UW-Whitewater Sweeps All-WIAC Baseball Honors
Printable version of the 2017 All-WIAC Baseball Team
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Blake Fleischman and Heath Renz have been selected the Position Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, to lead the individuals picked to the 2017 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Team by the league coaches. In addition, Warhawk head coach John Vodenlich was tabbed the Coach of the Year.
Fleischman is the fifth Warhawk to win the honor, joining Pat Tobiasz (1998), Jared Fon (2012), Marty Herum (2012 and 2013) and Mikole Pierce (2014). He claimed first team honors for the second straight year and currently ranks second in the league with 164 at-bats, third with six home runs, fifth with 52 hits and 82 total bases, sixth with 10 doubles, eighth with a .500 slugging percentage and 34 runs scored, and 10th with a .317 batting average. Fleischman has recorded at least one hit in 33 of 41 games, including 13 multi-hit performances and a season-high four hits against UW-Stevens Point on April 23.
Renz’s selection marks the seventh time in conference history a Warhawk has claimed the pitching award. He leads the conference with eight wins, while ranking third with a 1.94 earned run average and .214 opponent batting average, and fifth with 50 strikeouts and 65.0 innings pitched. Renz has pitched at least seven innings in eight of his 11 appearances and struck out at least six batters on six occasions with a season-high 10 strikeouts against UW-Oshkosh on May 12.
Repeat selections on the first team from a year ago included: UW-La Crosse’s Caleb Boushley (Pitcher of the Year) and Nate Heili; UW-Oshkosh’s Johnny Eagan; UW-Stevens Point’s Cole Erickson; and UW-Whitewater’s Cal Aldridge and Mike Nompleggi. Eagan was also a first team honoree in 2015, along with UW-Whitewater’s Steve Chamberlain.
Vodenlich claimed the coaching honor for the eighth time in his career and fourth time in the last five seasons. UW-Whitewater owns a 35-7 record and claimed the WIAC regular-season and tournament titles, while earning a spot in the NCAA Division III Championship.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was chosen for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each school.
2017 All-WIAC Baseball Team
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
Cal Aldridge, Whitewater, Sophomore, Thirdbase, Crystal Lake, Ill. (Prairie Ridge)
Colton Bormann, Platteville, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Preston, Iowa
Caleb Boushley, La Crosse, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Hortonville, Wis.
Steve Chamberlain, Whitewater, Senior, Secondbase, Rockford, Ill. (Guilford)
Tyler Christensen, Stout, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Oconomowoc, Wis.
Johnny Eagan, Oshkosh, Senior, Outfield, Wautoma, Wis.
Cole Erickson, Stevens Point, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Deerfield, Wis.
Blake Fleischman, Whitewater, Junior, Firstbase, Germantown, Wis.
Nate Heili, La Crosse, Sophomore, Shortstop, Sheboygan Falls, Wis.
Carter Hoffman, La Crosse, Senior, Designated Hitter, Spring Green, Wis. (River Valley)
Joel Hollow, Stout, Junior, Thirdbase, Racine, Wis. (St. Catherine)
Austin Jones, Whitewater, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Wauwatosa, Wis. (West)
Tyler Kozlowski, Oshkosh, Senior, Thirdbase, Menomonee Falls, Wis. (Sussex Hamilton)
Brett Krause, Whitewater, Junior, Outfield, Menomonee Falls, Wis.
Jordan Kuczynski, Whitewater, Senior, Shortstop, Germantown, Wis.
Kyle Mrozinski, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Catcher, Ashwaubenon, Wis.
Mike Nompleggi, Whitewater, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Oconto Falls, Wis.
Jack Paulson, Oshkosh, Junior, Shortstop, De Pere, Wis. (West De Pere)
Heath Renz, Whitewater, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Jefferson, Wis.
Colan Treml, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Sycamore, Ill.
Caleb Willems, La Crosse, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Luxemburg, Wis. (Luxemburg-Casco)
Westin Wuethrich, Whitewater, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Greenwood, Wis.
Honorable Mention
Andy Brahier, Oshkosh, Junior, Firstbase, Jefferson, Wis.
Noah Brown, Stout, Senior, Thirdbase/Firstbase, Forest Lake, Minn.
Colin DeBoer, Platteville, Senior, Centerfield, Brandon, Wis. (Waupun)
Ben Gerber, Stevens Point, Senior, Outfield, Stoughton, Wis.
Derek Kawlewski, Stevens Point, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Stevens Point, Wis. (Pacelli)
Alex Koch, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Outfield, Oshkosh, Wis. (North)
Nick McLees, Oshkosh, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Hartland, Wis. (Milwaukee Marquette)
Josh Moses, Platteville, Freshman, Rightfield, Cedarburg, Wis.
Ankur Shah, Whitewater, Senior, Lefthanded Pitcher, St. Charles, Ill. (North)
Jesse Sustachek, Oshkosh, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Oak Creek, Wis.
Matt Wary, Whitewater, Sophomore, Outfield, Elk Grove, Ill.
All-Sportsmanship Team
Mike Aiello, Whitewater, Sophomore, Catcher, Racine, Wis. (Horlick)
Taylor Grimm, Oshkosh, Junior, Catcher, Cedarburg, Wis.
Jared Jarvensivu, Stout, Sophomore, Shortstop, Tomahawk, Wis.
James Pavlik, Platteville, Senior, Infield, La Grange, Ill. (Lyons Township)
Clint Rose, Stevens Point, Senior, Secondbase, Watertown, Wis.
Lucas Schultz, La Crosse, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, West Salem, Wis.
Position Player of the Year: Blake Fleischman of Whitewater
Pitcher of the Year: Heath Renz of Whitewater
Coach of the Year: John Vodenlich of Whitewater
Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete (sponsored by Badgerland Financial): Matt Langlie of Whitewater
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