Softball Preview: Blue Devils to open at home in Williams Stadium

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: Weather and field conditions have play havoc with the schedule this last week. The Blue Devils (12-5, 0-2 WIAC) had games with St. Olaf and UW-Oshkosh postponed this week, but are scheduled to open the home portion of the schedule Saturday, April 21 when they host UW-La Crosse (13-9, 2-0 WIAC) at 1 p.m. and Sunday, April 22 to host UW-Platteville (13-9, 0-2 WIAC), Sunday, April 22 at noon. Saturday is Alumni Day, in conjunction with the Blue Devils' Hall of Fame banquet, and Blue Devil softball standout Suzanne (Brion) Crotteau will be inducted. Both games are scheduled to be played in Don & Nona Williams Stadium.

PARKING: Parking for home baseball and softball games during the business week is limited. Regular parking restrictions are strictly enforced. Parking for baseball and softball spectators during weekday games is restricted to on-street parking and in Lot 29 one hour before the scheduled start of the event. Lot 29 is located just to the north of the outdoor track. DO NOT PARK in Lot 4 during the week. Lot 4 is the parking lot located to the west of the Sports & Fitness Center and north of Don & Nona Williams Stadium (the football stadium). Lot 4 is only open to the general public from 1 p.m. on Fridays until 9 p.m. on Sundays. There is no general parking in Lot 4 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays and not until 1 pm on Fridays. Team bus may park in the southeast space in Lot 4 (Emergency Vehicle Only space). Team buses may also park on the east side (outdoor track side - not the metered side) of 3rd Street East. Parking is permitted in all university lots on weekends.

UW-STOUT: The Blue Devils have been hitting the ball well this season, posting a team batting average of .357, second in the WIAC, and a slugging percentage of .543, with 40 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs. Four everyday players are hitting .400 or better and eight are hitting .300 or better. Mary Iliopoulos is leading the NCAA Division III in average, hitting at a.657 clip (23-35). Iliopoulos, batting primarily out of the ninth spot, has a hefty 1.000 slugging percentage with four doubles, a triple and two home runs, ranking fifth nationally. Drawing seven walks and only one strikeout, Iliopoulos has an on-base percentage of .714, tops in Division III. Kyncaide Diedrich is hitting .447 (21-47) with a double and two home runs for a slugging percentage of .653, and leads the team in RBI with 17.  The duo has combined for 34 of Stout's 56 stolen bases, with Diedrich second in the league and fifth in the NCAA with 19 (1.29/g). Iliopoulos has 15 stolen bases, ranking third in the league and 18th in DIII. Senior Beth Wood is hitting .429 (21-49) and is tied for second in the WIAC in doubles (9). Freshman Renee Murphy is hitting .400 (16-40) and shares the team lead with Sommer Kunstmann in home runs with three. Wood has made nine starts in the pitching circle for 50.2 innings pitched, leading the team in strikeouts with 31 and has a 5-1 record. Freshman Melea Bruns has started six games, is 3-3 overall and has 13 strikeouts. Kunstmann is fifth in the WIAC in ERA (2.49) and has a record of 2-1. Meghan Kelly has a team-best 2.17 ERA and is 2-0 over 9.2 innings pitched.

NATIONALLY RANKED: Mary Iliopoulos is ranked first nationally in batting average, and fifth in slugging percentage. Kyncaide Diedrich is ranked third nationally in stolen bases (1.29/game). Iliopoulos has an eight-game active hitting streak, and has been kept off the base paths only once this season. She has collected four doubles, a triple and two home runs for 35 bases, generally batting out of the ninth spot.  Diedrich had an 11-game hitting streak broken in the second game against UW-Whitewater, the only time this season she did not make it safely on base at least once.  Iliopoulos is ranked 18th nationally in stolen bases (0.94/game). Iliopoulos stole four bases, one short of the school record, against Mount St. Joseph.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: It was a chilly day in Whitewater, April 8, and it turned out to be a chilly day in the win column for UW-Stout as UW-Whitewater swept the Blue Devils, 10-5, 9-1, in a conference opening doubleheader at Van Steenderen Complex. The Warhawks scored six runs, aided by three Blue Devil errors, in the sixth inning of the first game to overcome a one run Stout (12-5, 0-2 WIAC) lead, then used three big innings in the nightcap for the five inning win. The second game looked bright for the Blue Devils, opening the game with the first run when Rachel Thomas scored on Wood's single to left center field. But the Warhawks scored three runs, powered by a two-run home run by Mallory Klotz, on four hits in the bottom of the first. Neither team scored until the fourth inning when Whitewater put up four runs on four hits and two Stout errors. A lead-off home run by Vera Pflugradt and an RBI double ty Rux ended the game in the fifth inning on the 8-run rule. 

