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Conference Title
at Stake as Pointers Host Warhawks in Four-Game Series
Weekend series don�t get much bigger than the one
set to take place in Stevens Point on Friday and Saturday.
The top two teams in the Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will battle for the conference regular
season crown in a four-game series at University Field in Stevens Point.
Both ranked in the top 10 of the NCAA Division III rankings, top-ranked
UW-Whitewater enters at 32-2 overall and 18-2 in the WIAC, while
ninth-ranked UW-Stevens Point is 30-6 overall and 17-3 in the league.
Doubleheaders are set for Friday at 1 p.m. and
Saturday at noon. UW-Whitewater needs two wins to capture its third straight
league title, while UW-Stevens Point needs three victories for its fourth
title in seven seasons. The league champion is the top seed for the WIAC
tournament on May 13-14 at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids. Both teams are
already guaranteed the top two seeds for the tournament.
The series features two of the highest-powered
offenses in Division III as well. UW-Whitewater leads the country in scoring
at 12.2 runs per game, while UW-Stevens Point ranks fourth at 10.2 runs per
game. The Warhawks also have seven players in their lineup with .400 or
better batting averages and boast a national-best .396 team average.
UW-Stevens Point is 22nd in the country with a .347 average and has a
Division III-leading 67 home runs, including three players among the top
home run hitters in the nation.
UW-Stevens Point lost its first two league games
at UW-Oshkosh, but has won 17 of its last 18 conference games for its fifth
30-win season in the last nine years. Senior Steve Wiczek is ninth in the
country with a .471 batting average and 55 RBI�s and 12th in home runs per
game with 12. Senior Ryan Jones is fourth in the nation with 14 home runs
and fifth in runs scored per game with 54. Junior Chuck Brehm is 22nd
nationally in home runs per game with 11.
UW-Whitewater opened the season with 19 straight
wins, lost two in a row, but has since reeled off 13 straight. The Warhawks
are also well-represented among the national leaders as senior Eric Baldwin
is third in RBI�s per game with 56 and eighth in home runs per game with 12.
Junior Eddie Adamson is fifth in RBI�s per game with 55 and 18th with a .456
batting average. Senior Dan Gnatzig is third in runs scored per game with
53.
The Warhawks also feature the top two pitchers in
the WIAC as senior Kevin Tomasiewicz leads the country with 11 victories and
junior Greg Reinhard is second in the nation in strikeouts with 97 for an
average of 13.4 per game.
UW-Stevens Point�s top pitcher is senior J.C.
Reinke, who has a 4-2 record with a 2.98 ERA. Senior Kevin Pankow is 12th in
the country with six saves and has a 3.74 ERA. |
