Softball Preview: Eau Claire and River Falls on the docket this week

Home Games: Live Stats | Live Video | at UW-River Falls: Live Stats | Live Video  

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (15-14, 4-4 WIAC) are scheduled to host UW-Eau Claire (19-6-1, 5-2-1 WIAC), Wednesday, April 24 at 4 p.m., travel to UW-River Falls (7-19, 1-7 WIAC), Thursday, April 25, then wrap up the home season by hosting UW-Stevens Point (15-16-1, 1-6-1 WIAC), Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. and St. Olaf College (23-11, 13-5 MIAC), Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m. 


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: Lead-off hitter Mary Iliopoulos is third in  the WIAC in batting average at .411 (39-95) with nine RBI. Kyncaide Diedrich is hitting .402 (37-92) with 21 RBI. Jessica Daley is hitting .324 (23-71) with 18 RBI. Meghan Kelly is hitting .304 (28-92) with a team-high 23 RBI.  Alicia Meyer has a team-best 11 doubles, third in the WIAC.  Meyer has a team-high three sacrifice flies, getting two against New Rochelle. | 2019 Statistics

Mary Iliopoulos was selected to the 2019 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year watch list and a Fastpitch News (FPN) preseason honorable mention pick.

IN THE CIRCLE: The Blue Devils have utilized five pitchers this year, with Melea Bruns making 12 starts, Sommer Kunstmann 10, Kim Labahn five and Meghan Kelly two. Bruns is currently 5-5 overall in 17 appearances with an ERA of 2.46 and 18 strikeouts. Bruns has two saves. Kunstmann is 4-7 overall with an ERA of 4.67 over 15 appearances.  Labahn is 4-0 over 38.0 innings with an ERA of 2.95 and has completed three games. Labahn leads the team in strikeouts with 21. Kelly generally comes on in relief, and will move from first to pitcher. She has thrown 12.0 innings and has an ERA of 2.92. Madee Kleinschmidt has made three appearances and earned her first win, going 2.2 inning in relief against UW-Platteville. Kleinschmidt is posting an ERA of 1.75.

THIEVERY: Iliopoulos and Diedrich are at it again on the base paths. Diedrich is tied for the lead in the WIAC in stolen bases, with 20 thefts in 21 attempts. Iliopoulos has 13 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Iliopoulos is ranked fourth in the WIAC in steals. Iliopoulos had four steals against New Rochelle. As a team, Stout is second in the WIAC in stolen bases with 54. With a combined 33 stolen bases, the duo has stolen more bases than five teams in the WIAC. Diedrich is currently 25th in the NCAA Division III in stolen bases, averaging 0.77 stolen bases per game. Freshman Jessica Christiansen has stolen six bases in eight attempts. Meghan Kelly has stolen five bases in five attempts. Kate Horn has stolen four bases in four attempts.


LAST SEASON: UW-Stout's 23 victories during the 2018 campaign were the most in head coach Becky Iaccino's three seasons and highest total since 27 wins in 2014. Mary Iliopoulos led the WIAC in batting average, posting a school and conference record-tying average of .500. She also topped the league with a .538 on-base percentage, 49 hits and 35 runs scored, while finishing third with a .673 slugging percentage and 23 stolen bases. Kyncaide Diedrich had a team-high 23 RBI and three home runs, and placed second with a .412 batting average and 25 runs scored. Melea Bruns, a 2018 All-WIAC honorable mention selection, is the top returnee on the mound after posting a 2.83 earned run average and six wins in 64.1 innings pitched a season ago. The Blue Devils were 23-12 overall and 9-5 in league play. The Blue Devils advanced to the WIAC tournament, finishing one game short of the conference tournament title game. | 2018 Statistics

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: Stout was on both ends of 2-1 decisions April 20 splitting a conference doubleheader at UW-La Crosse, losing the first game 2-1, but coming back for a 2-1 win in the nightcap. After a heartbreaking first game, bottom of the seventh loss, the Blue Devils pulled it back together and got all of the runs they would need in the top of the first inning. Mary Iliopoulos opened the game by beating out an infield single, moved to second on Kyncaide Diedrich's groundout, then blazed home on Megan Kelly's rightfield double.  Alicia Meyer traded spots with Kelly when she hit her team-leading 11th double to score Kelly and Stout led 2-0. Melea Bruns held the Eagles in check with three hits, allowing only one run in the third inning. Bruns put the Eagles down in order in the final two innings.  | La Crosse Game Story and Statistics

