vs. UW-Oshkosh, May 19: Watch |
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WIAC Championship
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THIS WEEK'S GAMES: This week marks the beginning of baseball tournament season as UW-Stout (21-17, 16-12 WIAC) hosts UW-Oshkosh (20-18, 16-12 WIAC) Wednesday, May 19 at 1 p.m. at Nelson Field in the first round of the WIAC Championship, presented by Culver's. The Blue Devils and the Titans tied for fourth in the WIAC standings, but Stout earned the fourth seed and Oshkosh the fifth seed due to a tie-breaker. The winner will advance to the WIAC Championship Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22, hosted by UW-Whitewater. The winner of the tournament earns the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
VIDEO STREAM: Pete Knutson, the voice of Blue Devil football and men's and women's basketball, will be on the play-by-play for the Stout/Oshkosh game. Knutson is the play-by-play announcer for the Eau Claire Express of the Northwoods League. |
Watch |
SETTING UP THE TOURNAMENT: UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point shared the conference regular season crown, with the Pointers earning the No. 1 seed and Whitewater the No. 2 seed. The Warhawks and the Pointers earn a first round bye. Before the season began, it was determined the final rounds of the tournament would be played at Whitewater. UW-La Crosse earned the third seed and will host sixth seed UW-Platteville Wednesday. The first round is single elimination, but the final two days at Whitewater will be played as a double elimination tournament.
WIAC TOURNAMENT: The Blue Devils competed in the 2019 tournament, losing to UW-Whitewater, 6-1, and getting bounced 5-2 by UW-Platteville. Before 2019, Stout last competed in the conference championship in 2014. The Blue Devils were also the fourth seed and played top-seeded UW-Whitewater in Whitewater, losing 15-14 in 10 innings. Stout was eliminated from the tournament in the next game, 13-3, by UW-Stevens Point. Stout also played in the championship in 2007 and 1999. The Blue Devils knocked off top-seeded UW-Oshkosh in the 2007 tournament, their only tournament win in the current set-up. Stout lost to UW-Stevens Point in the second round game and were eliminated by UW-Oshkosh. In 1999, the Blue Devils lost to UW-Oshkosh in a single elimination tournament. Stout is 1-5 in the tournament.
UW-Stout in the WIAC Championship Tournament
2019 - vs. UW-Whitewater, L 6-1; vs. UW-Platteville, L 5-2
2014 - vs. UW-Whitewater, L 15-14 (10 innings); vs. UW-Stevens Point, L 13-3
2007 - vs. UW-Oshkosh, W 9-7 (10 innings); vs. UW-Stevens Point, L 7-5; vs. UW-Oshkosh, L 11-2
1999 - vs. UW-Oshkosh, L 10-1
WSUC TOURNAMENT: The last time UW-Stout and UW-Oshkosh played in the conference tournament in Menomonie was during the 1990 season when the Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC, the predecessor to the WIAC), was divided into Northern and Southern divisions. Stout was the Northern Division champion and Oshkosh the Southern Division champion. The Blue Devils swept the series, 11-3, 13-8, to win the only undisputed WSUC title in Stout baseball history. On that May 9, 1990, Tuesday afternoon, the Blue Devils avenged a sweep at the hands of the Titans in the previous WSUC Championship game and cut short Oshkosh's WSUC title streak at 11 consecutive seasons. Stout smashed out 28 hits in the 7-inning doubleheader series. Stout advanced to the NAIA Tournament, going to the NAIA World Series, while Oshkosh advanced to the NCAA Tournament that season, and went to the NCAA World Series. The Blue Devils and the Titans were scheduled to face each other in 1982, but that tournament was rained out and the teams were declared co-champions. Stout shared the 1961 championship with UW-Stevens Point. Stout won a conference title in 1947.
