THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (18-10, 5-1 WIAC) were scheduled at UW-Oshkosh (16-4, 4-0 WIAC), Saturday,, April 12, but that game has been postponed indefinitely due to rain on the eastern side of Wisconsin. Stout will host UW-Superior (17-8, 0-4 WIAC), Sunday, April 13 at noon, weather permitting. Live stats will be available. Live video is planned for the Superior games.
UW-STOUT: The Blue Devils went to 5-1 in the WIAC with an 8-6, 8-4 sweep over UW-Eau Claire last night in Eau Claire. Over last weekend, the Blue Devils got their first win over the Warhawks since the 2005 season when they split with the Warhawks.
Kaitlin Stark and
Sam Hastings leading the Blue Devils at the plate. Stark is batting .374 (34-91) with 11 RBI, on 11 doubles, a triple and three home runs. Hastings is batting .373 (31-83) with four doubles, two triples, three home runs and 13 RBI. Hastings has seven stolen bases. Nicloe Rogers leads the team in RBI with 15, while
Taylor Workman and
Hannah Sweet each have 14 RBI.
Tori Workman has been the workhorse in the Blue Devils' circle, tossing 126.0 innings in 22 appearances with an ERA of 2.22 and 16 starts. Workman has a 12-8 record and has 114 strikeouts, far exceeding her first year total of 79 strikeouts.
Caty Schloer has appeared in 13 games, staring eight and the lefty has an ERA of 2.42 with 20 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched.
THE 2014 BLUE DEVILS: The Blue Devils return three all-conference players in 2014 selections
Sam Hastings and
Taylor Workman, and 2013 pick
Hannah Sweet. Hastings, a team captain, led the team in runs scored with 41 and was second in home runs with seven. Workman, the team's designated player, earned all-Great Lakes district honors, leading the team in runs batted in with 33 and finished with five home runs. Sweet moved from third base to first base last season, garnering a team-best fielding percentage of .972. While her batting average dipped, she still managed to drive in 28 RBI, fourth on the team. Returning starters include second base and team captain
Lynzi Knudtson and outfielder Katilin Stark.
Tori Workman, an honorable mention selection last season, returns in the circle. Workman, the younger sister of
Taylor Workman, posted a 15-7 overall record in her freshman season. Workman marked an ERA of 2.70 and had 79 strikeouts.
Tori Workman's batting average of .375 is tops for all returning starters.
Nicole Rogers worked 15 innings, mostly in relief.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN, ST. PAUL: Since UW-Stout and Northwestern last played, the college got a new name. Formerly Northwestern College, the school is now known as the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. Northwestern will take the field with a host of fresh faces as it begins its 2014 season. Returning just three starters from last year's campaign that saw the Eagles go 18-18 overall (13-8 UMAC), UNW's roster features 11 freshmen, two sophomores, and three upperclassmen. The Eagles are currently 6-11 overall and 2-2 in the UMAC. Northwestern is in the midst a busy part of the season. They are scheduled to host St. Scholastica, Tuesday, April 8, then travel to Menomonie, April 10, before hosting Crown College, Friday, April 11 and UM-Morris, Saturday, April 12. Jenniker Ankrom leads the Eagles, hitting .521 (25-48) with 23 RBI. She has a team-high three home runs. two share the majority of time in the circle - Kaia Larson (5.56 ERA, 34.0 IP, 12 strikeouts) and Lauren Sibernick (6.73 ERA, 52 IP, 10 strikeouts).
LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MET: The Blue Devils swept Northwestern in a pair of shortened games, April 3, 2012, with Stout grabbing 9-1, 10-2 decisions.
UW-OSHKOSH: Scott Beyer inherits a UW-Oshkosh program that has won at least 20 games each of the last 10 years. He replaces Cindy Suess who accumulated 229 victories in nine seasons. Beyer previously served as an assistant coach at UW-Green Bay since 2011. The Titans return six of their top seven hitters from 2013, including senior Tess Fadness, junior Katie Koepsel and sophomore Hayden Krueger. The trio combined with sophomore Lindsey Luedke to belt 27 homers, which was more than six WIAC teams had. Krueger led the squad with a .402 batting average, while Fadness contributed a team-best .697 slugging percentage and Koepsel was second with 24 RBI. This season, the Titans will be at UW-Platteville Wednesday, April 9. Tess Fadness leads the Titans at the plate, batting .452 (28-62) with a league-high 26 RBI. Lindsay Luedke is batting .444 (28-63) with 18 RBI and four home runs. Hayden Krueger is hitting .409 (24-59) with 22 RBI. Jill Vondrak and Sara Brunlieb alternate in the pitching circle. Vondrak has an ERA of 2.13 with 69 innings pitched and 38 strikeouts. Brunleib has an ERA of 2.25 in 59 innings pitched with 25 strikeouts.
LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MET: The Blue Devils won the first game, 4-3, in nine innings when
Taylor Workman hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth and Stout earned a bid to the WIAC tournament. The Titans came back with a 15-0 five-inning win in game two.
UW-SUPERIOR: UW-Superior has posted a winning record in two of the last four seasons and welcomes back eight starting position players from a year ago. Senior Britnee Blake was second on the team with a .296 batting average and 21 hits. In 2013, the Yellowjackets did not play a single game at home due to poor weather conditions. The Yellowjackets rolled off 13 consecutive wins before dropping their last two doubleheaders, both in WIAC play, falling 8-0, 8-0, at UW-Platteville and 6-0, 4-0, at UW-La Crosse, April 5, and Aprils 6. Britnee Blake and Kristen Haider are both hitting more than.400, Blake at .415 (22-52) and Haider at .408 (31-76) with nine RBI. Katie Wilke and Elle Neimale have both driven in 13 runs and Melissa Clark has a team-high four home runs to go along with her 10 RBI. Nicole Gross and Sarah Hendrickson are sharing time in the circle. Grose has an ERA of 2.91 with 96 innings pitched and 47 strikeouts. Hendrickson has an ERA of 3.51 with 63 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts. The Yellowjackets are scheduled to be at UW-River Falls, April 12.
LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MET: The teams split last year at Williams Stadium with the Yellowjackets winning the first, 4-1, and the Blue Devils taking a 9-3 second game win.
BLUE DEVILS LAST SEASON: UW-Stout finished the 2013 season at 23-13 overall, 8-7 in the WIAC, good for fourth. The Blue Devils advanced to the weather-shortened, one-day WIAC Championship tournament where they defeated UW-La Crosse in the first round, but were eliminated by UW-Eau Claire in the second round. Weather was the winner of the 2013 season. Stout did not play a single game on their home Alumni Field, but rather played all of their home games on the Don & Nona Williams Stadium turf.
AWARDS AND HONORS: Tori Workman was the WIAC pitcher of the week March 11 after a strong start...Catcher
Sam Hastings and designated player
Taylor Workman earned 2013 first-team all-WIAC honors, and pitcher
Tori Workman earned honorable mention honors, along with
Alison Gray and
Erin Moss.
Taylor Workman earned all-region honors.
2014 TEAM CAPTAINS: Team captains for the 2014 season are senior
Sam Hastings and junior
Lynzi Knudtson..
COACHES: Blue Devil coach Chris Stainer (285-368, overall; 267-343, at UW-Stout) is in her 15th season at Stout and her 16th season overall. Eau Claire is coached by Leslie Huntington, who is in her 13th year. Northwestern is coached by Alicia du'Monceaux in her sixth season. Oshkosh is coached by first year coach Scott Beyer and Superior is coached by longtime coach Roger Plachta, who is in his 14th season.
ON DECK: The Blue Devils will be off until Wednesday, April 23 when they host UW-River Falls. Stout will then host UW-La Crosse, Saturday, April 26, and UW-Platteville, Sunday, April 27. Stout's final home game of the season is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29 with Hamline University.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (14-10, 3-1 WIAC) have a busy week ahead of them, opening with conference favorite UW-Eau Claire (15-9, 2-2 WIAC), Wednesday, April 9 at 4 p.m.The game will be played at Bollinger Field (901 W MacArthur Ave. Eau Claire, WI). Stout is scheduled to open their home schedule Thursday, April 10 when they host the University of Northwestern (6-11, 2-2 UMAC) at 5 p.m. Stout is at UW-Oshkosh (16-4, 4-0 WIAC), Saturday,, April 12 and will host UW-Superior (17-8, 0-4 WIAC), Sunday, April 13 at noon. Live stats will be available. Live video is tentatively planned for the Northwestern and Superior games.
UW-STOUT: The Blue Devils went to 3-1 in the WIAC with a 6-5, 5-1, sweep over UW-Stevens Point, April 5, then forged a split with UW-Whitewater, dropping the first game, April 6, 2-1, in Whitewater, but coming back with a 6-4 win over the Warhawks, Stout's first win over the Warhawks since the 2005 season.
