RELEASED:  Wednesday, May 13, 2008

UW-Stevens Point’s Coe and UW-Whitewater’s Dominick Claim Top Baseball Honors; UW-Whitewater’s Vodenlich Named Coach of the Year

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Doug Coe was named the Position Player of the Year and UW-Whitewater’s Adam Dominick the Pitcher of the Year to lead the 21 individuals selected to the 2008 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Team by the league coaches.  In addition, UW-Whitewater head coach John Vodenlich was voted the Coach of the Year.

Coe, a senior catcher, leads the WIAC with 15 home runs, 56 runs batted in, a .814 slugging percentage, a .534 on-base percentage and 114 total bases, while ranking second with a .421 batting average and 50 runs scored, third with 25 walks and fourth with 59 hits.   He has recorded at least one hit in 32 games and accumulated 18 multi-hit performances, including eight contests with three or more hits.

Coe is the fourth individual in program history to claim the league’s position player of the year plaque, joining Chris Berndt (1999), Steve Wiczek (2005) and Chuck Brehm (2006).

Dominick, a senior righthanded pitcher, tops the conference with 82 strikeouts and 12 starting assignments, while ranking second with nine victories and 75.0 innings pitched and fifth with a 3.36 earned run average and .257 opposing batting average.  He has registered nine or more strikeouts in five games, including a season-high 12 in a complete-game victory against UW-La Crosse on April 27.  Dominick has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 of his 12 appearances during the 2008 campaign.

The Warhawks have had four individuals combine to win five WIAC pitcher of the year trophies with Dominick joining Ryan Brookman (1998), Brady Endl (2001, 2004) and Greg Reinhard (2005) as winners of the award.

Repeat selections on the first team included:  UW-La Crosse’s Storm Gram, UW-Oshkosh’s Brad Demmin and Jason Fosler, UW-Platteville’s Ross Bennett and UW-Whitewater’s Tom Corcoran, Jeff Donovan, Ben Prather and Jordan Stine.

Gram, a junior centerfielder, claimed first team recognition for the second straight year.  He leads the conference with 16 doubles, 51 runs scored, 29 walks and 16 stolen bases, while placing third with a .497 on-base percentage, eighth with 54 hits and 84 total bases, ninth with a .378 batting average and 10th with a .587 slugging percentage.

Demmin, a junior first baseman, and Fosler, a junior outfielder, secured first team laurels for the second straight season.  Demmin is second in the league with 50 runs batted in, five triples and 109 total bases, third with 61 hits, 14 doubles and a .722 slugging percentage, fourth with a .404 batting average and 45 runs scored, sixth with eight home runs, seventh with 151 at-bats and ninth with a .469 on-base percentage.

Fosler is batting .342 (41-120) with 10 doubles, one home run, 21 runs scored and 18 runs batted in.

Bennett, a senior centerfielder, captured first team accolades for the third straight year after leading the conference with 16 stolen bases, while ranking sixth with three triples and seventh with 11 doubles.  He holds almost every Pioneer career hitting record, including 158 games played, 577 at-bats, 195 hits, 144 runs, 42 doubles, 11 triples, 26 home runs and 135 runs batted in.

Stine, a junior outfielder, claimed first team recognition for the third consecutive season.  He places fifth in the WIAC with 13 stolen bases, sixth with a .485 on-base percentage, seventh with a .390 batting average and 10th with 53 hits.

Corcoran, a sophomore designated hitter/outfielder, and Donovan, a sophomore first baseman, earned first team laurels for the second straight year.  Corcoran ranks eighth in the conference with 22 walks, 10th with six home runs, 12th with 35 runs scored and 13th with 33 runs batted in.

Donovan is third in the league with 159 at-bats, fourth with nine home runs, fifth with 12 doubles and 184 total plate appearances and seventh with 85 total bases.

Prather, a senior outfielder, claimed first team recognition for the first time since 2006.  He leads the conference with 161 at-bats, while placing second with 63 hits, fourth with 185 total plate appearances, fifth with 12 doubles, sixth with a .391 batting average and 43 runs scored, seventh with 36 runs batted in and eighth with nine stolen bases.

Additional first team choices consisted of:  UW-Oshkosh’s Nolan Fadness, Kyle Kannenberg and Jeremy Rubens, UW-Platteville’s Joe Lange, UW-Stevens Point’s Brandon Scheidler, Jared Surman and Mike Thrun, UW-Superior’s Sean Cummings and UW-Whitewater’s Aaron Dott, Billy Johnson and Kevin Zalnis.

Individuals receiving honorable mention included:  UW-La Crosse’s Ross Benitz, Dusty Otto and Mike Schmidt, UW-Oshkosh’s Ryan Demmin, Curt Hendricks and Derek Hiroskey, UW-Platteville’s Mike Flood, UW-Stevens Point’s Justin Bushong, Brad Frank and Travis Kempf, UW-Stout’s Brandon O’Connell, Eric Paul and Tim Schneider, UW-Superior’s Joey Hostrawser and Justin Saufley and UW-Whitewater’s Ben Kuhlmann.

