Baseball Preview: La Crosse game moved to Mauston

Home: Live Stats | Live Video |

LA CROSSE AT STOUT POSTPONED: The UW-La Crosse at UW-Stout conference baseball doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday, April 23 has been postponed to Wednesday, April 24 and will be played at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. The rain that moved through Menomonie Monday made field conditions unplayable. 

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (13-12, 8-10 WIAC) are scheduled to host UW-La Crosse (16-10, 11-3 WIAC), Wednesday, April 24  at 1 p.m., host Macalester College (15-14, 7-7 MIAC), Thursday, April 25, UW-Stevens Point (14-14, 6-8 WIAC), Saturday, April 27 and Stevens Point again Sunday, April 28. 

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.


BLUE DEVIL OFFENSE: Junior first baseman Kasey Bass has been leading the Blue Devils in hitting for most of the season and is hitting .396, going 36-of-91 with a a team-high 21 RBI. His batting average is second in the WIAC. Bass hit his team-best third home run of the year when he unloaded in the first inning against UW-La Crosse last Tuesday. Bass has punched out 12 doubles, a mark that is 33rd in the NCAA DIII, third in the WIAC, and, coupled with his three home runs, has a slugging percentage of .626. Bass has also drawn a team-high 12 walks. Jordan Wilson is fifth in the WIAC in batting averaging, going 40-of-105 (.381) with 10 doubles, a triple and a home run. Joel Thimsen has worked his way into the lineup, either as the designated hitter or at third base and is averaging .356 (21-59) with four doubles and 12 RBI.  In limited action, Hunter Merrill, who was injured early in the season, is hitting .375 over 11 games played. The sophomore has 15 hits in 40 at-bats.  Jared Jarvensivu hit his first collegiate home run and currently has two home runs.  | 2019 Statistics

BLUE DEVIL PITCHING: Jack Donahue (3-3) leads the team in innings pitched with 44.1 innings. The senior has started seven games and has 27 strikeouts, second on the team to Brad Rindfleisch (3-2) who has 42. Rindfleisch has made six starts and has thrown 31.1 innings. Casey Ryan has been moving up in the rotation and posted consecutive wins in his first two starts last week, earning a 7-3 win over UW-La Crosse and a 10-3 win over UW-Oshkosh. Previous to his two starts, Ryan had made 17 appearances over his career, all out of the bullpen. Aaron Plotsky (2-3) has made five starts and has 21 strikeouts. Cody Urban (2-2) has made three starts and has 15 strikeouts. Jace Baumann (1-0) has tossed 10.1 innings, all in relief, and has registered 12 Ks, five more than his entire 2018 total of seven when he made seven appearances with 13.2 innings pitched. Baumann earned his first career win in a 2-1 win over UW-Platteville. Bauman has yet to allow an earned run.  Brandon Bohl has made six appearances, and the sophomore has thrown 11.0 innings with 11 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.82, to go along with one save.  The Blue Devils have utilized 14 pitchers so far this season. Blue Devil pitchers have recorded 162 strikeouts after 25 games, more than two-thirds of all of last year's 196 total strikeouts. Blue Devil pitchers racked up 42 strikeouts over Finlandia. 

UW-STOUT LAST TIME OUT:What a difference a day makes - and a change in location. A day after getting swept by UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout turned the tables by sweeping the Titans, 10-3, 6-1, April 20 at Tiedemann Field. A day earlier, the teams met at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston and Oshkosh took a 5-4 come-from-behind win in the first game and a seven inning 12-2 win. The Blue Devils didn't let anything close to that happen today, pounding Oshkosh (15-16, 8-10 WIAC) pitchers for a combined 31 hits, clubbing 16 in the opener and keeping up the offensive out with 15 in the second.  Stout has not swept a single day doubleheader over the Titans since April 17, 2014, with 10-0, 6-2 wins. The Blue Devils have not swept the Titans in Oshkosh since May 5, 2006, winning 15-9, 16-5.  |  UW-Oshkosh Game Story and Stats

BLUE DEVIL SEASON PREVIEW: UW-Stout's seven WIAC wins a year ago were the most since accumulating 10 victories during the 2014 campaign. The Blue Devils bring back eight starting position players from last season's group, including Jordan Wilson, who led the squad with a .327 batting average, 12 doubles, 34 RBI and 23 runs scored. Jack Donahue had a team-high 60.0 innings pitched, while Brad Rindfleisch was second with a 2.91 earned run average and 33 strikeouts. Stout will return starters at every position except right field. Six seniors - all-conference outfielder Jordan Wilson, catcher Tim Bott, infielder Jared Jarvensivu and pitchers Brad Rindfleisch, Casey Ryan and Jack Donahue - provide a solid group of leaders. | Complete Season Preview



