UW-Whitewater Selected To Win Baseball Title
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is the preseason choice to secure the 2013 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) baseball crown, according to the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
The Warhawks claimed seven first-place votes in the preseason poll and entered the season ranked No. 18 by D3baseball.com. UW-Whitewater has collected 13 regular-season championships and made five consecutive NCAA Division III Championship appearances. The Warhawks welcome back 24 letterwinners from last year’s unit that finished second in NCAA Division III with 37 home runs, eighth with 553 hits and ninth with 370 runs scored.
Leading this year’s returnees are junior Jared Fon and sophomore Marty Herum, who shared the WIAC Position Player of the Year honor in 2012 with UW-La Crosse’s Jay Fanta. Fon was second in the conference with 49 runs scored, 77 hits and 44 RBI, third with a .383 batting average and fourth with a .602 slugging percentage. Herum led the league with 82 hits and 58 RBI, while ranking second with a .400 batting average. Head Coach John Vodenlich has a .742 winning percentage - the highest of any active WIAC baseball coach.
UW-La Crosse appeared first on six ballots and is expected to finish second in the seven-team derby. The Eagles entered the 2013 season ranked No. 17 by D3baseball.com after winning their first outright league title since 1978 and making their second NCAA appearance. UW-La Crosse also set school single-season records with 34 overall wins and 21 WIAC victories. Senior Brooks Braga led the squad with 46 runs scored, 29 walks, 10 stolen bases, nine home runs and two triples. He ranks third in school history with 22 home runs. Senior Kevin Johnson finished 5-1 last year with the second-best ERA in the conference at 1.70, while senior Tim Verthein finished with 63 strikeouts - the third-highest total in the league.
UW-Stevens Point picked up the remaining first-place vote and is slotted for third place in the league standings. The Pointers own nine regular-season titles with the most recent in 2011. UW-Stevens Point finished fourth in NCAA Division III with a .974 fielding percentage in 2012. They led the WIAC with a 3.21 team ERA, marking the 11th straight year they finished in the top three. They have also led the conference five times during that stretch. Cam Seidl, the reigning WIAC Pitcher of the Year, will miss the 2013 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Senior Ryan Schilter produced a team-leading .370 batting average, .531 slugging percentage, 19 doubles and 36 RBI a season ago. His batting average ranked sixth in the league.
UW-Oshkosh has posted a winning record in eight of the past 10 seasons, including six seasons with at least 27 victories. The Titans return four of their top-five hitters from last year’s squad that lost 11 games by one run. Senior Tyler Kamps led the team with 13 doubles and was third with a .297 batting average, while sophomore Michael Polcyn topped the squad with a .355 batting average and carries a 15-game hitting streak into the 2013 campaign. Head Coach Tom Lechnir is the winningest coach in WIAC history. His overall winning percentage of .717 ranks ninth among active NCAA Division III coaches.
UW-Superior welcomes back all nine starting position players from the 2012 season. Junior Wyatt Soderquist placed fifth in the conference with a .373 batting average, while sophomore T.J. Evanson topped the league with 10 home runs and finished fourth with 41 RBI. The Yellowjackets have accumulated 38 WIAC wins since the hiring of Head Coach Eddy Morgan in 2007. Prior to his arrival, the program had 39 league triumphs from 1989-2006. Morgan is the winningest coach in program history and needs 11 victories to reach 100 in his career.
UW-Stout returns 16 letterwinners from last year’s squad that finished ninth in NCAA Division III with a .474 slugging percentage. The Blue Devils also posted a .313 batting average - the program’s highest since 2004, and a .950 fielding percentage - the best since 2007. UW-Stout welcomes back 60 percent of their hits, 57 percent of their runs, 55 percent of their RBI, 33 percent of their home runs, 40 percent of their innings pitched and 43 percent of their strikeouts from a season ago. Sophomore Ryan Gangestad led the team with a .383 batting average, while senior Santiago Morales tied a school single-season record with five triples.
