RELEASED:  Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Pointers Receive Top Spot in Baseball Projections

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is the preseason favorite to win the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) baseball championship in a poll conducted by the league’s sports information directors.

The Pointers, ranked No. 6 nationally in the D3baseball.com preseason poll, captured three first-place votes in conference predictions.   UW-Stevens Point has won seven league championships in program history with the most recent in 2002.  They have also claimed three consecutive WIAC Tournament titles.   The Pointers have made back-to-back World Series showings and appeared in the NCAA Division III Tournament eight of the last 11 seasons.

UW-Stevens Point returns 20 letterwinners and seven starters, including senior Brandon Scheidler who racked up a league-leading 80 hits a year ago.   Senior Joel Hojnacki became the first player in program history to hit for the cycle against Manchester College (Ind.) on March. 19.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked No. 11 in the D3baseball.com poll, also secured three first-place votes and is pegged for second in the seven-team league derby.  The Titans claimed the 28th title in program history last season and have won NCAA Division III national crowns in 1985 and 1994.  UW-Oshkosh returns five of its top-seven hitters from a year ago and has won 27-plus games in 16 of the last 17 seasons.  Head coach Tom Lechnir is the winningest coach in WIAC archives with a 594-194-1 record in 19 seasons.

UW-Whitewater claimed the remaining first-place tally and is picked for third in the conference standings.  The Warhawks have captured 10 WIAC trophies, including four straight from 2003-06, and secured the national title during the 2005 campaign.  UW-Whitewater has produced 30 or more victories in three of four seasons under head coach John Vodenlich.

UW-La Crosse lost five WIAC contests by one run during the 2007 campaign.  Junior Storm Gram led the conference in hitting last year, batting at a .406 clip, while senior Dusty Otto matched a league single-game record with three doubles against Augustana College (Ill.) on March 17.

UW-Stout returns seven of its top-nine hitters from last year’s club that produced the most wins (23) since 1992 (24) and best winning percentage (.548) since 2001 (.688).  The Blue Devils also appeared in the WIAC Tournament for the first time since 1999.   Junior Matt Doornink established a conference single-season record with 26 appearances last season.

UW-Platteville lost 14 games by three runs or fewer last year and returns 95.5 percent of innings pitched and 86.4 percent of their hits from 2007.  Senior Ross Bennett is the school’s career leader in hits (149), home runs (23) and RBIs (112). 

UW-Superior’s nine wins a year ago were the most for the program since the 2000 squad compiled 10 victories.  The Yellowjackets welcome 21 new players this season - the largest incoming class in school history. 

2008 Preseason Predictions (Voted on by WIAC Sports Information Directors)
                                                2007 Record
1. UW-Stevens Point (3)     34-17, 17-6
2. UW-Oshkosh (3)              35-12, 20-4
3. UW-Whitewater (1)         25-16-1, 15-8-1
4. UW-La Crosse                  17-21, 9-15
5. UW-Stout                          23-19, 13-11
6. UW-Platteville                  15-23-2, 7-15-1
7. UW-Superior                     9-30, 1-23
( )--First-place votes

Team Vitals (Entering 2008 season)
UW-La Crosse
Head Coach: Chris Schwarz; 4th season; 51-67-1 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 23/7
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 8/1
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 3/2
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 2/1
Returning All-WIAC: Storm Gram, Jr., CF (2007-First)

UW-Oshkosh
Head Coach: Tom Lechnir; 20th season; 594-194-1 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 11/13
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 6/3
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 2/5
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 0/3
Returning All-WIAC: Brad Demmin, Jr., 1B (2007-First); Jason Fosler, Jr., OF (2007-First)

UW-Platteville
Head Coach: Eric Frese; 10th season (2nd at UW-Platteville); 150-224-3 overall / 15-23-2 at UWP
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 22/7 
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 9/1 
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 9/2 
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 1/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Ross Bennett, Sr., OF (2006-First, 2007-First); Mike Flood, Sr., C/INF (2006-First)

UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach:  Pat Bloom; 5th season; 132-62 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 20/7
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/3
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 7/3
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 4/4
Returning All-WIAC: Tim Schlosser, Sr., 2B (2005-HM, 2007-First); Brandon Hemstead, Sr., RHP (2007-First); Brad Archambeau, So., OF (2007-HM); Brandon Scheidler, Sr., OF (2007-HM); Doug Coe, Sr., C (2006-HM)

UW-Stout
Head Coach: Craig Walter, 14th season (7th at UW-Stout); 239-261 overall / 96-137 at UWS
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 15/10
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/2
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 2/5
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 3/3
Returning All-WIAC: Eric Johnson, Sr., OF (2007-First); Matt Krause, Sr., C (2006-First, 2007-HM); Matt Doornink, Jr., RHP (2007-HM); Mike White, Sr., SS (2007-HM); Tim Schneider, Sr., OF (2006-First)

UW-Superior
Head Coach: Eddy Morgan; 2nd season; 9-30 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/10
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 3/6
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 3/6
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 0/0
Returning All-WIAC: Ryan Leer, So., OF (2007-HM)

UW-Whitewater
Head Coach: John Vodenlich; 7th season (5th at UW-Whitewater); 168-86-1 overall / 139-46-1 at UWW
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 21/10
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 8/3
Pitchers with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 6/2 
Pitchers with Saves Returning/Lost: 1/2
Returning All-WIAC: Jordan Stine, Jr., OF (2006-First, 2007-First); Tom Corcoran, Sr., OF (2007-First); Jeff Donovan, So., OF/RHP (2007-First); Greg Harder, Sr., SS (2007-HM); Billy Johnson, Sr., C (2007-HM); Mike Jacobson, Sr., LHP (2006-First, 2007-HM); Adam Dominick, Sr., RHP (2006-First); Ben Prather, Sr., 1B (2006-First)