LAST TIME THEY MET: UW-Stout and UW-Oshkosh split their four WIAC games this season, splitting each day. The Blue Devils won the first game, 5-0, April 14 at Oshkosh when
James Palmer tossed a nine-inning shutout, but the Titans took the second game, 9-1. The process was repeated April 17 when the teams played in Menomonie, with Stout winning the opener, 7-4, but dropping the second game, 12-9. |
April 14 Game Story and Statistics |
April 17 Game Story and Statistics
2021 WIAC SCHEDULE: 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.
2021 UW-Stout Baseball Schedule
Date / Opponent / Time or Result
Sat, Mar. 20 / at UW-Platteville / W 16-2 (7), L 11-6
Thurs, Mar. 25 / at UW-La Crosse / L 11-5, L 6-1
Sat, Mar. 27 / UW-Eau Claire (at River Falls) / W 3-1, W 13-3 (7)
Thur, Apr. 1 / at UW-Stevens Point* / L 12-2 (7), L 5-1
Fri, Apr. 2 / UW-Stevens Point* / L 9-4, W 9-7
Tues, Apr. 6 / at UW-Eau Claire* / W 11-3
Fri, Apr. 9 / UW-Eau Claire* / W 22-3 (7), W 10-3
Sat, Apr. 10 / at UW-Eau Claire* / W 5-4 (10)
Wed, Apr. 14 / at UW-Oshkosh* / W 5-0, L 9-1
Sat, Apr. 17 / UW-Oshkosh* / W 7-4, L 12-9
Tues, Apr. 20 / UW-La Crosse* / L 6-0, L 14-6
Fri, Apr. 23 / at UW-La Crosse* / L 6-5, W 12-6
Sat, Apr. 24 / UW-La Crosse / L 11-9, W 18-8 (7)
Wed, Apr. 28 / at UW-Whitewater* / L 10-1, L 7-0
Sat, May 1 / UW-Whitewater* / L 12-1, L 11-5
Tues, May 4 / UW-Platteville* / W 8-0, W 8-7
Fri, May 7 / at UW-Platteville* / W 5-4, W 5-1
Sat, May 8 / UW-Platteville / W 9-8, L 17-12
Fri, May 14 / Finlandia University* / W 9-0, W 11-1 (7 inn)
Sat, May 15 / Finlandia University* / W 14-6, W 11-5 (8 inn)
Wed, May 19 / vs. UW-Oshkosh, WIAC Championship First Round / 1 p.m.
Fri, May 21 / WIAC Championship at UW-Whitewater / TBA
Sat, May 22 / WIAC Championship at UW-Whitewater / TBA
PARKING: There is no free parking for weekday baseball & softball games. 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. Spectators that park in Lot 29 (located just north of the outdoor track) must pay parking fees and register their license plate at the pay station near the main East entrance of the Sports & Fitness Center. Lot 29 parking restrictions end at 4 pm on Monday through Friday.
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 buses may 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.
Please note that pets are not allowed at UW-Stout athletic events and at WIAC Championship events. Service animals are welcomed.
BLUE DEVIL OFFENSE: Charlie Szykowny is batting .389 (61-157) with 22 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 26 RBI.
Kasey Bass is hitting .382 (50-131) with 13 doubles, nine home runs with a team-best 45 RBI.
Hunter Merrill is hitting .326 (43-132) with 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 38 RBI. Szykowny has been on base in all 38 games this season, and has successfully reached base in 45 consecutive games, reaching back to the 2019 season. As a team, Stout is third in the league in home runs with 37, led by Merrill (11), Bass (9), Szykowny (4),
Riley Boushack (3) and
Alex Jinkins (3).
Joel Thimsen,
Colin Hageman,
Paul Weise, Jack Schripke,
Drew Ries and
Ryan Herbst have each hit a home run this season. Stout has hit almost twice as many home runs as their opponents (19). Boushack may be the most patient Blue Devil of the bunch, second in the league in walks drawn with 28. Jinkins has walked 20 times. |
Statistics
THE LONG BALL: This Blue Devil team has rediscovered the long ball this season. Stout has hit 37 home runs so far this season, surpassing the most recent home run tally of 29 set in 2014 when Ryan Freitag lifted 15 pitches over the fence. The 2012 Blue Devil team hit 30. Stout has a lot of targets to go after in home runs. The 1997 and 1998 teams hit 38. The 2000 team hit 39 and the 1992 team hit 42. The school record for team home runs was 56 during the 1983 season. The Blue Devils hit no home runs against Finlandia last weekend, the only team this year Stout did not hit a home run against. The Blue Devils are ranked 27th nationally in home runs.
DOUBLING DOWN: Over six games two weeks ago against UW-Platteville,
Charlie Szykowny hit nine doubles, nearly doubling his doubles total to 19, setting a new single season record for doubles. Last week over four games with Finlandia, Szykowny had three doubles to extend the school record to 22. Jack Schneider (2014) held the previous mark of 17 doubles. Jeff Kloes (1987), Mike Jaje (1995) and Seth Meier (2005) shared the record for several years with 16.
