Softball Preview: Home opener Saturday features Alumni Day

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THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (9-11, 0-0 WIAC) will open the home portion of their schedule when they host Crown College (6-16, 4-0 UMAC), for Alumni Day Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m., then will open the WIAC schedule the following day when they host UW-Stevens Point (8-12, 1-1 WIAC), Sunday, April 9 at 1 p.m. at Alumni Field. The Blue Devils are the last WIAC team to open conference play. Stevens Point is at UW-River Falls Saturday.

UW-STOUT:  Beth Wood boasts a .414 average (24-58) on the season, with Kyncaide Diedrich right on her tail at .412 (21-51), followed by Rachel Thomas at .400 (28-70). Diedrich leads the team in RBI with 14 hitting three doubles, two triples and a home run for a slugging percentage of .608. She is fourth in the WIAC in runs scored with 21. Diedrich is third in the WIAC in stolen bases, nabbing 13 in 14 attempts.  Including these three, there are eight Blue Devils averaging a .300 average or better this season. Heather Bol boast a team best six doubles, while driving in 11 runs. Diedrich has looked good from the circle, owning a 2.10 ERA in 13 innings pitched. Wood has gotten 10 starts and made 11 appearances for the Blue Devils, going 5-5 in 56.1 innings with 29 Ks and a 3.25 ERA. Wood has already exceeded her number of strikeouts from last year, when she finished with 22 Ks over 70-plus innings. The Blue Devils have used five pitchers this year, and each of them has pitched a minimum of 10 innings and four ot the five have made at least three starts.   | 2017 Statistics

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT:  Stout swept the University of Northwestern, winning 2-1 in the opener, then belted out a 9-0 five inning second game win, April 1. At Wartburg  College the following day, the Knights won the first game 6-4, but the Blue Devils came back to hang on for an 18-17 second game win where the team racked up a school record 23 hits.  | Northwestern Game Story and Statistics | Wartburg Game Story and Statistics




WIAC PRESEASON POLL The Blue Devils were selected to finish fifth, according to a WIAC preseason poll. UW-Eau Claire was picked first, followed by UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse. UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Platteville were chosen sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

WIAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Stout has grabbed the tournament title once, that coming in 2005 at UW-Whitewater. Overall, Stout is 24-38 in WIAC tournament games. Stout finished second in 1995, a year the tournament was held in Menomonie. Stout last hosted the tournament in 2014.

CROWN COLLEGE: The Crown College Storm hold a 6-16 overall record and is currently in first place in the UMAC. The Storm have a doubleheader with North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) Friday.  The Storm is perfect in conference play, downing North Central University, 19-3 and 5-1, April 1, then sweeping the University of Northwestern, 6-0, 10-5, April 5.  Lis King is the Storm's top hitter at .368 (21-57) include six home runs, tying the school single season record, with at least 16 games remaining.  King also sees action on the mound, winning three games from that spot, with a 3.74 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 77.0 innings. Kayla Kidder has an ERA of 4.65 with 19 strikeouts over 50.1 innings.  | 2017 Statistics

UW-STEVENS POINT: The Pointers (8-12, 1-1 WIAC) already opened conference play this season, splitting two games against UW-Platteville last weekend, The Pointers were scheduled to play at Wisconsin Lutheran April 4, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather in the southeast part of the state. The Pointers are at UW-River Falls Saturday.  Jen Jacobson leads the Pointers with a .450 (27-60) batting average, hitting in the four spot of the lineup, and currently ranks fourth in the WIAC. Jacobson leads the WIAC in doubles with 11 and has a triple and two home runs . Paige Allen also has been hitting well with a .381 average (24-63) and her three home runs rank her third in the WIAC. Ashley Cohen has a 3.55 ERA in 11 appearances for the Pointers, including two saves in 49.1 innings pitched with 32 strikeouts. .   | 2017 Statistics

LAST TIME THEY MET: This will be the first every matchup for Stout softball against Crown College. On the other hand the Blue Devils and Pointers have a long history. Stout swept the Pointers last season on the road, getting two wins 5-2 and 3-1. The Blue Devils have won seven straight games over the Pointers, with Stevens Point's last win over the Blue Devils win coming April 13, 2013, a 19-1 win in the first half of a doubleheader played on the artificial surface of Don and Nona Williams Stadium.  | 2016 Game Story and Statistics


NFCA RANKINGS: UW-Eau Claire is the only WIAC schools to find themselves in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll. Eau Claire weighs in at the ninth spot, up one spot from last week. UW-Whitewater dropped down to the receiving votes and UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh dropped out of the poll.  |  NFCA Top 25 polls

BLUE DEVILS LAST SEASON: The Blue Devils were 17-21 overall and 6-8 in league play. The Blue Devils advanced to the WIAC tournament. | 2016 Statistics

AWARDS AND HONORS: Pitcher/infielder Beth Wood and catcher/outfielder Rachel Thomas were 2016 all-WIAC honorable mention selections...


COACHES: Blue Devil coach Becky Iaccino (44-50 overall, 26-32 at UW-Stout) is in her second year as the head coach of the Blue Devils. Iaccino played professionally in Italy from 2003 to 2011 and with the Italian National team from 2005-07. She has been the head coach at Marian University where she was selected as conference coach of the year, and has eight years of experience as an assistant coach at Division I and III programs.

GRAND APPEARANCE: Alicia Meyer hit a grand slam against the College of Mount St. Vincent, March 14. Meyer had six RBI in the game. Previous to Meyer's grand slam, the last 4-RBI round tripper came March 8, 2013 by Alison Gray against St. Olaf College.

GRAND SLAMS
Alicia Meyer vs. the College of Mount St. Vincent, March 14, 2017
Alison Gray vs. St. Olaf College, March 8, 2013

ON DECK:  Only one event is on the docket for the Blue Devils in the week leading up to Easter, but it will be a key conference game as the Blue Devils head to UW-River Falls, Friday, April 14 to check out the Falcons' one-year-old softball facility. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.