Softball

May 5, 2001

MENOMONIE - Not only has UW-Stout shortstop Angie Pinnow (Sr, Bruce) been able to get the job done on the field, she has excelled in the classroom as well.

Pinnow was the named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) softball West Division player of the year and also received the Judy Kruckman co-scholar athlete of the year award.

Pinnow led the WIAC in batting average (.427, 61-for-143), slugging percentage (.706), total bases (101), on-base percentage (.478), hits (61), home runs (6), plate appearances (157) and stolen bases (17). In addition, she was second in runs scored (36) and doubles (14) and third in triples (4) and runs batted in (28).

Pinnow, an early childhood education major, carries a grade point average of 3.549 and has received the Chancellor's Award for Academic Excellence four times and and was a National Fastpitch Coaches' Associaiton (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athlete.

Joining Pinnow on the WIAC West Division first team is centerfielder Jessie Ustby (Sr, Onalaska). Ustby has been practically flawless in the outfield, committing two errors in 45 chances and making numerous run-saving catches throughout the year.

Ustby led the team in sacrifice hits (17) and was second in the league. Ustby hit .287 on the season, going 37-for-129, scoring 21 runs, driving in 11 runs and had four doubles. She also had a team-high two sacrifice flies.

Freshmen battery-mates Lindsay Mechelke (Lake Elmo, Minn) and Jenni Bostrom (Circle Pines, Minn) received honorable mention.

Mechelke took over the catching duties this season, starting 42 games. Mechelke hit .275 (28/102) with 16 RBI. She threw out 30 runners attempting to steal. Mechelke had a .991 fielding percentage, best among team every day players.

Bostrom set a school record for strikeouts this season, racking up 159 Ks in 131.1 innings pitched. Bostrom posted a 10-9 overall record with a 2.19 earned run average.

Stout finished the season at 21-24 overall, 2-6 in the WIAC.

May 4, 2001

DULUTH, Minn - Erin Slaikeu (Sr, North St. Paul, Minn) had a good day at the plate, but it wouldn't be enough as UW-Stout was eliminated from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament during the first day.

Slaikeu hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh to give the Blue Devils a 7-4 win over UW-Oshkosh in the tournament play-in game. Oshkosh and Stout were seeded eighth and ninth, respectively. The Blue Devils lost, 7-0, to top-seeded UW-La Crosse in the next round, then bowed out of the double elimination with a 5-2 loss to UW-Platteville.

Stout's only runs against the Pioneers came on a two-run home run by Slaikeu in the second inning to give the Blue Devils (21-24) a 2-0 lead. Slaikeu went 5-for-10 on the day, with five runs batted in.

The Pioneers scored five runs - only one earned - in the sixth to record the win. Michelle Skaden hit a three-run double to provide much of the punch.

Against the Eagles, the Blue Devils were held to two hits

In the opener against the Titans, both teams scored runs in the first inning, but a three-run home run by the West Division player of the year, Angie Pinnow (Sr, Bruce) gave Stout a 4-1 lead in the second. The Titans added three runs in the third to knot the score.

Slaikeu drove in Kristen Olsen (Fr, Eden Prairie, Minn) and Lindsay Mechelke (Fr, Lake Elmo, Minn) with the game winning home run in the seventh.

Blue Devil pitcher Jenni Bostrom (Fr, Circle Pines, Minn) recorded 10 strikeouts on the day, running her single season total to a school record 157 strikeouts.

Pinnow, a shortstop, was joined on the all-conference first team by centerfielder Jessie Ustby (Sr, Onalaska). Bostrom and Mechelke were named honorable mention. Pinnow was also named as the 2001 Judy Kruckman Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year along with UW-Stevens Points' Kelly Rutta.

May 5, 2001

MENOMONIE - All good things have to come to end, and the same was true for UW-Stout's Brad O'Connell (Sr, Elk Mound).