Kasey Bass hit 15 in 2019. Bass currently has 13 doubles and
Hunter Merrill 10.
WIAC STATS: The Blue Devils have several players in the top 10 in individual statistical categories.
Charlie Szykowny is fourth in hits (61), tied for first in runs scored (61), first in doubles (22), tied for sixth in triple (3), tied for 10th in stolen bases (11), foruth in total bases 101), tied for seventh in walks (20), seventh in on-base percentage (.471), and 10th in slugging percentage (.643).
Kasey Bass is tied for fourth in home runs (9), tied sixth in RBI (45), eighth in total bases (90), eighth in on-base percentage (.455) and fourth in slugging percentage (.687). Despite missing three games last week,
Hunter Merrill is third in home runs (11), tied for 10th in RBI (38), ninth in total bases (86) and seventh in slugging percentage (.652). On the mound, Palmer is second in innings pitched (62.0), tied for third in wins (6), second in strikeouts (68), tied for first in shutouts (2), tied for second in complete games (2), and third in opponent batting average (.167)
30 OR MORE TEAM HOME RUNS OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS
42 - 1992
39 - 2000
38 - 1998
38 - 1997
37 - 2021
36 - 2001
34 - 1995
33 - 1994
32 - 2005
31 - 2006
30 - 2002
BLUE DEVIL PITCHING: James Palmer (2.03 ERA/68K) and
Cody Urban (5.98/33) have each started nine games, with Jace Bauman (4.45/21) making seven starts and
Ethan Kjellberg (5.97/10) and
Brock Burg (5.23/28) with made five starts.
Trevor Miller abd
Alex Mahaz each have two saves. Palmer is 6-3, Mahaz 3-0, Baumann 2-4, Burg 3-2,, Urban 1-2 and Kjellberg 1-3. Palmer pitched a no-hitter May 4 against UW-Platteville.
PUNCHOUTS: Palmer is currently second on the UW-Stout single season strikeout list with 68 after nine games pitched. The school record of 75 is held by Ron Yessa in 1997. Brad Rindfleisch had 59 strikeouts in 2019.
SINGLE SEASON STRIKEOUTS
Ron Yessa, 75, 1997
James Palmer, 68, 2021
Adam Rothenbuehler, 65, 2002
Brad Rindfleisch, 59, 2019
Matt Doornink, 58, 2009
Matt Doornink, 53, 2008
Ben Sivertson, 53, 2007
Dan Olson, 53, 2007
Matt Lunde, 53, 2002
Russ Morrow, 51, 1992
UW-STOUT NO-HITTERS
James Palmer, May 4, 2021, W 8-0 vs. UW-Platteville at Nelson Field (9 innings)
Russ Jiskra, Nate Hanson, Ethan Smallbrook, Dave Oestrich, March 4, 2009, W 2-0 vs. Minn-Crookston, HHH Metrodome (7 innings)
Brett Blair, March 19, 1997, W 2-0 vs. Illinois College, Ft. Myers, Fla. (7 innings)
Mike Charbonneau, April 15, 1987, W 10-0 vs. UW-Superior (7 innings)
Larry Kreyling, May 1, 1965, W 3-0 vs. Superior State (7 innings)
***While not officially a no-hitter, Brad Rindfleisch pitched nine no-hit innings inside a 17-inning game against UW-La Crosse at Nelson Field, May 8, 2018. Rindfleisch entered the game in the sixth inning and exited after the 14th inning, facing 28 batters, one above the minimum, walking one and fanning three. The Blue Devils lost, 3-2, and Rindfleisch did not figure into the decision.
UW-STOUT LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils swept Finlandia last week, winning 9-0, 11-1 (7 inn), 14-6, and 11-5 (8 inn). Over the four games, freshman
Riley Boushack went 11 of 19 (.579), hit a double and a triple, drove in six runs and scored five runs.
Joel Thimsen had a big week, hitting .533 (8-15) against the Lions with three doubles, a triple, and six RBI for a slugging percentage of .867.
Alex Jinkins drove in seven runs over the weekend, hitting .444 (8-18).
Kasey Bass matched Thimsen's three doubles and hit .412 (7-17) with four RBI.
Reese Vold had a solid weekend at the plate, hitting .400 (6-15) with a double and five RBI.
