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THIS WEEK'S GAMES: UW-Stout (0-0, 0-0 WIAC) will open the 2021 season this weekend when they meet UW-Platteville (0-0, 0-0 WIAC) in a non-conference doubleheader, Saturday, March 20 starting at 1 p.m. in Waupun. It will have been 391 days since the Blue Devils last played Feb. 23, 2020 before the pandemic shut down the 2020 spring season. Stout was 2-1 last season. The Pioneers last played March 8, 2020 and were 3-3 in the shortened season. Spectators will not be allowed at the game in Waupun.
Stout and Platteville last faced each other during the 2019 season and the Pioneers took four of the five meetings, including a 5-2 decision in the WIAC Championship tournament.
The schedule for each of the teams in the WIAC in 2021 includes 28 conference games, as well as a "non-conference schedule" consisting of contests against only WIAC schools. The league has been separated into divisions, with Stout, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Platteville in the West Division and UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point and Finlandia in the East Division. The teams will play the schools in the same division in four doubleheaders, with two of the doubleheaders serving as non-conference contests. Two doubleheaders will serve as conference contests. The conference tournament has been expanded to six teams with the No. 3 thru No. 6 seeds participating in "play-in" games at the site of the higher seed on May 19. The winners of the single-elimination contests will join the No. 1 seed and No. 2 seed at the double-elimination finals in Whitewater May 21-22.
A LOOK AT UW-STOUT: Much of the UW-Stout baseball team returns from 2020. The Blue Devils return the vast majority of their pitching staff, almost their entire infield and their catchers.
OUTFIELD: The outfield is Stout's biggest question mark heading into this weekend's games with UW-Platteville.
Dan Deis returns at center field after starting all three games last year and 20 of the 23 games he played in 2019.
Hunter Merrill will move from the catcher's spot to right field, and fifth-year Blue Devil head coach
Ben Kincaid said that Merrill is deceptively fast. Merrill will get the green light on the base paths when the situation is right, Kincaid said. While two spots appear to be locked down in the outfield, the left field position is up for grabs between
Jack Schirpke, Riley Bouschak,
Nolan Harke and
Reese Vold.
INFIELD: First baseman
Kasey Bass earned first team all-conference and all-region honors in 2019 and returns at the spot he has held down the last three years. Bass is a .340 career hitter who chased the school single season record for doubles in 2019 and has 50 career RBIs, 31 of them coming in 2019. "Kasey has been a leader for us and can hit for power and for average," Kincaid said. Bass is steady defensively with a .984 fielding percentage.
Charlie Szykowny will hold down shortstop and
Joel Thimsen will return at third base. In only three games last year, Szykowny earned WIAC athlete of the week honors going 7-12 (.583) with three triples and a double for a slugging percentage of 1.167 and contributed four RBI. "Charlie continues to make great strides," Kincaid said. "He's always in the gym, taking ground balls and our team feeds off that." Thimsen played predominately at third base in 2019, along with a little designated hitter, posting a .340 batting average.
Levi Wilson is expected to earn his first starts as a Blue Devil, taking over at second base. Wilson saw action in one game last year, but he made the best of the opportunity showing patience at the plate, scoring three times after drawing three walks and drove in a run on a base-loaded walk.
CATCHERS: With Merrill moving to the greener pastures of the outfield,
Paul Weise and
Alex Jinkins return to handle duties behind the plate. While in only his second year at Stout, Weise was at Division II UW-Parkside his first two seasons. He started two of the three games last season. Jinkins has seen action the last two seasons after transferring to Stout from St. Cloud Technical and Community College. "It's nice to have two upperclassmen at catcher, especially with the young pitching staff we have," Kincaid said. Freshman
Justin Schnell has a bright future, Kincaid said, and three could see time as designated hitter when they aren't behind the plate.
PITCHING: Solid and steady pitching is always a key to success for a team, but this year it might be doubly so, Kincaid said. With no early games in February and no spring break trip to Florida, the schedule becomes condensed between mid-March and mid-May. "We will need more pitchers," Kincaid said. "A lot of people with throw."
Jace Baumann,
Cody Urban and
James Palmer will throw the bulk of the pitches within the rotation. Kincaid said the team is still looking for that fourth starter. Baumann worked out of the bullpen for most of his appearances in 2019, earning a 2-0 record and an ERA of 1.47 over 18.1 innings pitched, striking out 14. Urban started four games in 2019, recording 16 strikeouts over 22 innings pitched. Urban threw six innings of scoreless ball to open last season, striking out five. Palmer scattered four hits, struck out four and allowed one earned run to get a win last season.