UW-Platteville has 15 newcomers this year, and the leading returnees are seniors Bill Oppriecht and Adam Thies. Oppriecht had a team-high 68.0 innings pitched in 13 appearances and finished 10th in the conference with a 3.97 ERA. Thies placed fifth in the WIAC with a 3.48 ERA and tossed 67.1 innings. Head Coach Eric Frese is the winningest coach in program archives and is three wins away from recording his 100th with the Pioneers.
2013 Preseason Predictions (Voted on by WIAC head coaches and sports information directors)
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2012 Record |
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1. UW-Whitewater (7) |
33-17 overall, 16-8 WIAC |
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2. UW-La Crosse (6) |
34-11, 21-2 |
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3. UW-Stevens Point (1) |
27-15, 15-9 |
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4. UW-Oshkosh |
15-23, 10-14 |
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5. UW-Superior |
17-22, 8-16 |
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6. UW-Stout |
17-22, 6-17 |
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7. UW-Platteville |
11-29, 7-17 |
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( )--First-place votes |
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Team Vitals (Entering the 2013 season)
UW-La Crosse
Head Coach: Chris Schwarz; 9th season at UWL; 167-152-1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 17/7
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 6/3
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 4/2
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 2/3
Returning All-WIAC: Brooks Braga, Sr., OF (2011-Honorable, 2012-First); Cole Cefalu, Jr., OF (2012-First); Adam Cordova, Jr., OF (2011-First, 2012-Honorable); Kevin Johnson, Sr., RHP (2012-First); Tim Verthein, Sr., RHP (2011-First, 2012-First)
UW-Oshkosh
Head Coach: Tom Lechnir; 25th season at UWO; 705-278-1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 16/8
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/2
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 6/2
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 1/1
Returning All-WIAC: Tyler Kamps, Sr., INF (2011-First); Michael Polcyn, So., SS (2012-Honorable)
UW-Platteville
Head Coach: Eric Frese; 15th season (7th at UWP); 232-344-3 (overall) / 97-143-2 (UWP)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/15
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 8/8
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 6/4
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 1/2
Returning All-WIAC: Bill Oppriecht, Sr., RHP (2012-First); Adam Theis, Sr., RHP (2012-Honorable)
UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach: Pat Bloom; 10th season at UWSP; 287-137
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 18/12
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/3
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 5/1
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 2/3
Returning All-WIAC: Casey Barnes, Jr., OF/RHP (2011-Honorable); Dan Douglas, Sr., SS (2011-First, 2012-Honorable); Max Frederick, Jr., RHP (2012-Honorable); Sean Gerber, Sr., 1B/3B (2011-First); Ryan Schilter, Sr., C/OF (2012-First)
UW-Stout
Head Coach: Toby Gardenhire; 2nd season at UWST; 17-22
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 16/12
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 5/4
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 2/5
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 3/1
Returning All-WIAC: Ryan Gangestad, So., SS (2012-Honorable); Matt Guida, Sr., C (2011-First); Santiago Morales, Sr., OF (2012-Honorable)
UW-Superior
Head Coach: Eddy Morgan; 7th season at UWS; 89-146
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 24/8
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 9/0
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 6/6
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 1/2
Returning All-WIAC: T.J. Evanson, So., 1B (2012-Honorable); Wyatt Soderquist, Jr., OF (2012-Honorable)
UW-Whitewater
Head Coach: John Vodenlich; 12th season (10th at UWW); 352-152-1 (overall) / 323-112-1 (UWW)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 24/9
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/2
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 4/4
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 1/5
Returning All-WIAC: Jared Fon, Jr., INF (2012-Position Player of the Year); Dylan Friend, Jr., OF (2012-First); Marty Herum, So., INF (2012-Position Player of the Year); Justin Lambert, Sr., RHP (2011-Honorable)
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