UW-Whitewater head coach John Vodenlich was voted the Coach of the Year for the second time in his career (2004).  He directed the Warhawks to the 11th conference championship in program history and a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament.  Vodenlich is in his fifth season at UW-Whitewater and owns a 174-54-1 record.

Named to the inaugural All-Sportsmanship Team were:  UW-La Crosse’s Mike Schmidt, UW-Oshkosh’s Pete Berg, UW-Platteville’s Aaron Daniels, UW-Stevens Point’s Travis Kempf, UW-Stout’s Mike White, UW-Superior’s Paul Schlangen and UW-Whitewater’s Ben Kuhlmann.  The team was selected for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season.  It included one member from each school as selected by that school.

2008 All-WIAC Baseball Team
First Team
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
Ross Bennett, Platteville, Senior, Centerfield, Mequon (Homestead)
Doug Coe, Stevens Point, Senior, Catcher, Appleton (North)
Tom Corcoran, Whitewater, Sophomore, Designated Hitter/Outfield, Rochester, Minn.
Sean Cummings, Superior, Junior, Secondbase, Superior
Brad Demmin, Oshkosh, Junior, Firstbase, Oshkosh (North)
Adam Dominick, Whitewater, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Waukesha (West)
Jeff Donovan, Whitewater, Sophomore, Firstbase, Wauwatosa (East)
Aaron Dott, Whitewater, Sophomore, Lefthanded Pitcher, Green Lake
Nolan Fadness, Oshkosh, Freshman, Outfield, Eau Claire (Memorial)
Jason Fosler, Oshkosh, Junior, Outfield, DeForest
Storm Gram, La Crosse, Junior, Centerfield, Woodbury, Minn.
Billy Johnson, Whitewater, Senior, Catcher, Kenosha (Tremper)
Kyle Kannenberg, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Secondbase, Oshkosh (West)
Joe Lange, Platteville, Junior, Lefthanded Pitcher, East Dubuque, Ill.
Ben Prather, Whitewater, Senior, Outfield, Chicago, Ill. (James B. Conant)
Jeremy Rubens, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, New Franken (Luxemburg-Casco)
Brandon Scheidler, Stevens Point, Senior, Outfield, Chippewa Falls (McDonell)
Jordan Stine, Whitewater, Junior, Outfield, Merrill
Jared Surman, Stevens Point, Freshman, Outfield, Kimberly
Mike Thrun, Stevens Point, Senior, Lefthanded Pitcher, Franklin
Kevin Zalnis, Whitewater, Junior, Thirdbase, Woodstock, Ill.

Honorable Mention
Ross Benitz, La Crosse, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Osceola
Justin Bushong, Stevens Point, Senior, Shortstop, Rhinelander
Ryan Demmin, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Lefthanded Pitcher, Oshkosh (North)
Mike Flood, Platteville, Senior, Firstbase, Madison (LaFollette)
Brad Frank, Stevens Point, Senior, Firstbase, Slinger
Curt Hendricks, Oshkosh, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, De Pere
Derek Hiroskey, Oshkosh, Freshman, Catcher, Kimberly
Joey Hostrawser, Superior, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, White Bear Lake, Minn.
Travis Kempf, Stevens Point, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Kewaskum
Ben Kuhlmann, Whitewater, Sophomore, Secondbase, Minneapolis, Minn. (Southwest)
Brandon O’Connell, Stout, Freshman, Secondbase, Elk Mound
Dusty Otto, La Crosse, Senior, Shortstop, Beaver Dam
Eric Paul, Stout, Senior, Outfield, Wisconsin Rapids (Lincoln)
Justin Saufley, Superior, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Worthington, Minn.
Mike Schmidt, La Crosse, Senior, Firstbase/Designated Hitter, Menomonie
Tim Schneider, Stout, Senior, Centerfield, West Salem (Onalaska Lutheran)

All-Sportsmanship Team
Pete Berg, Oshkosh, Junior, Outfield, Janesville (Craig)
Aaron Daniels, Platteville, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Miles, Iowa (East Central)
Travis Kempf, Stevens Point, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Kewaskum
Ben Kuhlmann, Whitewater, Sophomore, Shortstop, Minneapolis, Minn. (Southwest)
Paul Schlangen, Superior, Sophomore, Outfield, Rice, Minn.
Mike Schmidt, La Crosse, Senior, Firstbase/Designated Hitter, Menomonie
Mike White, Stout, Senior, Shortstop, Rochester, Minn. (Marshall)

Position Player of the Year:  Doug Coe of Stevens Point
Pitcher of the Year:  Adam Dominick of Whitewater
Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete:  Ben Prather of Whitewater
Coach of the Year:  John Vodenlich of Whitewater