Pointers Land Six on All-WIAC Baseball; Verbrick, Nelson Earn Top Honors

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion UW-Stevens Point landed a league-high six players on the All-Conference squad with senior Bill Verbrick leading the way as the conference�s Pitcher of the Year.

Pointers� coach Brian Nelson was also selected as the league�s Coach of the Year as UW-Stevens Point finished 34-8 and earned the top seed for this weekend�s NCAA Division III regionals in Oshkosh.

Verbrick was joined on the first team by senior centerfielder Randy Reed, senior third baseman Paul Molitor, junior pitcher Jeff Pieper, sophomore first baseman Ryan Jones and sophomore catcher Joe Waksmonski. Senior rightfielder Ryan Ivy and sophomore shortstop Mike Hall were honorable mention selections. Pieper is the only player to have earned previous honors, having been named All-WIAC in 2000.

     Verbrick posted a 9-1 record, 95 strikeouts and a 3.30 ERA while leading the conference in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched. The Appleton Xavier High School graduate threw 84 2/3 innings and became the conference�s all-time strikeout leader with 251 for his career. Verbrick also pitched the first nine-inning perfect game in league history in a 5-0 win over UW-River Falls on April 6.

Reed led the Pointers and ranked third in the WIAC in hitting with a .397 average. The Appleton East High School graduate had 11 home runs along with a school record five triples and team-highs 56 runs scored and 13 stolen bases.

Molitor, who graduated from Reedsburg High School, led the WIAC in RBI�s with 55 and ranked sixth in the league with a .384 average. He was third in the conference with 13 home runs and his 73 hits ranked second in the league.

Pieper, a Wausau West High School graduate, was 5-1 and ranked third in the WIAC with a 3.47 ERA. He threw a four-hit shutout in a win over UW-Platteville and suffered his only loss in his first start of the season to Division I Bradley.

Jones, an Eau Claire North High School graduate, hit a school-record 14 home runs to rank second in the WIAC, while hitting .351 with 41 RBI�s. Jones also drew a single-season school record 38 walks for a team-leading .487 on base percentage.

Waksmonski, a Schofield native and D.C. Everest graduate, hit .376 with 14 doubles, seven home runs and 32 RBI�s. Waksmonski took over as the team�s starting catcher early in the season and started all but one of the 28 WIAC contests.

Ivy, a Kenosha native who attended Duluth (Ga.) High School, had a school record 24-game hitting streak at mid-season and is hitting .326 with seven homers and 39 RBI�s. His 18 doubles rank second in the WIAC and second in a single season in Pointer history.

Hall, a Manitowoc Lincoln High School graduate, has posted an impressive .959 fielding percentage with just eight errors in 196 fielding chances while starting every game at shortstop this season. He also hit .291 with four home runs and 32 RBI�s.

Nelson already ranks second in school history in career coaching victories with a 92-33 record in just three seasons. He also led the Pointers to a conference title in 2000 and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2001. The Stevens Point native was a first-team All-WIAC centerfielder during the 1998 season.

UW-La Crosse�s Vinnie Rottino was named the league�s Position Player of the Year.

2002 All-WIAC Baseball Team

Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
Eric Bartholomew, River Falls, Senior, Outfield, North St. Paul, Minn.
Randy Borgardt, Whitewater, Junior, Pitcher, Racine (Park)
Merrill Brunson, Platteville, Senior, Third Base, Richland Center
Scott DeWyre, River Falls, Junior, Outfield, Glenwood City
Brady Endl, Whitewater, Sophomore, First Base/Designated Hitter, Jefferson
Brady Endl, Whitewater, Sophomore, Pitcher, Jefferson
Chester Janke, La Crosse, Sophomore, First Base, Black River Falls
Ryan Jones, Stevens Point, Sophomore, First Base, Eau Claire (North)
Steve Lishinski, Superior, Senior, Catcher, Dollar Bay, Mich.
Matt Lunde, Stout, Senior, Pitcher, Eau Claire (North)
Paul Molitor, Stevens Point, Senior, Third Base, Reedsburg
Jeff Pieper, Stevens Point, Junior, Pitcher, Wausau (West)
Randy Reed, Stevens Point, Senior, Centerfield, Appleton (East)
Emmanuel Rivera, Platteville, Junior, Shortstop, Arroyo, Puerto Rico (Guamani)
Vinnie Rottino, La Crosse, Senior, Shortstop, Racine (St. Catherine's)
Joe Shere, Whitewater, Senior, Third Base, Janesville (Craig)
Ben Stanley, Oshkosh, Senior, Catcher, Janesville (Parker)
Travis Van Zile, Whitewater, Junior, Centerfield, Reedsburg
Bill Verbrick, Stevens Point, Senior, Pitcher, Appleton (Xavier)
Joe Waksmonski, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Catcher, Schofield (D.C. Everest)