BASEBALL (34-8 overall, 22-6 WIAC)

NCAA DIVISION III REGIONAL TOURNAMENT (at Tiedemann Field, Oshkosh)

Thursday, May 16

Game 1 - UW-Stevens Point vs. George Fox, Ore., 10 a.m.

Game 2 - St. Thomas, Minn. vs. Blackburn, Ill., 1 p.m.

Game 3 - Lakeland, Wis. vs. Calvin, Mich., 4 p.m.

Friday, May 17

Game 4 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m.

Game 5 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 1 p.m.

Game 6 - Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 18

Pairings TBA

The Pointers claimed their second straight WIAC tournament championship by winning three straight games over the weekend to clinch their fifth NCAA Division III tournament berth in six years.

UW-Stevens Point earned the top seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time ever and will play Thursday at Tiedemann Field in Oshkosh. The Pointers will take on sixth-seeded George Fox University of Newberg, Ore. in the first round. The winner of the regional advances to the Division III World Series in Appleton May 24-28.

The Pointers defeated UW-Oshkosh 8-6 in the first round of the WIAC tournament after a two-out dropped fly ball by the Titans tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. Randy Reed (Appleton, WI) then followed with a two-run homer to win the game.

UW-Stevens Point outslugged UW-La Crosse 15-11 in the next game as Ryan Ivy (Kenosha, WI) hit two home runs, including a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh that broke an 11-11 tie. Ryan Jones (Eau Claire, WI) also hit two homers, including his school record 14th of the season.

In the championship game, Josh Blaha (Two Rivers, WI) allowed just two hits over the first seven innings to earn the 6-1 victory over UW-La Crosse. Jared Szews (Birnamwood, WI) worked out of bases loaded jams in both the eighth and ninth innings for his school record 14th career save. Joe Waksmonski (Schofield, WI) gave the Pointers the lead for good with a two-run double in the fourth inning.

Earlier in the week, the Pointers swept Marian in a non-conference doubleheader 5-2 in eight innings and 7-5. UW-Stevens Point has now won 14 of its last 15 games entering the tournament.

TRACK AND FIELD

May 17 - at Augustana (Ill.) Invitational

UW-Stevens Point had three automatic qualifiers for the NCAA outdoor championships in one event at last weekend�s Leo Schnur Classic in La Crosse as Becky Lebak (Burlington, WI), Marcie Fischer (Oshkosh, WI) and Kara Vosters (Little Chute, WI) all recorded automatic times in the women�s 5,000 meters.

The Pointer women also had three provisional qualifiers in the discus as Megan Lundahl (Sturgeon Bay, WI), Lindsey Fowler (Verona, WI) and Amanda Nechuta (Mosinee, WI) all surpassed the provisional mark. Jody Butkowski (Stevens Point, WI) had an automatic qualifying mark of 39 feet, eight inches in the triple jump and Nechuta had another automatic mark in the shot put, winning the event with a throw of 45 feet, seven inches.

On the men�s side, Mark LaLonde (Park Falls, WI) had an automatic qualifying time 14:32.57 and Ben Treptow (Viroqua, WI) had the nation�s top provisional mark in the 800 meters this season at 1:51.93. Jesse Baumann (Verona, WI) had a provisional time in the 1,500 meters of 3:53.99.

Eric Fisher (Appleton, WI), Jesse LaLonde (Park Falls, WI) and Robbie Pieper (West Bend, WI) all had provisional times in the 3000 meter steeplechase. The Pointers� 4x400 meter relay of Matt Buska (Mosinee, WI), Craig Gunderson (Waupaca, WI), Matt Legel (Crystal Lake, IL) and Eric Miller (Green Bay, WI) also provisionally qualified in 3:15.67. Gunderson qualified provisionally in the 400 meters in 48.60 seconds.

Jeremiah Rolfs (Iola, WI) had a provisional qualifying throw in the discus of 162 feet, one inch

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