The Appleton North softball team defeated Kimberly 9-8 to win a WIAA Division 1 sectional final on Thursday. North moves on to the state tournament. (Photo by Mark Hughes)

Appleton North softball hangs on to defeat Kimberly in WIAA Division 1 sectional final, earn state berth

June 4, 2026 plecker

AppletonSportsPage.com

KAUKAUNA – The Appleton North softball team is heading to the state tournament for the seventh time in school history after surviving a hot-hitting Kimberly squad and prevailing 9-8 in a WIAA Division 1 sectional final on Thursday at Kaukauna High School.

Appleton North (19-7) qualifies for the 2026 WIAA State Softball Tournament and will play a Division 1 quarterfinal on Wednesday. Pairings and game times will be announced on Friday.

The Lightning is back at state for the first time since 2018 as they survived five Kimberly homers to defeat their Fox Valley Association rival.

Sophie Hermus and Payton Schreiber hit back-to-back homers to lead off the game as Kimberly (21-8) stunned North and took a quick 2-0 lead.

The Lightning were unfazed, tying the game in the bottom of the first on RBI singles by Charlotte Radtke and Evelyn Frega.

Sawyer Haessly led off the second with a solo home run to give the Lightning the lead for good, but things got hairy along the way.

North busted it open with a five-run fourth inning, as Alyssa Wald and Drew Brown each had RBI singles, Brianna Gehrman doubled in a run and Frega knocked in a pair with another single, upping the Lightning’s lead to 8-2.

Kimberly fought back with four runs in the fifth, capped off by home runs from Breckan Luedke and Neveah Honick.

Valerie Baranczyk had a sacrifice fly in the fifth to push North’s lead to 9-6. That score held until the top of the seventh as the Papermakers were not going to go down without a fight.

After a strikeout, Paige Schreck singled and Luedke cracked her second homer of the game to bring Kimberly to within a run.

Two more runners reached base with two outs before Radtke coaxed a fly out to the end the game and send Appleton North to state.

Gehrman and Radtke each had three hits, and Frega finished with three RBI for the Lightning.

Lightning 9, Papermakers 8
Kimberly 200 040 2 – 8 11 2
Appleton North 210 510 x – 9 13 3
WP: Evelyn Frega. LP: Kendra Ruys. SV: Charlotte Radtke.
SO: Bella Ellestad (1 inn.) 0, Ruys (2 2/3 inn.) 1, Sophia Kattestead (2 1/3 inn.) 0; Frega (4 1/3 inn.) 5, Radtke (2 2/3 inn.) 6. BB: Ellestad 1, Ruys 1, Kattestead 0; Frega 1, Radtke 1.
Top hitters: KIM, Sophie Hermus 2×3, HR, 2 runs, RBI; Payton Schreiber 2×4, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Breckan Luedke 2×4, 2 HRs, 2 runs, 4 RBI; Neveah Honick 2×3, HR, RBI. AN, Alyssa Wald 2 runs; Radtke 3×4, 2 runs, RBI; Brianna Gehrman 3×4, 2B, RBI; Frega 2×3, 3 RBI; Sawyer Haessly 2×3, HR, 2 runs, RBI.
Records: Kimberly 21-8; Appleton North 19-7.