Charlie Szykowny hit .350 (7-20) with three doubles and a triple. Blue Devils pitchers combined for 29 strikeouts.
James Palmer allowed two hits. As a team, Stout hit .414 and the Lions hit .242. |
Games One & Two Story and Stats |
Games Three & Four Story and Stats
SCOUTING UW-OSHKOSH: Hunter Staniske leads the Titans at the plate with a .424 (64-161) average. The junior infielder has 13 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 51 RBI and 40 runs scored with a slugging percentage of .695. Eric Modaff is hitting .344 (52-151) with six doubles, two triples, five home runs and 23 RBI. Matt Scherrman is hitting .335 (45-134) with 15 doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 46 RBI. Jarrett Scheelk, who also doubles as a starting pitcher, is hitting .324 (47-145) with nine doubles, a league-best 13 home runs and 45 RBI. Ethan Schreier is hitting .319 (36-113) with three doubles. The Titans are currently ranked 10th nationally in home runs and second in the WIAC with 47. Connor Giusti has four home runs, Sean Cummins two and Griffith Lukes three. Chase Marsh, Zach Taylor, Jackson Broom, Kameron Dransfeldt and Jake Anderson have each lifted a ball over the fence. On the mound, Scheelk has started eight games, posting a 5-1 overall record with an ERA of 4.20, a team best 49.1 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts. Grant Yaminski and Will Michalski have each made eight starts has three starts and Matt Scherrman seven. Yaminski is 2-2 with an ERA of 4.79 and 33 strikeouts over 41.1 innings pitched. Michalski is 4-2 with an ERA of 6.15 over 45.1 innings pitched and 38 strikeouts. Scherrman is 1-3 with an ERA of 6.38 and 33 strikeouts. Trevor Niedzwiecki has made a team-best 15 apppearances over 29.2 innings pitched, posting an ERA of 3.64 with 42 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched, and is second in the league in saves with five. The Titans have seven pitchers with 30 or more strikeouts including Harry Orth with 31, Alex Larson with 35. Orth has three saves on the season. |
Baseball Website |
Schedule |
Coaching Staff |
Statistics |
LAST TIME OUT: The Titans played a 13-inning non-conference game with UW-Whitewater, May 16, losing 7-6. Oshkosh tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the eighth frame, but nationally ranked UW-Whitewater outlasted the Titans, 7-6 in 13 innings, during the nonconference regular season finale at Tiedemann Field.. UW-Whitewater (34-5), ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, did not get a runner past second base between the eighth and 12th innings but pulled out the victory during the 13th frame as Donovan Brandl reached on a fielder's choice for the second out, stole second base and scored on Ryan Norton's flair single to shallow right field. Dransfeldt singled to lead off the home half of the 13th inning for UW-Oshkosh. However, a flyout and a double play ended the longest Titan game since a 13-inning setback against Webster University (Mo.) on Feb. 29, 2016.. |
Game Story and Statistics | The loss to the Warhawks to end the regular season extended the Titans' losing streak to four games. The Titans defeated UW-La Crosse, 8-7, to open last week, but the Eagles took the remaining three games, 5-4, 9-6, 6-2. |
May 12 Game Story and Statistics |
May 15 Game Story and Statistics
TEAM CAPTAINS: Kasey Bass,
Hunter Merrill,
Dan Deis and
Jace Baumann are Blue Devil 2021 team captains.
AWARDS AND HONORS: 2021: Riley Boushack was named The Heights/UW-Stout Athlete of the Week after driving in six runs and scoring five runs against Finlandia University in the final series of the regular season...
James Palmer was named the WIAC/Kwik Trip pitcher of the week and the NCBWA pitcher of the week after pitching a no-hitter May 4 against UW-Platteville...
Charlie Szykowny was selected as the WIAC/Kwik Trip position player of the week after batting .500 and hitting nine doubles in six games with UW-Platteville, May 4-9...
Kasey Bass hit a bases loaded double to drive in three runs to lift UW-Stout to a 9-7 win in the second game of a doubleheader with UW-Stevens Point April 2 and was selected The Heights/UW-Stout Athlete of the Week...
James Palmer earned WIAC/Kwik Trip player of the week and The Heights/UW-Stout Athlete of the Week honors after recording nine strikeouts in a season-opening 16-2 win over UW-Platteville.
COACHES: Ben Kincaid (63-89) 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 right-handed 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.
DOWN THE ROAD: The winner of the WIAC Championship will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
