonald 2x4, Ryan Glendenning 2x4. 2B- McDonald, Hayden Hardyman.
WP- Chad Golackson. LP- Tyler Hartl.
At Cuba City, on Friday, April 7

Fennimore… 002  000  0 – 2  4  0
Darlington… 100  000  0 – 1  1  1
Leading hitters: None.
WP- Neuroth. LP- Jesse Sturtz. S- Fitzgerald.
At Darlington, on Tuesday, April 4

LUKE WIEGEL MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Dodgeville… 110  111  1 – 6  6  5
Darlington… 110  000  0 – 2  1  3
Leading hitters: 2B- Hayden Hardyman.
WP- Bockhop. LP- Jackson Hemming.

Brodhead…. 112  011  0 – 6  8  3
Darlington… 000  013  0 – 4  7  2
Leading hitters: Hayden Hardyman 3x3. 2B- Hardyman.
WP- Skylar S. LP- Ryan Glendenning.
At Darlington, on Saturday, April 8

Darlington honors long-time coach Arnie Miehe
School renames cross country course after legendary coach
Arnie Miehe
Former Darlington cross country coach Arnie Miehe (left) stands as it is announced that the DHS cross country course will be renamed after him at the Darlington Invitational on Sept. 7. The years of accomplishments are displayed on the banner behind Miehe. - photo by Casey Lindecrantz

DARLINGTON — At its 41st annual Darlington Invite, the cross country team honored long-time head coach Arnie Miehe by renaming the course after him.

“It’s an incredible honor,” Arnie said. “It’s very humbling. It makes me think of all the hours, days, weeks and years that went into it — all the events and kids I’ve come in contact with.”

Since taking over  the program in 1982, Arnie has had nine state championship teams — eight for the boys and one for the girls — including six consecutive boys’ titles from 2011-2016. Another 39 teams went to state — 23 for the boys and 16 for the girls. For four straight years from 1993-1996, Darlington boys were state runners-up to Cochrane-Fountain City. In this 41-year span, he’s also had numerous individual state runners.

Two of those runners were his sons, Kent and Tyson. Tyson has run in the Olympic trials, and Kent currently coaches the Redbirds cross country teams.

“The recognition needs to be spread out,” Arnie said. “It should really be named the Miehe course. My wife and kids had as much to do with the success as I did. It was an entire family effort.”

But Kent was quick to turn the recognition back to his father.

“All the success we had started here, with him,” Kent said of Darlington’s home course and the annual Invite, which Arnie had begun years ago.

Darlington kept its successful streak at home with the girls finishing runners-up to Lancaster. Adalee Berget led the squad with her third-place finish. As a team, the Lady Redbirds, ranked No. 9 in Division 3 per Week 1 of the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Poll, ran faster than the 2023 squad that finished third at state.

“We are learning what good is,” Kent said. “The returners know what it takes to be good. We have a perspective of what we are working toward. The season is far from over.”