The streak of 37 games shatters a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record of 29 games set by Jeff Zappa of UW-Oshkosh during the 1996 season. UW-Platteville's Wes Larsen carried a 21-game streak into the 2001 season, but it ended early in the season at 25 games. In the NCAA Division III, the mark would rank him third behind Corey Breyne of Aurora College (46, 1998) and Justin Harriman of St. Scholastica (43, March 27, 1999 to April 1, 2000).

O'Connell began his streak April 29, 2000 in the second game of a doubleheader with UW-La Crosse. O'Connell was 0-for-5 in the first game, then went 1-for-4 to begin the record-breaking mark.

Against Whitewater Saturday, O'Connell was 3-for-4, but went 0-for-5, although he did score a run and drive in another.

O'Connell also had a consecutive stolen base streak of 30 that went March 20, 1999-Feb. 27, 2001.

Stout concludes the 2001 season Tuesday, May 8 at UW-Superior.

May 5, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout wore the rally caps many times in their two game series with UW-Whitewater, but the Blue Devils could never get back quite far enough as they dropped both ends of a doubleheader, 10-6, 11-10, to the Warhawks, Saturday, May 5 at Nelson Field.

Perhaps the most frustrating rally occured in the final game after Stout battled back to a within three runs, 11-8, in the eighth inning, then scored two unearned runs to pull to within one run in the bottom of the ninth.

With two outs and runners on first and second, Blue Devil leader Brad O'Connell (Sr, Elk Mound) stepped to plate to look for his first hit of the game - the first time he had been held hitless in 37 games. O'Connell fouled one ball deep to left field, then lifted the next pitch to right field, but the Warhawks' Joseph Ecker camped under the ball to secure the Whitewater victory.

After the Warhawks scored a run in the first, Stout scored three runs to pull ahead, but an eight-run third inning would be the impetus to lift Whitewater. Whitewater added a run in the fifth, then Stout scored in the sixth.

The Blue Devils (20-10-1, 4-8) put together three runs in the eighth. Josh Johnson (Sr, Oregon) walked with the bases loaded, then O'Connell drove in a run on a ground out. JW Dachel (Jr, Bloomer) drove in a final run.

After cutting down the Warhawks 1-2-3 in the ninth, Justin Biever (So, South Milwaukee) walked and Matt Hoeft (So, Elk Mound) was hit by a pitch. Nick Sattler (Jr, Wausau) reached on an error that scored both Biever and Hoeft.

The pattern was similar in the first game. Stout took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but the Warhawks (30-7, 12-2) got to Stout pitcher Matt Lunde (Jr, Eau Claire), who had a perfect game going into the fifth, with a five-run fifth inning. Stout came back with three runs in the sixth.

Each team scored a single run in the eighth, but Stout left the bases loaded. The Warhawks got the winners in the 10th when Travis Van Zile got a sacrifice fly, Ecker tripled in two runs and Jason Ondricka drove in Ecker.

Brock Meyer (So, Lyle, Minn) and O'Connell were both 3-for-4, while Johnson was 2-for-4. Both Meyer and Johnson had two RBI.

In the second game, Stout outhit Whitewater, 16-14. Dave Rueber (Sr, Afton, Minn) and Brad Barneson (Jr, Strum) were 3-for-5 and Dachel was 3-for-4.

The loss eliminated Stout from qualifying to the WIAC tournament next weekend and Whitewater earned the top seed in the tournament. Stout will close out their schedule, Tuesday, May 8 in a make-up game at UW-Superior.

May 4, 2001

MENOMONIE - Brad O'Connell (Sr, Elk Mound) hit for the cycle in the second game, Dave Rueber (Sr, Afton, Minn) was 8-for-12 on the day with eights runs batted in and UW-Stout got 35 runs to sweep UW-Platteville, 15-10, 20-15, in a conference contest, Friday, May 4 at Nelson Field.

O'Connell got a triple to lead off the second game, then smashed a grand slam home run in the third inning. He added a single in the fifth, then completed the cycle with a double in the sixth. O'Connell finished the game with five RBI.