THIEVERY AT ITS BEST: Kyncaide Diedrich has stolen 19 bases in 20 attempts this season, as many bases as all of last year.

DOUBLE SACRIFICE: When Rachel Thomas recorded two sacrifice flies in a 2-0 win over Lake Forest College, March 31, she joined a select group of Division III softball players. Hitting two sacrifice flies in a single game is not overly rare, but the NCAA does not keep the stat, nor does the WIAC. What is rare is to score the only two runs of the game in accomplishing the feat. Most games in an informal poll of Division III schools where two sacrifice flies were hit by the same player were in lopsided wins. It appears as if Thomas is the first UW-Stout player to do rap out to sac flies in a single game.

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



UW-LA CROSSE: The Eagles have been off since April 5, even longer than the Blue Devils, who played on April 8, albeit in windy, cold temperatures. Mia Schmidtke is second in the WIAC in RBI with 24, and is posting a batting average of .377, with a slugging percentage of .705 on five doubles and a league runner-up five home runs.Brittany Baldwin is hitting .392 (29-74) and has been successful in all 11 stolen base attempts. Haley Radewan has 14 RBI with four home runs and Grace Midnrup has 13 RBI with three home runs. Both Stout and La Crosse have 14 home runs, second only to UW-River Falls' 20. The Eagles have utilized four pitchers with Caitlyn Hughes and Maddie Muelken getting the majority of the starts. Hughes (3.38 ERA) is 5-5 overall with 45 strikeouts over 56.0 innings pitched, while Muelken (2.37) is 5-1 with 15 strikeouts over 44.1 innings.  UW-La Crosse's 30 wins a season ago marked the third time in program history it had at least 30 victories. The Eagles bring back 12 letterwinners from that squad, which also made the fifth NCAA appearance in school archives. Brittany Baldwin finished second in the conference with a .497 on-base percentage and 35 stolen bases, and third with a .420 batting average. On the mound, Caitlyn Hughes had a team-best 67 strikeouts, while Katie Klein recorded a league-best 10 saves in 2017 – the second-highest single-season total in WIAC history. Hughes was the WIAC Pitcher of the Year in 2016. 

EAGLES LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles have not been able to play since April 5 when they swept Augustana College (Ill.). UWL's eight-game winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest in single-season school history. The Eagles won a school record 21 straight games in 2010. The Eagles had nine hits in the opener and 14 in the second game. The Eagles played 14 games during their spring break trip to Arizona in March. 

LAST TIME STOUT AND LA CROSSE MET: UW-Stout simply did not want the season to end. After a come-from-behind 2-1 win over UW-Oshkosh on the second day of the WIAC Softball Championship, the Blue Devils found themselves down 8-0 in the fifth inning to UW-La Crosse, facing elimination on the eight-run rule. Stout extended the game into the sixth inning with a run, but La Crosse came back in the top of the sixth to stretch the lead again to eight runs, 9-1, but the Blue Devils answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning to head into the seventh inning, trailing 9-2. But the magic was gone and the Blue Devils went down in order in the seventh, and the season came to a close in a semi-final conference game. During regular season play, UW-Stout took advantage of several UW-La Crosse miscues to win the conference opener, 4-1, but the Eagles held off the Blue Devils 3-2 in the second game to claim a split April 22, 2017, at the North Campus Field in La Crosse. 


UW-PLATTEVILLE: In statistics before Saturday's game at UW-River Falls - Abby Jaques leads the team in average, hitting .378 (31-82). Rachel Martin has driven home 19 runners and is tied with Jessy Tanel in home runs with three each. Martin has an average of .329 (23-70) and Tanel .343 (23-67).  Ashton Hoeppner has started 14 games, pitching three shutouts and has a league-best 104 strikeouts. With a 2.69 ERA, Hoeppner has an 8-7 overall record in 96.1 innings pitched, again, tops in the league. Abby Burns (3.25 ERA) has started six games and Michaela Ward (2.33) four. UW-Platteville's 11 overall wins a year ago represented a seven-game improvement from the 2016 campaign, while its four WIAC victories were the most since the 2014 squad had five. Jessy Tanel posted a team-best .374 batting average, .566 slugging percentage, .466 on-base percentage, 37 hits and three home runs.

