BB: WIAC: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OshDude]

Point 15
Oshkosh 4     FINAL (7 Inn.)

Would guess you'll see Kempf vs Rubens in the nightcap......

Did UWO kick it around or is STP just on fire with the bats.
I would NOT want to be in the dugout or postgame right now--Lechnir is going to have a few things to say.

The latter on that one. Ryan Demmin just couldn't get off the field after two outs. Some smashes off of him, and Doug Coe was a beast in Game 1.

[cubs]

WIAC Standings (Through 4/23)
Whitewater 14-2
Oshkosh 16-4
Stevens Point 12-4
La Crosse 7-9
Platteville 5-11
Superior 3-13
Stout 3-17

[badgerwarhawk]

The WARHAWKS pounded out 33 hits and beat Platteville in two seven inning games 14-2, 15-2.

Adam Dominick went 6.1 innings in the first game allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9.  He was relieved by Steve Hedgepath who struck out both hitters he faced.  The game was 4-0 after 5 innings but the WARHAWKS scored 5 runs in the sixth and another 6 in the seventh to end the game early.  Jordan Stine homered and finished 4x5 with 5 RBI.  Ben Prather had a pair of hits and drove in 4 runs.

Mike Jacobson also went 6.1 innings in game two.  He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, a pair of walks and struck out 5.  Kale Olson relieved Jacobson and retired both hitters he faced.  Jeff Donovan was 4x5 with 5 RBI.  Tom Corcoran and Kevin Zalnis both homered and had a pair of hits.  Corcoran drove in 4 and Zalnis 3. 

It was a good day to be a WARHAWK fan. 

[cubs]

Just some thoughts running through my head....

-If Whitewater goes 7-1 over their last eight games (4 at La Crosse, 4 vs Point) they will have definitely earned the Conference title.

-Oshkosh may be lucky that they have 4 non-conference games coming up if there are any suspensions follwoing today's brawl.  If players have to sit, it wouldn't be a WIAC game if they act quick enough.

-Point has to finish with 8 games on the road (4 at Stout , 4 at Whitewater.)  If they sweep Stout, they will need to take 3 out of 4 at Whitewater (assuming Whitewater takes all four from La Crosse) and hope Platteville can get at least one from Oshkosh if they want any part of a WIAC Championship.

-Superior is going to have A LOT to say about who gets the #4 spot, having four games left against both Platteville and La Crosse, ALL at Superior.  Superior will need to take 3 out of four in both series if they want to have any chance of being the fourth team in the WIAC tournament.

[Gashouse_Gang]

So who is going to break the silence regarding the bench clearing brawl in the UWO/UWSP game?

I realize some of you may be bias, but let's hear your side.

WHAT HAPPENED?!?

[BaseballFan]

Little bit of everything today in Oshkosh. Some good/not-so-good pitching, some good hitting, some good/bad fielding and a not-so-good bench-clearing skirmish. And on such a beautiful day, too ... . Can't we all just be friends?

Anyway, final of Game 2 was Oshkosh 11, Point 2 4, if you missed it. Nolan Fadness, Brock Wetenkamp, Mike Thrun and Ben Warwick all ejected in Game 2. I'll let someone else describe what led to the benches clearing because I'm pretty biased on this one.

EDIT: Oh, and Jeremy Rubens went the whole way. Dude's pretty darn good.
And Kempf didn't throw in Game 2, but he did hold down a big lead for a couple in Game 1. Really surprised to see him be a nonfactor today. Didn't see a reason why he came in in the first game, and to start Thrun in Game 2, when UWO just beat him a few days ago, didn't make a lot of sense to me. Then again, I don't get paid to coach.

I agree time to share it with everyone!

[OshDude]

-Oshkosh may be lucky that they have 4 non-conference games coming up if there are any suspensions follwoing today's brawl.  If players have to sit, it wouldn't be a WIAC game if they act quick enough.

Is that the rule for sure? It's the next game and not the next WIAC game? Would be great for Oshkosh, if that's the case.

Something tells me there may be either more suspensions doled out or the expected ones modified in some way. There were a few TV cameras there, and I'm fairly certain both sides didn't feel justice was served today. I think some tapes will be sent to the commissioner's office for review. I have no inside info. Just a strong hunch.

[cubs]

I'm fairly certain both sides didn't feel justice was served today.

Interesting to see former UWO player Sam Spurney get plunked to lead off the 9th inning in an 11-2 game....  I'm sure it wasn't intentional though.....

[BaseballFan]

So this is what I found in the NCAA rule book on fighting, but not sure what happened. Page 63-65

http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2007/2007_baseball_rules.pdf 


Not sure if this applies to D3 but would assume so. That means it would be a 3 game suspension if there were punches thrown and what not

[OshDude]

OK, but this is one person's view. I'd appreciate a Point fan's take.