WIAC PRESEASON POLL: UW-Stout is picked to finish fifth in the WIAC, according to a preseason poll conducted by the conference. UW-Whitewater was picked to win the conference, followed by UW-Oshkosh, UW-La Crosse, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, UW-Platteville and WIAC newcomer Finlandia University. | Complete WIAC Preview

JARVI GOES YARD: Coming into the season, UW-Stout senior captain Jared Jarvensivu had not hit a collegiate home run. Now, Jarvensivu is tied for the team lead in home runs with two, launched his first collegiate home run when he led off the third inning and sent the ball over the left field fence against Millikin University, March 25, then hit his second round-tripper against Finlandia University, April 6. 

OVER THE FENCE: Jarvensivu is not the only Blue Devil to clear the fence. Coming into this, the Blue Devils have 10 total home runs, only one short of last year's totals. Kasey Bass leads the way with three home runs, followed by Jarvensivu and Jordan Wilson, with two each. Reid Akerman, Joel Thimsen and Alex Jinkins each have a single round-tripper. 



UW-LA CROSSE: The Eagles are coming off a split with top-ranked Concordia-Chicago, April 18. Carson Youngquist is posting the team's best batting average, .361 going 26-of-72 with 22 RBI. Brennan Schmitt has an average of .352 (32-91), driving in a team-best 26 RBI, Mitch Sutton is hitting .347 (34-98) with 17 RBI. Three-time first team all-WIAC shortstop Nate Heili has 25 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He is posting an average of .342 (38-111). Tommy Nelson is hitting .346 (9-26). 

UW-La Crosse has 14 league titles and welcomes back seven starting position players, including Nate Heili, who could become just the second four-time All-WIAC first team selection in program history, joining Jeff Hertel (1991-94). Heili led the 2018 squad with a .432 on-base percentage, 52 hits, 39 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, five home runs and 36 RBI. Mitch Sutton had a team-best .337 batting average and .505 slugging percentage. Also returning are four starting pitchers, including Caleb Willems, who posted a 2.55 earned run average and four saves, while Mason McMahon racked up a conference-best 107 strikeouts in a team-high 67.1 innings pitched.  | 2019 Statistics

LA CROSSE LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles split with top-ranked Concordia-Chicago, April 18, and their 10-0 win over the Cougars came with a splash when Connor Cook tossed a seven-inning no-hitter, the seventh no-hitter in school history, and ended the Cougars winning streak at 24 games. Cook went 7.0 innings, allowing one walk while striking out eight. He faced two batters over the minimum. UWL totaled 13 hits in the nightcap with Heili, Schmitt, Youngquist, Coker and McClellan each finishing with two. Two Concordia pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout in Thursday's opener, a 3-0 win for Concordia. | Game Story and Statistics

LAST TIME STOUT AND LA CROSSE MET: Just one day after not scoring a run in a couple of rough losses at UW-Whitewater, the Blue Devils found their offense in game one against second place UW-La Crosse, scoring two runs in the first inning on a two-run home run by Kasey Bass on their way to a 7-3 first game win over the Eagles. Bass drove in two more runs in the second inning and finished the game with four RBI. In game two, Stout stranded 10 runners and did not cross home plate in a 9-0 loss to the Eagles. The win gave the Blue Devils one more win than all of last year with 15 games still on the schedule.  |  La Crosse Game Story and Stats


MACALESTER COLLEGE: The Scots saw their winning streak end at five games with a split at the hands of Bethel University Tuesday. The Scots won game one, but fell in the nightcap. Senior Graham Low is hitting .488, going 42-of-86 with 21 runs scored and 19 RBI. With 11 doubles, two triples and two home runs, Low has a slugging percentage of .733. Sam Goldberg has matched Low with a team-high 19 RBI and Jared Abelson has 10 stolen bases. Michael Moreno has 18 RBI and Sereno Roe 15. Roe has slashed out six home runs. Will Madairy has recorded 38 strikeouts and has a 4-1 record. Mathew Plisko has 30 strikeouts, Alex Denzler 25 and Thomas Shogran 24. Will Moscato has 16 strikeouts, all in relief.  |  2019 Statistics