PIONEERS LAST TIME OUT: Being in the southern part of the state, the Pioneers have been able to get eight games in during the month of April. Platteville had won four straight games before running into UW-Whitewater, dropping a pair of one run games, 1-0, 4-3, to the Warhawks Tuesday. The Pioneers are scheduled to be at UW-River Falls, Saturday, April 21. | UW-River Falls Game Story and Statistics

LAST TIME STOUT AND PLATTEVILLE MET: After giving up a 6-2 decision to UW-Platteville in the first game, UW-Stout bounced nicely to control the second game offensively and defensively to down the Pioneers, 9-1, in six innings April 23, 2017. The Blue Devils took off from the get-go in the second game. Rachel Thomas led off the game with a single up the middle and, after Katelyn Schobert reached base after being hit by a pitch, came home on a single up the middle by Beth Wood. Stout would not slow down, scoring in five of the six innings.




NFCA RANKINGS: All of the WIAC have dropped out of the NFCA Division III poll. UW-River Falls is receiving votes.  Currently ranked teams that Stout will meet or has met this year include: St. Thomas, 8th; Luther College, 9th.

BLUE DEVILS LAST SEASON: The Blue Devils were 18-24 overall and 5-9 in league play. The Blue Devils advanced to the WIAC tournament, finishing one game short of the conference tournament title game.

TEAM CAPTAINS: The 2018 team captains are seniors Rachel Thomas and Beth Wood and junior Kaylee Francois.

AWARDS AND HONORS: Kyncaide Diedrich was the Fastpitch News Division III national player of the week, March 21, after the Blue Devils' trip to Florida, stealing 17 bases and batting .559 with 17 RBI...Mary Iliopoulos was the WIAC athlete of the week and the UW-Stout/Toppers athlete of the week selection March 20 after batting .692 in Florida...Mary Iliopoulos was the WIAC athlete of the week Feb. 27 after going 4-of-4 in two games of the opening week...2017: Kaylee Francois was a first team all-WIAC selection, and Beth Wood, McKayla Brunner, Kyncaide Diedrich and Rachel Thomas were honorable mention selections...Kaylee Francois was selected the UW-Stout/DigiCopy Athlete of the Week April 12...Pitcher/infielder Beth Wood and catcher/outfielder Rachel Thomas were 2016 all-WIAC honorable mention selections..


COACHES: Blue Devil coach Becky Iaccino (65-68 overall / 47-50 at UW-Stout) is in her third 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. ST. OLAF COLLEGE: Kayla Hatting was named head softball coach at St. Olaf June 10, 2016. Hatting spent the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant at Division II Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D. She coached catchers and outfielders, helping the Vikings to a NCAA super regional appearance in 2015 as Augustana posted a 53-11 record, including a 28-2 mark in league play. In 2016, Augustana was 35-19 and 21-8 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  UW-LA CROSSE: Chris Helixon begins his 13th season at UW-La Crosse.   The Menomonie native has led the Eagles to four appearances in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Tournament in the last nine years.  UWL hosted an NCAA Division III Regional for the first in school history in 2017, going 2-2.  The Eagles finished 30-16 overall and 10-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in 2017, recording its 10th straight year of at least 20 overall victories.  UWL's 30 victories are third-most in single-season school history. UW-PLATTEVILLE: Andie Varsho enters her second year as head coach of the Pioneers. Last season the Pioneer Softball team made huge strides as Varsho lead them to 11 wins.  She not only almost tripled their number in the wins column, but the Pioneers under her leadership garnered 4 members receiving WIAC honors. Placing sixth in the WIAC conference including a sweep over UW-River Falls was a great start to Varsho's first year in the WIAC.

GRAND APPEARANCE: Katelyn Schobert hit not only her first collegiate grand slam, but her first collegiate home run with a bases-loaded round tripper against Westfield State College, March 16, 2018, in Clermont, Fla. 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 (Since 2013)
Katelyn Schobert vs. Westfield State College, March 16, 2018
Alicia Meyer vs. the College of Mount St. Vincent, March 14, 2017
Alison Gray vs. St. Olaf College, March 8, 2013

ON DECK: The Blue Devils are scheduled to host UW-River Falls, Tuesday, April 24 at 4 p.m., then head to UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday, April 25 for a 4 p.m. meeting at Bollinger Park beginning at 4 p.m. The Blue Devils are scheduled to go to UW-Oshkosh, Friday, April 27, then travel to UW-Stevens Point, Saturday, April 28 and to St. Thomas, Sunday, April 29.