Gibraltar/Washington Island's Brady Kita headlines a list of players honored by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association earlier this month.

Kita was named the All-Northeast District Player of the Year for Division 4 as the Vikings' starting catcher. The Vikings' Aaron Brey and Algoma's Parker Lischka and Charlie Prokash were also recognized by the WBCA as honorable mention members. 

Algoma's Grant Vandervest and Southern Door's Braylon Berg received special recognition for being academic all-district. 

Gibraltar alum Will Friedenfels hopes his story of an impulse decision to do what he could to save a life inspires others to do the same. Now a student and a member of the St. Norbert College basketball team, Friedenfels was walking through the campus cafeteria when a table was set up for the marrow donor registry NMDP recruiting people to be a match with a simple mouth swab. When asked if he wanted to save a life, Friedenfels says there was no way he could say no. He admits he forgot he had done when he received a call over spring break saying he was a potential match. Several weeks later, he and his mom, Sandra, were in Seattle helping someone he may never meet get a new lease on life.

Despite the injections and medicines he had to take before the procedure and the recovery afterward, Friedenfels says he is prepared to do it again if his number is called.

According to NMDP, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer every three to four minutes, with 70 percent of those patients lacking a fully matched donor in their family. A blood stem cell donation like Friedenfels' can help treat or even cure over 75 diseases. You can join the NMDP donor registry by clicking this link. 

The Gibraltar/Washington Island Vikings could not get their bats going against the Pacelli Cardinals during Thursday's long afternoon sectional semifinal that ended in a 7-2 defeat.

The Cardinals struck first with a Lucas Haemmerle RBI single, bringing Patrick Flees to the plate in the first inning. Flees did the damage in the second inning with two outs when singled home two more runs to make it 3-0. The Vikings had the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning when the skies opened up with a flash storm that left fans and players scurrying for shelter, delaying the game for over an hour.

When the game eventually resumed, Keltin Opper registered one of his 11 strikeouts to end the threat. The Vikings would finally get on the board in the fifth inning after he singled and took advantage of two passed balls to score. The Cardinals would stop the Vikings' momentum and put the game out of reach in the sixth inning when Asher Jordan hit a three-run homer to left field to make it a 6-1 ballgame. An Eric Reincke single in the seventh added an insurance run in the seventh inning to cap off the scoring. The Vikings threatened with three base hits in their half of the seventh inning, but an unassisted double play curtailed the hope before an Owen Dannhausen popout ended the game. 

Aaron Brey and Bennett Isaacson-Krueger combined to allow the seven runs (7 ER) on seven hits while striking out six and walking five. Kita and Brey each had multi-hit games, with Beckett Johnson registering the other knock.

Head Coach Jay Kita said he was proud of his team's accomplishments after graduating seven players last year, which included capturing a regional and conference title this season. 

Even higher stakes are in order for Tuesday afternoon as Gibraltar/Washington Island and Pacelli go against each other for the second year in a row, this time with a sectional final berth on the line.

The Vikings advanced to the sectional round behind a 1-0 win over Tigerton and a 4-2 victory against Reedsville. The Washington Island student-athletes have shined the brightest so far in the playoffs, with Bennett Isaascson-Krueger fanning nine in relief on the mound in their win over Tigerton while Cam Munao registered two RBI, including one solo homer against Reedsville. Head coach Jay Kita said after their win over Reedsville that he has been pleasantly surprised by how his team has performed this season after graduating seven players last year. A big reason why has been their players from the island

The Cardinals made their way to Rosholt via wins over Marion (8-4) and Iola-Scandinavia (5-0). They finished behind first-place Pittsville with a 15-11 overall record and a 9-3 conference mark.  In last year's matchup, the Cardinals broke through against the Vikings' Noah Greene in the sixth inning as they sent seven to the plate, but it was a walk and an error that snakebit Gibraltar/Washington Island in 2-0 defeat. Brock Birrenkott struck out 10 Vikings players as the Cardinals advanced to the sectional final before falling to Edgar one game short of state.

Tim Kowols will have the call from Rosholt on 105.1 The GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 12:15 p.m., followed by the first pitch at 12:30 p.m. The game's winner will face the victor of the matchup between Niagara and Three Lakes/Phelps at 4 p.m. If the Vikings reach the sectional final, 105.1 The GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com will carry that game, too.