Ethan Kjellberg and
Brock Burg are vying for the fourth starting spot in the rotation. Kjellberg picked up a save last season, working three innings against Wilmington College. Burg worked two innings against Blackburn College last season, striking out two. Seniors
Logan Hile and
Alex Mahaz will head up the bullpen. Sophomores
Bret Lecheler,
Joel Zachow,
Nick Kivi,
Connor Hemme,
Alex Foss and
Reece Lucas have a year under their belt and could contribute right away.Freshmen
Marty Kiernan,
Dak Doyle,
Trevor Miller and
Luke Kallod will get some innings.
CAPTAINS: Kasey Bass,
Hunter Merrill,
Dan Deis and
Jace Baumann will serve as 2021 team captains.
SCOUTING UW-PLATTEVILLE: The Pioneers return all-conference players center fielder Jonathon Kelso; infielder Ross Krist; and right fielder Josh Moses. In 2019, Kelso was fourth in in the WIAC in batting average at .391, with 37 RBI, 10 doubles, two triples and three home runs. Moses was eighth in the league in 2019 in batting average (.364), with 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 28 RBI. Tyler Vogel went 5-3 in 2019 with an ERA of 3.16 and 58 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched. |
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2021 UW-Stout Baseball Schedule
Date / Opponent / Time or Result
Sat, Mar. 20 / at UW-Platteville / 1 p.m.
Tues, Mar. 23 / at UW-La Crosse / 1 p.m.
Sat, Mar. 27 / UW-Eau Claire / 1 p.m.
Wed, Mar. 31 / at UW-Stevens Point* / 1 p.m.
Fri, Apr. 2 / UW-Stevens Point* / 1 p.m.
Tues, Apr. 6 / at UW-Eau Claire* / 1 p.m.
Fri, Apr. 9 / UW-Eau Claire* / 1 p.m.
Sat, Apr. 10 / at UW-Eau Claire / 2:30 p.m.
Wed, Apr. 14 / at UW-Oshkosh* / 1 p.m.
Sat, Apr. 17 / UW-Oshkosh* / 1 p.m.
Tues, Apr. 20 / UW-La Crosse* / 1 p.m.
Fri, Apr. 23 / at UW-La Crosse* / 1 p.m.
Sat, Apr. 24 / UW-La Crosse / 1 p.m.
Wed, Apr. 28 / at UW-Whitewater* / 1 p.m.
Sat, May 1 / UW-Whitewater* / 1 p.m.
Tues, May 4 / UW-Platteville* / 1 p.m.
Fri, May 7 / at UW-Platteville* / 1 p.m.
Sat, May 8 / UW-Platteville / 1 p.m.
Fri, May 14 / Finlandia University* / 1 p.m.
Sat, May 15 / Finlandia University* / 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.
COACHES: Ben Kincaid (42-72) is in his fifth year as the Blue Devils' head coach with the 2021 season, 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, Kincaid played for the local Eau Claire Express. (
Ben Kincaid was 42-72 to start 2021 season)
2019 BLUE DEVILS: Stout finished the 2019 season at 20-17 overall, 12-12 in the WIAC. Stout finished the pandemic canceled 2020 season at 2-1
DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils are scheduled to be at UW-La Crosse, Tuesday, March 23, then return home to host UW-Eau Claire, Saturday, March 27 at 1 p.m. Eau Claire returned baseball to varsity status this season for the first time since the 1995 season. Stout and Eau Claire last played May 2, 1995.
A LOOK AT THE 2021 WISCONSIN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (WIAC) TEAMS
MADISON, Wis.--After a shortened 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) baseball teams are thrilled to return to the field for the 2021 season.
The 2021 campaign welcomes UW-Eau Claire back to the conference after having its program discontinued following the 1995 season. Charles Bolden will lead the Blugolds after serving as an associate coach at Illinois Institute of Technology.
Nat Richter begins his first season at UW-Stevens Point. He was most recently an assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh and played for the Pointers from 2002-06.
The schedule for each team in 2021 includes 28 conference games, as well as a "non-conference schedule" consisting of contests against only WIAC schools. The conference tournament has been expanded to six teams with the No. 3 thru No. 6 seeds participating in "play-in" games at the site of the higher seed on May 19. The winners of the single-elimination contests will join the No. 1 seed and No. 2 seed at the double-elimination finals in Whitewater May 21-22.
In 2019, UW-Whitewater claimed the program's 19th regular-season conference championship and sixth tournament title. The Warhawks also received their 22nd NCAA bid.
Team Capsules (Entering the 2021 season)
Finlandia University (Mich.)
