NCAA Division III Baseball Regional
Preview �
E.J.
Schneider Field � Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Thursday-Saturday, May 17-19, 2001
Weekend
Schedule:
Thursday,
May 17
Game 1 - #2 seed UW-Stevens Point (29-12) vs. #3 seed
Ripon (30-7), 11 a.m.
Game 2 - #1 seed St. Thomas (32-8) vs. #4 seed Edgewood (17-23), 2 p.m.
Friday,
May 18
Game 3 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 4 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 5 - Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 5 p.m.
Saturday,
May 19
Game 6 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 7 - rematch if Game 3 winner loses Game 6, 2 p.m.
Tournament
Overview:
Making its fourth tournament appearance in five years,
UW-Stevens Point has eight players in its regular lineup and two starting
pitchers that played on the team's last regional appearance in 1999.
However, the Pointers aren't the only experienced team in the field as
Ripon makes its third straight appearance and St. Thomas is participating
in its seventh straight tournament after finishing as national runner-up
the past two seasons. Edgewood is making its first appearance. The winner
of the regional advances to the Division III World Series in Grand Chute
May 25-29.
Postseason
History:
UW-Stevens Point is participating in its fifth tournament, having
qualified in 1988 and 1997 through 1999. Pointers' second-year coach Brian
Nelson is in his first tournament as a head coach, but has plenty of
postseason experience as an assistant coach in 1999 and the starting
centerfielder in 1997 and 1998. The Pointers are 6-9 all-time in the NCAA
tournament, but have lost six straight games since winning their first
game at the 1997 World Series. UW-Stevens Point beat St. Thomas in the
first round in 1997 and lost to the Tommies in the 1999 regional.
Series
History:
UW-Stevens Point has won eight of 10 all-time meetings against
Ripon, including a 3-2 win in 1999 in Fort Myers, Fla. in the most recent
matchup. The Pointers are 2-2 all-time against St. Thomas and 9-0 against
Edgewood, including a pair of 7-6 wins on April 23 in Stevens Point.
Pointer Update:
UW-Stevens Point pulled off an incredible feat of winning three
straight nine inning games on one day to capture the Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament as the fourth seed and
reach the NCAA tournament. The Pointers beat UW-La Crosse 8-3 to open the
day and then swept UW-Oshkosh 5-4 and 3-1 on a day that began at 10 a.m.
and concluded at 7 p.m.
Jon Jagler went eight-for-14 on Saturday and 11-for-21 for the
tournament to lead the Pointers. Jagler, who has a 12-game hit streak,
leads the team with a .408 average, 43 RBI's and 64 hits, which is five
away from the single-season school record. Sam Molski has a single-season
school record 12 home runs and is one short of the school's career record
with 31 homers.
Bill Verbrick pitched a complete game shutout against UW-Whitewater
on Friday and then earned saves in both victories over UW-Oshkosh on
Saturday. Jeff Pieper improved to 7-0 with a complete game win over UW-La
Crosse. Troy Bielmeier has been the tough luck pitcher in recent weeks,
taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning against UW-Oshkosh Friday before
losing 4-2 and having a no decision after allowing just two earned runs
against UW-La Crosse last week.
Ripon Update:
The Red Hawks have been red-hot recently, bringing a 15-game
winning streak into the tournament and having won 23 of their last 24
games. Ripon claimed its fourth straight Midwest Conference title by
beating Carroll 12-3 in the title game on Saturday. The Red Hawks dropped
two one-run games to UW-Stout and also split with UW-Oshkosh earlier this
season.
Ripon had seven players named to the All-Midwest Conference/North
Division first-team, including four pitchers in Chris Morgan, Steve Fauk,
Nick Johnson and Tyler Witkowski. Witkowski leads the team with a .419
batting average and Morris is hitting .398. Morgan is 7-2 with a 2.16 ERA
and 90 strikeouts and 16 walks in 83 1/3 innings pitched. The Red Hawks
are coached by Gordie Gillespie, who is college baseball's all-time
winningest coach with a 1,566-813 record in his 49th season.