Sam Hastings is leading Stout at the plate, hitting .470 (27-63) with nin RBI. Hastings has seven stolen bases.
Kaitlin Stark is hitting .370 (29-83) and has nine RBI as the lead off hitter.
Taylor Workman and
Nicole Rogers each have 13 RBI, while
Hannah Sweet has 11.
Tori Workman has been the workhorse in the Blue Devils' circle, tossing 112.1 innings in 20 appearances with an ERA of 2.06 and 15 starts. Workman has a 10-8 record and has 106 strikeouts, far exceeding her first year total of 79 strikeouts.
Caty Schloer has appeared in 12 games, staring seven and the lefty has an ERA of 2.05 with 19 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.
THE 2014 BLUE DEVILS: The Blue Devils return three all-conference players in 2014 selections
Sam Hastings and
Taylor Workman, and 2013 pick
Hannah Sweet. Hastings, a team captain, led the team in runs scored with 41 and was second in home runs with seven. Workman, the team's designated player, earned all-Great Lakes district honors, leading the team in runs batted in with 33 and finished with five home runs. Sweet moved from third base to first base last season, garnering a team-best fielding percentage of .972. While her batting average dipped, she still managed to drive in 28 RBI, fourth on the team. Returning starters include second base and team captain
Lynzi Knudtson and outfielder Katilin Stark.
Tori Workman, an honorable mention selection last season, returns in the circle. Workman, the younger sister of
Taylor Workman, posted a 15-7 overall record in her freshman season. Workman marked an ERA of 2.70 and had 79 strikeouts.
Tori Workman's batting average of .375 is tops for all returning starters.
Nicole Rogers worked 15 innings, mostly in relief.
UW-EAU CLAIRE: The Blugolds welcome back six starting position players and four starting pitchers from last year's squad that captured the ninth WIAC regular-season championship in program archives - the most in conference history. UW-Eau Claire has made seven NCAA championship appearances in the last eight seasons, including a national title in 2008. The Blugolds own five seasons of 33-plus victories in the last nine years. Thirteen letter winners return for the 2014 campaign, including junior Amanda Fischer, who claimed WIAC Position Player of the Year honors a season ago. She led the conference with 38 stolen bases, while placing second with 38 runs scored and seventh with 42 hits. The Blugolds were picked to win the 2014 conference title, but they got off on the wrong foot when they lost both ends of the conference opening doubleheader to UW-La Crosse, April 5, 5-3, 5-4. The Blugolds righted the ship the next day with a 13-7, 13-3 sweep over UW-Platteville. Amanda Fischer is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league. Fischer is hitting .451 (37-82) with 26 RBI and six home runs. Fischer has stolen 25 bases in 27 attempts. Taylor Pierce is hitting .410 (32-78) with 16 RBI. Nikki Brooks has 22 RBI and Casey Arnold 21. Laura Raflik and Emma Wishau split the pitching duties for the most part. Raflik has an ERA of 2.78 in 50.1 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts.Wishau has amassed 50 strikeouts, along with an ERA of 3.95 in 56.2 innings pitched.
LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MET: The teams split last year at Williams Stadium, with Stout taking a 5-3 opening win, but the Blugolds grabbing a 12-9, 10-inning win.
Nicole Rogers hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to give Stout the opening win, but the Blugolds returned the favor when Amanda Fischer hit a three-run blast in the top of the 10th inning of the nightcap.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN, ST. PAUL: Since UW-Stout and Northwestern last played, the college got a new name. Formerly Northwestern College, the school is now known as the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. Northwestern will take the field with a host of fresh faces as it begins its 2014 season. Returning just three starters from last year's campaign that saw the Eagles go 18-18 overall (13-8 UMAC), UNW's roster features 11 freshmen, two sophomores, and three upperclassmen. The Eagles are currently 6-11 overall and 2-2 in the UMAC. Northwestern is in the midst a busy part of the season. They are scheduled to host St. Scholastica, Tuesday, April 8, then travel to Menomonie, April 10, before hosting Crown College, Friday, April 11 and UM-Morris, Saturday, April 12. Jenniker Ankrom leads the Eagles, hitting .521 (25-48) with 23 RBI. She has a team-high three home runs. two share the majority of time in the circle - Kaia Larson (5.56 ERA, 34.0 IP, 12 strikeouts) and Lauren Sibernick (6.73 ERA, 52 IP, 10 strikeouts).
LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MET: The Blue Devils swept Northwestern in a pair of shortened games, April 3, 2012, with Stout grabbing 9-1, 10-2 decisions.
UW-OSHKOSH: Scott Beyer inherits a UW-Oshkosh program that has won at least 20 games each of the last 10 years. He replaces Cindy Suess who accumulated 229 victories in nine seasons. Beyer previously served as an assistant coach at UW-Green Bay since 2011. The Titans return six of their top seven hitters from 2013, including senior Tess Fadness, junior Katie Koepsel and sophomore Hayden Krueger. The trio combined with sophomore Lindsey Luedke to belt 27 homers, which was more than six WIAC teams had. Krueger led the squad with a .402 batting average, while Fadness contributed a team-best .697 slugging percentage and Koepsel was second with 24 RBI. This season, the Titans will be at UW-Platteville Wednesday, April 9. Tess Fadness leads the Titans at the plate, batting .452 (28-62) with a league-high 26 RBI. Lindsay Luedke is batting .444 (28-63) with 18 RBI and four home runs. Hayden Krueger is hitting .409 (24-59) with 22 RBI. Jill Vondrak and Sara Brunlieb alternate in the pitching circle. Vondrak has an ERA of 2.13 with 69 innings pitched and 38 strikeouts. Brunleib has an ERA of 2.25 in 59 innings pitched with 25 strikeouts.
LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MET: The Blue Devils won the first game, 4-3, in nine innings when
Taylor Workman hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth and Stout earned a bid to the WIAC tournament. The Titans came back with a 15-0 five-inning win in game two.
UW-SUPERIOR: UW-Superior has posted a winning record in two of the last four seasons and welcomes back eight starting position players from a year ago. Senior Britnee Blake was second on the team with a .296 batting average and 21 hits. In 2013, the Yellowjackets did not play a single game at home due to poor weather conditions. The Yellowjackets rolled off 13 consecutive wins before dropping their last two doubleheaders, both in WIAC play, falling 8-0, 8-0, at UW-Platteville and 6-0, 4-0, at UW-La Crosse, April 5, and Aprils 6. Britnee Blake and Kristen Haider are both hitting more than.400, Blake at .415 (22-52) and Haider at .408 (31-76) with nine RBI. Katie Wilke and Elle Neimale have both driven in 13 runs and Melissa Clark has a team-high four home runs to go along with her 10 RBI. Nicole Gross and Sarah Hendrickson are sharing time in the circle. Grose has an ERA of 2.91 with 96 innings pitched and 47 strikeouts. Hendrickson has an ERA of 3.51 with 63 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts. The Yellowjackets are scheduled to be at UW-River Falls, April 12.
LAST YEAR WHEN THEY MET: The teams split last year at Williams Stadium with the Yellowjackets winning the first, 4-1, and the Blue Devils taking a 9-3 second game win.
BLUE DEVILS LAST SEASON: UW-Stout finished the 2013 season at 23-13 overall, 8-7 in the WIAC, good for fourth. The Blue Devils advanced to the weather-shortened, one-day WIAC Championship tournament where they defeated UW-La Crosse in the first round, but were eliminated by UW-Eau Claire in the second round. Weather was the winner of the 2013 season. Stout did not play a single game on their home Alumni Field, but rather played all of their home games on the Don & Nona Williams Stadium turf.
AWARDS AND HONORS: Tori Workman was the WIAC pitcher of the week March 11 after a strong start...Catcher
Sam Hastings and designated player
Taylor Workman earned 2013 first-team all-WIAC honors, and pitcher
Tori Workman earned honorable mention honors, along with
Alison Gray and
Erin Moss.
Taylor Workman earned all-region honors.
2014 TEAM CAPTAINS: Team captains for the 2014 season are senior
Sam Hastings and junior
Lynzi Knudtson..
COACHES: Blue Devil coach Chris Stainer (283-368, overall; 265-343, at UW-Stout) is in her 15th season at Stout and her 16th season overall. Eau Claire is coached by Leslie Huntington, who is in her 13th year. Northwestern is coached by Alicia du'Monceaux in her sixth season. Oshkosh is coached by first year coach Scott Beyer and Superior is coached by longtime coach Roger Plachta, who is in his 14th season.
ON DECK: The Blue Devils will be off until Wednesday, April 23 when they host UW-River Falls. Stout will then host UW-La Crosse, Saturday, April 26, and UW-Platteville, Sunday, April 27. Stout's final home game of the season is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29 with Hamline University.