GRAND APPEARANCE: Kyncaide Diedrich hit her first career grand slam when she drove the first pitch in the fifth inning to end the game on the eight run rule in an 11-3 win over Minnesota-Morris, March 24, 2019, in Clermont, Fla.... Katelyn Schobert hit not only her first collegiate grand slam last season, 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)
Kyncaide Diedrich vs. UM-Morris, March 24, 2019
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


UW-EAU CLAIRE: UW-Eau Claire has 11 regular-season championships in its trophy case and posted at least 21 victories in 15 consecutive seasons. The top-five hitters are back from a year ago, including Katie Rongstad, who led the team with a .345 batting average and .451 on-base percentage. Gretchen Arneson and Abbey Place each contributed a .321 batting average with Arneson leading the squad with 10 doubles, 20 RBI and a .519 slugging percentage. Sarah Peka had a team-best 11 victories, 113.1 innings pitched and 53 strikeouts. The Blugolds' top-five hitters are back from a year ago, including Katie Rongstad, who led the team with a .345 batting average and .451 on-base percentage. Gretchen Arneson and Abbey Place each contributed a .321 batting average with Arneson leading the squad with 10 doubles, 20 RBI and a .519 slugging percentage. Sarah Peka had a team-best 11 victories, 113.1 innings pitched and 53 strikeouts. Place has moved to the top of the Blugolds' stat sheet, hitting .402 (33-820 with 15 RBI and 10 doubles. Rongstad is hitting .375 (24-64) with 14 RBI and has 20 stolen bases. Freshman Meghan Witt is hitting .389 (21-54) with 16 RBI. In the circle, Peka has picked up where she left off last year, and then some. Peka has a 9-3 overall record with an ERA of 1.17, making 13 starts and striking out 34. Cheyenne Johnson has an overall record of 4-2 in seven starts with 26 strikeouts, while posting a 1.80 ERA.  | 2019 Statistics

BLUGOLDS LAST TIME OUT: The Blugolds split with Platteville Saturday at home, winning the first 2-1 in eight inning, but falling 1-0 in the nightcap. |UW-Eau Claire Schedule

LAST TIME STOUT AND EAU CLAIRE MET: The teams split during the regular season, with Eau Claire winning the opener, 4-0, but Stout came back for a 7-3 nightcap win, April 25, 2018. The Blue Devils eliminated the Blugolds with a 4-3 win in the WIAC Tournament. | Game Story and Statistics | WIAC Tournament Game Story and Statistics

THIEVERY REDUX: This week's game could see  action on the base paths. Stout is second in the league in stolen bases with 54, while Eau Claire is third with 44. Stevens Point, Stout's opponent Saturday, leads the league with 58. Not surprisingly, today's game will feature three of the league's top base-stealers. Stout's Diedrich and Eau Claire's Rongstad lead the WIAC with 20, while Stout's Iliopoulos is fourth with 13. Eau Claire has 14 players who have stolen at least one base this season, while Stout has nine players. For Stout, Jessica Christianson has six stolen bases, Kelly five and Kate Horn four. For the Pointers, Maddie Candre is third with 17 and UW-River Falls' Kaia Dorn is fifth with 11.  The Pointers have 14 players who have stolen at least one base. Lauren Luedtke has eight stolen bases for the Pointers, Morgan has six and Sammy Buerger and Rachel Wakefield each have five.


UW-RIVER FALLS: Kaia Dorn leads the Falcons in average, hitting .386 (32-83) with 11 RBI. Hannah Theobald is hitting .356with 13 RBI. Kaia Dorn is hitting .359 with 14  RBI. Dorn has three home runs and Theobald two. Molly Kaspar has driven in a team-best 17 RBI. Hannah Stegeman and Payton Speckel have combined to start 23 of the teams' 26 games. Stegeman is 2-6 with 13 appearances, while Speckel is 2-11 in a team-best 18 appearances. Speckel has 36 strikeouts, while Stegeman has 23. Corrine Roe has made the Falcons other three starts and is 2-2 overall with 15 strikeouts.   Last season, UW-River Falls' Kaia Dorn had a team-best .396 batting average, .441 on-base percentage and 11 stolen bases a season ago, while Molly Kaspar contributed a team-high 31 RBI. Noelle Senour had a team-high .675 slugging percentage and 10 home runs, and shared the RBI honor with Kaspar. Head coach Amber Dohlman entered the 2019 campaign needing one victory to reach 100 in her career. | 2019 Statistics