Rueber homered twice in the first game and racked up five RBI, then added his third home run of the day in the second game. Rueber had three RBI in the second game.

The two games were a hitters dream - and a pitcher's nightmare. With only four total errors in the two games - one by each team in each game - pitcher's earned run averages ballooned.

It looked to be a long day early. Platteville opened the series with a six-run first inning, but Stout chpped away, getting two runs in the first on Eric Lund's (Sr, Ashland) shot over the fence and Rueber hit a two-run long ball into the swamp in the second inning.

Trailing 9-6 heading into the seventh, Stout (20-8-1, 4-6) exploded for seven runs with JW Dachel (Jr, Bloomer) and Brad Barneson (Jr, Strum) each driving in two runs.

The scenario was similar in the seconc game with Platteville (11-17, 1-10) building an 8-2 lead heading into the third when the Blue Devils pounded out eight runs, highlighted by O'Connell's bases-loaded round tripper and Stout took a 10-8 lead.

Platteville added two runs in the fourth to tie the game, but Stout took a short-lived lead when Barneson drove in Eddie Young (Jr, La Crosse). Platteville knotted the score in the sixth before Stout regained the lead for good with four runs in the sixth.

No lead was safe in this series. Platteville added two more runs in the seventh. Stout put the game out of reach in the eighth with five runs, highlighted by Rueber's two-run single. Platteville had a last gasp in the ninth, scoring two to close out a wild day.

The two teams combined for 60 runs, 78 hits and four errors.

O'Connell was 1-for-5 in the first game, but scored four runs. He was 4-for-5 in the second iwth four runs scored and five RBI. Lund was 4-for-6 inthe first game, while Young was 4-for-5. Barneson was 3-for-5 in both games, collecting five RBI. Matt Hoeft (So, Elk Mound) was 3-for-5 in the second game.

Relief pitching recorded both wins. Zak Arneson (Sr, Barneveld) came on in long relief, coming in the first inning and pitched 8.2 innings for his second win, of the season giving up four runs, three earned. Ryan Jensen (Jr, Cylinder, Iowa) worked 2.1 inning sof the second game giving up two runs and striking out three.

May 5, 2001

WHITEWATER - UW-Stout's Laura Verdegan (Fr, Tony) captured the triple jump championship at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) outdoor track & field championships, Saturday, May 5 at Whitewater.

Verdegan, who already holds the school record and has qualified automatically to the NCAA Division III national championships later this month, took the title with a leap of 38-feet, 9.75-inches, edging Mary Jo Kuntz of UW-LaCrosse, who recorded a jump of 38-4.25.

Jenney Luer (Jr, Colfax) was sixth in the discus (129-7) and seventh in the shot put (38-11). Sara Pivec (Jr, Coon Rapids, Minn) was eighth in the shot (38-4).

The Blue Devils, which finished eighth, scored many of their points in the 400-hurdle event, where three Stout performers placed in the top eight. Michelle Abramczak (Sr, Stanley) finished fourth (1-minute, 6.37-seconds), while Lindsay Steinmeyer (Fr, Menomonie) was seventh (1:09.22) and Alison West (Jr, Cadott), eighth (1:09.73).

Two of Stout's relay teams - the 4X100 (53.56) and the 4X400 (4:11.74) - placed eighth. The 4X800 team placed sixth (10:11.23).

Verdegan placed sixth in the long jump (17-8).

WIAC Championships
1. UW-La Crosse 229.50; 2. UW-Oshkosh 161.50; 3. UW-Stevens Point 138; 4. UW-Whitewater 106; 5. UW-Eau Claire 89; 6. UW-River Falls 54; 7. UW-Platteville 47; 8. UW-Stout 32; 9. UW-Superior 0.

May 4, 2001

WHITEWATER - Laura Verdegan (Fr, Tony) and the 4x800-relay team each placed sixth to collect UW-Stout's only points during the first day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships at UW-Whitewater, Friday, May 4.