MACALESTER LAST TIME OUT: Macalester played two exciting games against Bethel University in a MIAC doubleheader, winning the first game 6-5 before falling in Game 2, 4-3 Tuesday. The Scots jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game one, only to fall back 4-3 in the sixth inning. Senior Graham Low hit a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth. The Royals scored a run in the top of the seventh and loaded the bases with one out, but junior pitcher Matthew Plisko struck out the final two batters to close out the win and earn his first save of the season. In the second game, Low hit an RBI triple to give the Scots an early lead, but the Royals took a 4-1 lead in the fifth. Jared Abelson accounted for the Scots' final two runs, a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a solo home run in the seventh.  |  Game Story and Statistics

LAST TIME STOUT AND MACALESTER MET: The Blue Devils closed out the 2016 season by hosting Macalester and split the day, with the visitors winning the first, 3-1, and Stout winning the nightcap, 6-2. In game one, now Macalester senior Graham Low was 3-for-3 with two RBI, including the eventual game-winning RBI. Low was 2-for3 in game two. Stout's Brady Burzynski stole a base in game two to run his career totals to a school-best 48 thefts. | Game Story and Statistics


2019 TEAM CAPTAINS: Team captains for the 2019 season are seniors Jared Jarvensivu, Jordan Wilson, Jack Donahue and junior Ben Vanhove. Jarvensivu and Wilson are team captains for the second consecutive year..

AWARDS AND HONORS: 2019: Casey Ryan was selected the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week April 22 after pitching consecutive wins over UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh...Kasey Bass was selected as the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week after hitting .615 over four games against Finlandia University...Jordan Wilson was selected as the WIAC athlete of the week after driving in six runs in a sweep over Principia College...2018: Jordan Wilson was a first team all-WIAC selection. Brad Rindfleisch, Kasey Bass, Jon Krueger, and Ben Vanhove were honorable mention selections...Jordan Wilson was the WIAC athlete of the week after his performance against UW-Platteville to close out the season...Brad Rindfleisch was selected the UW-Stout/Toppers Pizza Athlete of the Week, April 17, after throwing eight innings and allowing only one run in an eventual 14-inning loss to UW-Stevens Point, April 11.


COACHES: Ben Kincaid (33-66) is in his third year as the Blue Devils' head coach, following two years as a Blue Devil assistant coach where he worked primarily with the pitchers. Kincaid played collegiately at at Minnesota State University-Mankato, where he was a four year letter winner, playing in 149 games. He finished with a .339 batting average, 38 doubles (5th on MSU's career list), six home runs and 140 runs batted in (6th on MSU's career list). As a righthanded pitcher he sported a 14-8 record with a 3.45 earned run average and had 148 strikeouts in 172 innings pitched. Kincaid was named to the All-Central Region team three times in his career. An Eau Claire native, Kincaide played for the local Eau Claire Express.  UW-La Crosse: Chris Schwarz  (344-251-1) is in his 15th season as head baseball coach at UW-La Crosse in 2018-19. He led the Eagles to their third straight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Midwest Regional Championship game in 2017. UWL finished 31-19 overall in 2017, marking its fourth 30-win season in school history, including third straight. The Eagles made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in 2015 and 2016. UWL made its first ever appearance in the NCAA III Championship in 2015 in Appleton, Wisconsin, advancing to the best-of-three championship series and a runner-up national finish. The Eagles finished third in the final 2015 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball and D3baseball.com Polls. UWL made its second straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in 2016. The Eagles were fourth in the final 2016 ABCA/Collegiate Baseball and D3baseball.com Polls. The Eagles made their fifth appearance in the last six years in the NCAA Division III Championship in 2017. MACALESTER: Matt Parrington is in his 20th season as head baseball coach at Macalester College. Last season he recorded his 300th victory at Macalester while leading the Scots to back-to-back MIAC Playoff appearances for the first time in the program's history. Parrington has 319 career victories at Macalester and is the program's winningest coach. Parrington's squad went 21-17 overall in 2018 and tied for fifth in the MIAC with a record of 11-9. The finish put the Scots in the MIAC Playoffs for the second straight season.MACALESTER: 

2018 BLUE DEVILS: Stout finished the 2018 season at 10-27 overall, 7-16 in the WIAC. | 2018 Statistics

DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils are scheduled to close out the season when they travel to Hamline University, Monday, April 29, then will host St. Thomas, Thursday, May 2 in the regular season finale. The WIAC Championship is scheduled for May 10-12.