FALCONS LAST TIME OUT: The Falcons split a pair of one run games with UW-Stevens Point, April 20, winning the first 1-0, but dropping the second, 4-3. | UW-Stevens Point Game Story and Statistics  | UW-Eau Claire Game Story and Statistics

LAST TIME STOUT AND RIVER FALLS MET: UW-Stout used big innings in both games on their way to a 5-1, 9-3, WIAC sweep over UW-River Falls April 24, 2018m at Alumni Field. The two wins moves Stout into sole possession of second place in the WIAC and was the Blue Devils' fifth and sixth consecutive wins. Freshman Meghan Kelly hit a pinch hit two-run single in the opener as Stout garnered four runs in the inning by sending 10 batters to the plate. Katelyn Schobert drove in a run in the inning, as did Sommer Kunstmann. Senior Beth Wood picked up her ninth win of the season, going the distance, striking out five and scattering five hits in the complete game effort. The Falcons broke up Wood's shutout bid with a run in the sixth inning. Trailing 2-0 entering the bottom of the second of the nightcap, Stout sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning to take a 5-2 lead. The Blue Devils added three more runs in the third inning. Senior Kaylee Francois, Mary Illiopoulos, Wood, and Renee Murphy each drove in a run. | Game Story and Statistics 


NFCA RANKINGS: The Blue Devils are scheduled to play five teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 in the NFCA Coaches Poll. In the April 16 poll, St. Thomas is ranked 11th, MIT 13th, Luther College 17th and UW-Eau Claire 22nd. Stout has played several teams that were ranked at some point during the season including: SUNY-Geneso, Calvin College, UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh and Tufts University.  | NFCA Top 25 poll

WIAC PRESEASON POLL: The Blue Devils were selected to finish fourth, according to a WIAC preseason poll. Two-time defending champion UW-Whitewater was picked to repeat, followed by UW-Oshkosh, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stout, UW-River Falls, UW-Platteville, UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point.

LEADERSHIP TEAM: The members of the 2019 leadership team include Alicia Meyer, Katelyn Schobert, Renee Murphy, Melea Bruns and Mary Iliopoulos

COACHES: Blue Devil coach Becky Iaccino (73-71 Stout / 91-89 overall) is in her fourth 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.  UW-RIVER FALLS: Amber Dohlman is in her third year with the Falcons. UW-EAU CLAIRE: Leslie Huntington enters her 17th season in 2018 as Eau Claire's head softball coach. She is the Blugolds' all-time winningest coach and earned her 400th career win on March 20, 2016. UW-STEVENS POINT: Ryan Konitzer is in his first year as the Pointer head coach. Konitzer comes to Stevens Point from Alverno College where he led the Inferno to a school record in sacrifice hits and stolen bases in 2017. He won 13 games, including six in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play in his lone season at Alverno.


AWARDS AND HONORS: 2019: Kyncaide Diedrich was named the WIAC position player of the week, April 9, after driving in six runs in a conference-opening, doubleheader sweep of UW-Platteville...Melea Bruns was named the WIAC pitcher of the week, April 2, after making four appearances in the last week of the Blue Devils' spring break trip...Meghan Kelly earned WIAC player of the week honors after the Blue Devils went 3-0 at the Luther College Dome Games...Mary Iliopoulos was selected to the 2019 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year watch list and a Fastpitch News (FPN) preseason honorable mention pick...2018: Mary Iliopoulos earned FPN honorable mention All-America honors, All-District honors by the NFCA and was a first team All-WIAC selection. Kyncaide Diedrich was an All-District selection. Beth Wood earned first team All-WIAC honors and Melea Bruns, Alicia Meyer and Rachel Hasting were honorable mention picks. 


ON DECK: The Blue Devils are scheduled to host UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday, April 24, travel to the University of Northwestern, Thursday, April 25, then return home to host UW-Stevens Point, Saturday, April 27 and conclude the home season Sunday, April 28 by hosting St. Olaf College.