Verdegan had a jump of 17-feet, 8-inches to score in the long jump, while the relay team finished in a time of 10-minutes, 11.23-seconds.

May 1, 2001

MENOMONIE - For the third consecutive week, UW-Stout's Jenney Luer (Jr, Colfax) has surpassed the NCAA Division III automatic qualifying distance in the discus, and last week won the event at the UW-La Crosse Invitational April 28 with a throw of 149-feet, 1-inch. Luer also placed second in the shot put. For her efforts, Luer was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) track & field athlete of the week.

Earlier in the season, Luer shattered the school record when she tossed the plate 150-5.

At LaCrosse, Luer finished second in the shot put to Courtney Bauer from the University of Wisconsin. Luer surpassed the provisional qualifying distance with a mark of 42-11.75. Currently, Luer is ranked sixth nationally in the discus and eighth in the shot put.

May 5, 2001

WHITEWATER - UW-Stout's Mike Turgeon (Fr, Perham, Minn) uncorked a school record discus toss and went on to win the event at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) outdoor track & field championships, Saturday, May 5 at Whitewater.

Turgeon tossed the plate 173-feet, 10-inches and broke the school mark of 172-0.50 Jason Lehman set in 1998. Turgeon missed the conference record by seven inches. Turgeon also placed sixth in the hammer throw (164-8) Friday and was named the field athlete of the meet.

After earning the No. 3 seed after the preliminaries, Dave Hanson (So, Sun Prairie) came back to win the 400-hurdle event, nipping UW-La Crosse's Derek Toshner by one one-hundredths of a second, clocking an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying time of 53.16-seconds. Hanson improved his placing in the 100-hurdles as well, finishing fifth (15.44) after placing eighth in the preliminaries.

The Blue Devil 4x100-relay team placed fifth (42.27) and the 4x400-relay placed third (3:19.49).

Bob Cahow (Sr, New Brighton, Minn) was third in the decathlon (5706 points), Corey Knudsen (Sr, Elk Mound) was fifth in the decathlon (5650), Chad Sosalla (Fr, Whitehall) was fourth in the triple jump (44-1.50) and Jeff Rotering (Jr, Waumandee) was eighth in the javelin (148-11).

As a team, Stout placed fifth.

WIAC Championships
1. UW-La Crosse 238; 2. UW-Stevens Point 165; 3. UW-Oshkosh 133; 4 UW-Platteville 83.50; 5. UW-Stout 78; 6. UW-Eau Claire 76.50; 7. UW-Whitewater 73; 8. UW-Superior 8.

May 4, 2001

WHITEWATER - UW-Stout's Jamie Buchholtz (Sr, Bloomer) recovered the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) outdoor pole vault title he lost last season, Friday, May 4 at Whitewater.

Buchholtz, who had won the pole vault title as a sophomore, only to finish second as a junior, soared 16-feet, 6.50-inches to reclaim the crown. Teammate Jeff Rotering (Jr, Waumandee) was third in the event (15-6.50), while Bob Cahow (Sr, New Brighton, Minn) was seventh (15-0.75).

Mike Turgeon (Fr, Perham, Minn) was sixth in the hammer throw (164-8). Dave Huber (So, Mendota Heights, Minn) was seventh in the 10,000-meter run (31:36.81), as was the 4x800-relay team (8:13.70). Tim Faber (So, Fond du Lac) was eighth in the long jump (21-0).

May 1, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout's Dave Hanson (So, Sun Prairie) took first in the 400-hurdles and third in the 110-hurdles at the Blugold Invitational in Eau Claire, Saturday, April 28 and was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) track athlete of the week for his performance.

Hanson surpassed the NCAA Division III provisional qualifying time of 53.62 seconds in the 400-hurdles. The time places him in the top 10 times in the country.

Hanson was third in the 110-hurdles after he barely qualified to the finals of the event. Hanson was seventh in the preliminaries with a time of 15.91. He shaved off a few tenths of a second for third with a time of 15.60.