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UW-Whitewater picked to win WIAC Baseball title

03/07/2017, 2:45pm CST
By WIAC

From the WIAC --

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has been chosen to win the 2017 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) baseball championship based on a preseason poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
 
The Warhawks, who entered the 2017 campaign ranked ninth by D3baseball.com, have claimed 16 conference regular-season titles, including three in the last four years. UW-Whitewater welcomes back eight starting position players and five starting pitchers from last year’s squad that reached the finals of the NCAA Division III Championship for the second time in three seasons.
 
Leading the returnees are senior Steve Chamberlain and sophomore Cal Aldridge. Chamberlain was seventh in the WIAC with 12 stolen bases, eighth with 61 hits and 10th with a .361 batting average in 2016, while Aldridge was second in the conference with 10 homeruns, third with 74 hits, 43 RBI and a .629 slugging percentage, fourth with a .398 batting average, fifth with a .472 on-base percentage and eighth with 38 runs scored.
 
Also back is junior righthanded pitcher Austin Jones, who was selected in the 26th round (794th overall) by the Chicago Cubs in last year’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
 
UW-La Crosse entered the season ranked third nationally and brings back 20 letterwinners from last year when the squad won the WIAC regular-season and tournament titles, and for the second straight year, advanced to the finals of the NCAA Division III Championship. Senior righthanded pitcher Caleb Boushley claimed WIAC Pitcher of the Year honors a season ago when he established a school record with 94.0 innings pitched and matched a program mark with 10 victories. Head coach Chris Schwarz is 11 wins away from reaching 300 in his career.
 
UW-La Crosse is followed in the WIAC predictions by: UW-Oshkosh; UW-Stevens Point; UW-Platteville; and UW-Stout.
 
The 2017 campaign welcomes a new head coach to the conference as Ben Kincaid assumes the lead role at UW-Stout. He was an assistant coach with the Blue Devils for the last two years, working primarily with the pitching staff.
 
The advancement of UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater to the finals of the NCAA Division III Championship in 2016 marked the first time in history two WIAC teams accomplished the feat. Following the season, Jones was joined in the draft by teammate Lake Bachar and UW-La Crosse’s Taylor Kohlwey, who were selected by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round (144th overall) and 21st round (624th overall), respectively. It represented the first time since 2005 that three conference players were chosen in the MLB Draft.
 
2017 Preseason Predictions
(Voted on by WIAC head coaches and sports information directors)
                                                                2016 Record
1. UW-Whitewater                          (34-17 overall, 13-7 WIAC)
2. UW-La Crosse                               (39-10, 18-2)
3. UW-Oshkosh                                (19-21-1, 9-11)
4. UW-Stevens Point                      (21-21, 10-10)
5. UW-Platteville                              (20-20, 6-14)
6. UW-Stout                                       (15-25, 4-16)
 
 
Team Vitals
(Entering the 2017 season)

UW-La Crosse
Head Coach:  Chris Schwarz; 13th season at UWL; 289-217-1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  20/14
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  4/5
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost:  3/1
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost:  1/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Caleb Boushley, Sr., RHP (2015-Honorable, 2016-First/Pitcher of the Year); Alex Brown, Sr., OF (2016-First); Nate Heili, So., INF (2016-First); Carter Hoffman, Sr., OF (2016-First); Jameson Lavery, Sr., RHP (2016-Honorable); Joel Zyhowski, Sr., OF (2014-First, 2016-Honorable)
 
Notable Returning Position Players:  Sam Prissel, So., 2B/SS; Alex Robson, So., 2B; Mitch Sutton, So., 1B
 
Notable Returning Pitchers:  Nic Pierick, Sr., RHP; Brock Rude, Sr., LHP; Travis Stahulak, Sr., LHP
 
UW-Oshkosh
Head Coach:  Kevin Tomasiewicz, 4th season at UWO; 62-57-1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  22/10
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  7/2
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost:  3/5
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost:  1/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Andy Brahier, Jr., 1B (2015-First, 2016-Honorable); Johnny Eagan, Sr., OF (2015-First, 2016-First); Tyler Kozlowski, Sr., 3B (2014-Honorable, 2015-Honorable, 2016-Honorable); Dylan Ott, So., INF/OF (2016-Honorable); Jesse Sustachek, Jr., RHP (2015-Honorable)
 
Notable Returning Position Players:  Jack Paulson, Jr., SS; Noah Polcyn, Jr., 2B; Logan Reckert, Jr., C
 
Notable Returning Pitchers:  Lucas Gregory, Jr. LHP; Jacob Pohlman, Jr., RHP; Colan Treml, So., RHP
 
UW-Platteville
Head Coach:  Eric Frese; 19th season (11th at UWP); 296-440-2 (overall) / 161-239-2 (UWP)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  22/10
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  3/6
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost:  5/1
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost:  3/0
Returning All-WIAC:  Colin DeBoer, Sr., INF/C (2015-Honorable); Lucas Keller, Sr., RHP (2016-First)
 
Notable Returning Position Players:  Max Meitzler, Sr., 1B
 
Notable Returning Pitchers:  Nathan Fay, Sr., RHP; Riley Vandenberg, Jr., RHP
 
UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach:  Jeremy Jirschele; 2nd season at UWSP; 21-21
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  8/4
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  4/5
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost:  5/5
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost:  4/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Cole Erickson, Jr., RHP (2016-First)
 
Notable Returning Position Players:  Clint Rose, Sr., 2B; Ryan Stanicek, So., OF; Will Iloncaie, So., SS/3B
 
Notable Returning Pitchers:  Ben Miller, Jr., RHP; Alex Stodola, So., RHP
 
UW-Stout
Head Coach:  Ben Kincaid; 1st season at UWST; 0-0
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  11/19
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  4/6
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost:  5/5
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost:  0/1

Returning All-WIAC:  Noah Brown, Sr., INF (2016-Honorable); Derek Graves, Sr., RHP (2016-Honorable)
 
Notable Returning Position Players:  Ryan Connor, Jr., OF; Jon Krueger, So., OF/DH; Jordan Wilson, So., OF
 
Notable Returning Pitchers:  Luke Eide, So., RHP; Wyatt Ernstmeyer, Jr., RHP; Max Sires, Jr., RHP

UW-Whitewater
Head Coach:  John Vodenlich; 16th season (14th at UWW); 500-196-1 (overall) / 471-156-1 (UWW)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  22/11
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost:  8/1
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost:  5/3
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost:  4/2

Returning All-WIAC:  Cal Aldridge, So., INF (2016-First); Steve Chamberlain, Sr., INF (2015-First, 2016-Honorable); Blake Fleischman, Jr., INF (2016-First); Austin Jones, Jr., RHP (2016-Honorable); Mike Nompleggi, Sr., RHP (2016-First); Ankur Shah, Sr., LHP (2016-First)
 
Notable Returning Position Players:  Daytona Bryden, Jr., OF; Jordan Kuczynski, Sr., INF; Matt Wary, So., UT
 
Notable Returning Pitchers:  James Georgakas, Sr., LHP; Sam Heilenbach, So., RHP; Heath Renz, Jr., RHP

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