Softball Preview: Stout to meet Whitewater Friday in WIAC tourney game

2015 WIAC Softball Championship website | Live Stats | Live Video | WIAC Championship

EAU CLAIRE (April 27, 2015) - The 2015 WIAC Softball Championship will be hosted by UW-Eau Claire, May 1-3, and will be conducted at Gelein Field at Carson Park.  UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater tied for the regular season title with 13-3 league records, but Eau Claire was awarded the top seed because they swept the Warhawks during the season. Stout will face Whitewater at noon Friday, May 1.

The Blue Devils, who earned the fifth seed in the tournament, will take second seeded Whitewater at noon on Friday, May 1. A win moves the Blue Devils on to the second day of the tournament at noon. A loss bumps the Blue Devils into a game between the loser of the UW-Eau Claire/UW-River Falls at 4 p.m. Friday.

Fans are asked to use the Lake Street entrance to get to Carson Park. The park will conducting the Eau Claire Marathon over the weekend. A press release about the tournament, directions and ticket information is available on the UW-Eau Claire athletic site.

One other note: Dogs, cats and other pets (with the exception of licensed service animals) are prohibited on the site off all WIAC championships and postseason tournaments; regardless of whether the event is conducted on- or off-campus.


Live Stats | Live Video | WIAC Championship

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (15-25, 7-9 WIAC) head to the WIAC Championship this weekend hosted by UW-Eau Claire at Carson Park. The Blue Devils earned the fifth seed and will meet second seed and eighth ranked UW-Whitewater, (32-6, 13-3 WIAC) Friday, May 1 at noon. A win and the Blue Devils will advance to play on the second day, Saturday, May 2, and would meet either UW-Oshkosh or UW-La Crosse at 10 a.m. A loss, and the Blue Devils would play Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. against either UW-Eau Claire or UW-River Falls.

UW-STOUT: The Blue Devils are coming off a 2014 campaign that featured 27 wins, which were the most since the 2004 season. The 2015 roster includes two seniors, six juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen - and is led by junior Tori Workman who claimed WIAC Pitcher of the Year recognition a year ago. She set the school single-season strikeout record with her final pitch of the season and led the conference with a 1.63 earned run average, 160 strikeouts and 176.1 innings pitched. Head coach Chris Stainer, the WIAC coach of the year last season, recently earned her 300th career victory. In a preseason poll, the Blue Devils were picked to finish second in the WIAC.

Rachel Thomas has moved her batting average up to .350 (35-100) over the last several games, especially by going 7-for-8 at UW-Superior . The freshman catcher is third on the team in doubles with six.  Designated player Taylor Workman is hitting .303 (36-119) with 20 RBI. Workman leads the team in home runs with three.  Tori Workman (11-13) picked up both wins Monday in Superior, but did not throw against Hamline on Tuesday. Tori Workman is leading all conference pitchers with 141 strikeouts.  Workman also is the lead off hitter and is hitting .283 (36-127), and is matching sister Taylor with a team-high 20 RBI. Sara Griesbach has 14 RBI and Heather Bol has 13 to help power the Stout offense.  Among starters, Nicole Rogers is hitting .278 (37-97). Rogers and fellow outfielder Liz Seipel lead the team in stolen bases. Seipel has a team-high nine thefts, while Rogers has eight. Second baseman Karley Wiensch, playing her first year of collegiate softball after wrapping up her four-year career as a Blue Devil volleyball player, has stolen six bases.  | 2015 Statistics

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils lost both games to Hamline University, 13-3, 7-3, Tuesday, April 28 in Stout's final home game of the season. | Hamline Game Story and Stats

UW-WHITEWATER: The Warhawks, selected to win the conference title in a preseason poll, tied for the regular season title with UW-Eau Claire, but were pushed to the second seed because they were swept by Blugolds during the regular season. The Warhawks last year won the conference tournament that was played in Menomonie. Jo Jablonski is batting .426 (46-108) with 10 home runs and 36 RBI. Mallory Klotz is hitting .415 (51-123), with nine stolen bases. Deven DuCharme is hittimg .406 (43-106) with a team-high 14 stolen bases. Amy Ricci has collected 36 RBI and Kelynn Sporer has 24 RBI and is 9-for-9 in stolen bases. In the circle, Bekka Houda is 15-3 overall with an ERA of 1.57 in 116.0 innings pitche with 114 strikeouts. Houda has thrown 16 complete games. Kelynn Sporer has an ERA of 2.07 and an overall record of 12-3 with 60 strikeouts in 88 innngs pitched. Whitewater was ranked eighth in the April 22 NFCA poll.    | 2015 Statistics

WARHAWKS LAST TIME OUT: The Warhawks traveled to Lake Forest College and captured a pair of shutouts, 4-0, 6-0, over the Foresters Tuesday.   | Game Story and Statistics

LAST TIME THEY MET: In the conference opener on April 2 in Menomonie, the Warhawks defeated Stout, 11-0, 8-3. | Game Story and Statistics


BLUE DEVILS LAST SEASON: The Blue Devils are coming off a 2014 campaign that featured 27 wins, which were the most since the 2004 season. The 2015 roster includes two seniors, six juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen - and is led by junior Tori Workman who claimed WIAC Pitcher of the Year recognition a year ago. She set the school single-season strikeout record with her final pitch of the season and led the conference with a 1.63 earned run average, 160 strikeouts and 176.1 innings pitched. Head coach Chris Stainer, the WIAC coach of the year last season, recently earned her 300th career victory | 2014 Statistics

AWARDS AND HONORS: Abbey Ball was the UW-Stout/Northwestern Mutual Athlete of the Week after picking up wins over UW-Stevens Point and UW-Oshkosh...Tori Workman was the WIAC pitcher of the week after her first six games this season. Last season, Workman was the WIAC Pitcher of the Year and an all-region pick. Lynzi Knudtson was a WIAC honorable mention selection

2015 TEAM CAPTAINS: Team captains for the 2015 season are seniors Lynzi Knudtson and Taylor Workman and juniors Tori Workman and Nicole Rogers.

COACHES: Blue Devil coach Chris Stainer (3311-395, overall; 293-370 at UW-Stout) is in her 17th season at Stout and her 18th season overall. UW-Whitewater: Brenda Volk (524-211-4) is in her 17th season with the Warhawks.

ON DECK: The winner of the WIAC Tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.