St. Thomas Update:
The Tommies are in their favorite stretch of the season, having
posted a 21-5 postseason record over the past three seasons, including
runner-up finishes at the World Series the past two years. St. Thomas lost
four of its last six conference games to finish third in the
regular-season standings, but the Tommies went 3-0 in the MIAC tournament
to claim the NCAA berth. St. Thomas split a doubleheader with WIAC foe
UW-Stout on April 24.
Senior second baseman Jake Mauer is having a huge season, hitting
.469 with 53 RBI's as the Tommies are the best hitting team in the country
with a .376 team batting average. Mauer's average ranks 10th in
Division III. Tony Wolverton is hitting .434 with 22 stolen bases and
ranks seventh in Division III with seven triples.
Edgewood Update:
The Eagles cruised through the Lake Michigan Conference
tournament from the fifth-seeded position in the seven-team field.
Edgewood lost its last six games of the regular season and brings a 17-23
record into the tournament, but the Eagles beat Concordia (Wis.) in a
play-in game and then swept past Wisconsin Lutheran twice and Lakeland
once to claim the conference title. The Eagles scored a total of 38 runs
in their first three tournament games, but the beat Wisconsin Lutheran 1-0
in the title game.
Edgewood finished 0-6 against WIAC opponents this year, but the
Eagles kept the games close, losing to UW-Stevens Point 7-6 twice and
UW-Oshkosh 7-6. They also lost to UW-Whitewater 9-7.
Walk This Way:
The Pointers' starting pitching staff has had amazing accuracy all
season and especially in recent weeks. UW-Stevens Point's top four
starting pitchers have walked just 33 batters in 227 2/3 innings this
season. Bill Verbrick opened the season with 31 straight innings without a
walk and now has five walks in 66 2/3 innings. Jeff Pieper brings a streak
of 26 consecutive innings without a base on balls into the tournament and
has seven walks in 61 innings this season. Troy Bielmeier has just 13
walks and Jeremy Mueller has issued only eight free passes. The Pointers'
staff walked just six batters in last weekend's five conference tournament
games and have issued just 14 walks in their last 11 games.
In the Clutch:
UW-Stevens Point has been at its best in tight situations this
year, having played 16 one-run contests among its 41 games. The Pointers
have also played nine games decided by two runs. UW-Stevens Point has won
12 of the one-run games, including eight straight entering the regional.
The Pointers have also been comfortable when playing from behind.
In their first 20 victories of the season, UW-Stevens Point trailed in the
fifth inning or later in 10 of those games. The Pointers have won seven
games in their final at-bat and the pitching staff has tied a WIAC
single-season record with 10 saves.
Tournament Notes:
All four of the teams in the regional participated in the Gene
Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. on the weekend of March 16-18�The
Pointers are 5-3 against teams in the tournament, having swept Edgewood,
took two of three from UW-Whitewater, split with Allegheny (Pa.) and lost
to Southern Maine�UW-Oshkosh is hosting the regional for the 20th
consecutive year�
UW-Stevens Point is just two wins away from tying the school record for
victories in a season, having posted a 31-13 record in 1997 and a 31-10
mark in 1999�The past five seasons have been the five winningest seasons
in UW-Stevens Point history�The Pointers have appeared in the WIAC
tournament championship game five straight years�UW-Stevens Point has 51
home runs this season and is one away from the school record of 52 in
1998.
UW-Stevens Point had just three errors in the five games at the
WIAC tournament last weekend�The Pointers have had just nine errors in
10 games with Bill Verbrick on the mound this season�Pointers' senior
catcher Eric Bennett has thrown out nine of the last 10 attempted base
stealers, allowing just one stolen base in his last 20 games�UW-Stevens
Point junior leftfielder Ryan Ivy broke his hand in last weekend's game
against UW-La Crosse, but the Pointers are 14-3 with his replacement,
Kevin Fry, as a starter�Prior to this season, the Pointers had only two
players in school history hit three triples in a season, but have had
three players accomplish the feat this year as Randy Reed has four triples
and Sam Molski and Ivy each have three�Every regular player in the
Pointer lineup has hit a home run this season.
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