Head Coach: Evan Brandt; 4th season at FIN; 14-60
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 22
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 6
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 5
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 0
Returning All-WIAC: None
Notable Returning Position Players: Christian Frederick, Jr., 2B; Nik Geiser, Sr., 1B; Mike Martinez, So., OF
Notable Returning Pitchers: Tyler Hale, So., P; Nate Johnson, Sr., P
UW-Eau Claire
Head Coach: Charles Bolden; 1st season at UWEC
Letterwinners Returning: 0
Starting Position Players Returning: 0
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning: 0
Pitchers with Saves Returning: 0
Returning All-WIAC: None
Notable Returning Position Players: None
Notable Returning Pitchers: None
UW-La Crosse
Head Coach: Chris Schwarz; 17th season at UWL; 373-270-2
Letterwinners Returning: 11
Starting Position Players Returning: 6
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning: 2
Pitchers with Saves Returning: 0
Returning All-WIAC: Zach Carney, Jr., OF (2018-Honorable); Zach Pronschinske, Sr., RHP (2019-First/Pitcher of the Year); Brennan Schmitt, Sr., INF (2019-First)
Notable Returning Position Players: Shane Coker, Sr., 1B; Ethan Gerstner, Jr., C; Parker Plume, Sr., OF
Notable Returning Pitchers: Jack Mizgalski, Jr., RHP; Will Monroe, So., LHP
UW-Oshkosh
Head Coach: Kevin Tomasiewicz, 8th season at UWO; 138-112-1
Letterwinners Returning: 11
Starting Position Players Returning: 8
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning: 2
Pitchers with Saves Returning: 3
Returning All-WIAC: Hunter Staniske, Jr., 2B (2019-Honorable)
Notable Returning Position Players: Sean Cummins, Jr., OF; Kameron Dransfeldt, So., 1B; Matt Scherrman, Fr., SS
Notable Returning Pitchers: Alex Larson, Sr., RHP; Will Michalski, Jr., RHP; Harry Orth, So., RHP
UW-Platteville
Head Coach: Chad Harris; 3rd season at UWP (11th overall); 150-197 (overall) / 23-24 (UWP)
Letterwinners Returning: 22
Starting Position Players Returning: 9
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning: 5
Pitchers with Saves Returning: 3
Returning All-WIAC: Jonathon Kelso, Sr., CF (2018-Honorable, 2019-First); Ross Krist, Sr., INF (2019-Honorable); Josh Moses, Sr., RF (2017-Honorable, 2018-First, 2019-First)
Notable Returning Position Players: Ryan Vogel, Jr., 1B; Jason Adams, So., OF; Logan Kozak, Sr., C
Notable Returning Pitchers: Sam Hernandez, So., RHP; Michael Greco, Jr., LHP; Sam Peters, Sr., RHP
UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach: Nat Richter; 1st season at UWSP
Letterwinners Returning:
20
Starting Position Players Returning: 7
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning: 6
Pitchers with Saves Returning: 1
Returning All-WIAC: Payton Nelson, Sr., OF (2018-Honorable, 2019-Honorable); Aaron Simmons, Sr., OF (2019-First)
Notable Returning Position Players: Tommy Duddleston, Sr., INF; Bradley Comer, Jr., INF
Notable Returning Pitchers: Zach Haupt, Sr., RHP; Austin Syvertson, Jr., RHP; JD Schultz, So., RHP
UW-Stout
Head Coach:
Ben Kincaid; 5th season at UWST; 42-72
Letterwinners Returning: 20
Starting Position Players Returning: 6
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning: 4
Pitchers with Saves Returning: 2
Returning All-WIAC: Kasey Bass, Sr., 1B (2018-Honorable, 2019-First)
Notable Returning Position Players: Dan Deis, Sr., OF;
Hunter Merrill, Sr., C;
Charlie Szykowny, Jr., SS
Notable Returning Pitchers:
Jace Baumann, Jr, RHP;
James Palmer, Sr, LHP;
Cody Urban, So, RHP
UW-Whitewater
Head Coach: John Vodenlich; 20th season (18th at UWW); 606-226-1 (overall) / 577-186-1 (UWW)
Letterwinners Returning: 25
Starting Position Players Returning: 7
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning: 5
Pitchers with Saves Returning: 3
Returning All-WIAC: Westin Muir, Jr., RHP (2019-First); Matt O'Sullivan, Sr., LHP (2019-First); Nick Santoro, Sr., INF (2019=First); Connor Spear, Sr., RHP (2019-First)
Notable Returning Position Players: Connor Moroder, Sr., UTIL; Matt Korman, So., OF; Bryan Sturdevant, Jr., INF
Notable Returning Pitchers: Donovan Brandl, So., P/1B; Hayden Fox, Jr., RHP; Ben Muscatello, Jr., P