Bottom of the 5th, 2 outs, Brad Demmin on first, Nolan Fadness on third.
Zielke enters the game and does the old "fake to third, wheel to first."
Demmin gets in a rundown. Fadness dashes toward home.
Fadness is meat – out by five feet.
Fadness makes a late, hard slide into Ben Warwick Garrett Bloom. Nolan really got in on him and added a little forearm into the mix.
Warwick Bloom holds on and rolls backwards toward his dugout, Fadness splayed across the plate.
Three outs and the ump looked like he immediately ejected Fadness. He made an emphatic out sign and then a really emphatic gesture with his arm to indicate the ejection, all in one motion.
Before Warwick Bloom or Fadness can even get up, three Pointers (I don't know which for sure) are on top of the play. I mean they bolted.
A little jawing for 10 seconds, and then UWO comes out and the rest of the Pointers.
Then there's too much going on to give a detailed account.
I know one UWO player was giving a Pointer the business in one fight. Vice versa in another. It doesn't really matter who they were, but the tape and probable subsequent suspensions will let you know.
By this time there's the usual taunts among fans and players.
Fadness and Wetenkamp ran out to their positions to start the sixth, but the umps called them back and they went downstairs for the night.
Thrun and Warwick chirped their way to the team bus about a quarter mile from the Pointer dugout and through the UWO crowd.
Bloom, Lechnir, the umps and UWO AD Al Ackerman had a meet-and-greet behind the plate. The UWO contingent didn't seem too pleased with the result of that conversation.

In sum, it was a good, hard slide IMO. It is how that play should go down. Was there a little shiver in there? Yes. It's a baseball play. It may not have been pretty or graceful, but I've seen worse at second on double plays.

Both teams were issued warnings, and there was no funny stuff after that. Unless you count the UWO guys who came in for the ejected players clutching up and helping put the game away as funny stuff. Personally, I did. But a Pointer fan probably wouldn't find that too hilarious. There was a HBP in the ninth, but I don't think there was anything to it. The umps didn't do anything about it, anyway. And it just grazed the Point batter who may or may not have been a former UWO player ... But like I wrote, there was nothing to it IMO.

So that's my least biased way of telling what happened. That's basically the facts with a pinch of opinion. Again, I'd like a Pointer fan's view on it.

[szlongball]

OK, but this is one person's view. I'd appreciate a Point fan's take.

Bottom of the 5th, 2 outs, Brad Demmin on first, Nolan Fadness on third.
Zielke enters the game and does the old "fake to third, wheel to first."
Demmin gets in a rundown. Fadness dashes toward home.
Fadness is meat – out by five feet.
Fadness makes a late, hard slide into Ben Warwick. Nolan really got in on him and added a little forearm into the mix.
Warwick holds on and rolls backwards toward his dugout, Fadness splayed across the plate.
Three outs and the ump looked like he immediately ejected Fadness. He made an emphatic out sign and then a really emphatic gesture with his arm to indicate the ejection, all in one motion.
Before Warwick or Fadness can even get up, three Pointers (I don't know which for sure) are on top of the play. I mean they bolted.
A little jawing for 10 seconds, and then UWO comes out and the rest of the Pointers.
Then there's too much going on to give a detailed account.
I know one UWO player was giving a Pointer the business in one fight. Vice versa in another. It doesn't really matter who they were, but the tape and probable subsequent suspensions will let you know.
By this time there's the usual taunts among fans and players.
Fadness and Wetenkamp ran out to their positions to start the sixth, but the umps called them back and they went downstairs for the night.
Thrun and Warwick chirped their way to the team bus about a quarter mile from the Pointer dugout and through the UWO crowd.
Bloom, Lechnir, the umps and UWO AD Al Ackerman had a meet-and-greet behind the plate. The UWO contingent didn't seem too pleased with the result of that conversation.

In sum, it was a good, hard slide IMO. It is how that play should go down. Was there a little shiver in there? Yes. It's a baseball play. It may not have been pretty or graceful, but I've seen worse at second on double plays.

Both teams were issued warnings, and there was no funny stuff after that. Unless you count the UWO guys who came in for the ejected players clutching up and helping put the game away funny stuff. Personally, I did. But a Pointer fan probably wouldn't find that too hilarious. There was a HBP in the ninth, but I don't think there was anything to it. The umps didn't do anything about it, anyway. And it just grazed the Point batter who may or may not have been a former UWO player ... But like I wrote, there was nothing to it IMO.

So that's my least biased way of telling what happened. That's basically the facts with a pinch of opinion. Again, I'd like a Pointer fan's view on it.
[/quote) The catcher was Garrett Bloom,, not Ben Warwick. The play at the plate was not typical hard slide, Fadness did his best to take out Bloom. Honestly can't say who came out of the dugout first,  but there were enough punches thrown either way. Saw someone try to put Bloom through the fence. Umpire was correct in throwing Fadness out.
And seeing as Point knows what its like to lose a player for an entire year(Coe last year, same type of play), the Pointer fans had every right to be upset. And I would imagine if Point had tried that to your catcher, you would be calling us totally classless. Apparently this goes back to last week-something between Thrun and Fadness.
You would have thought that would have turned the momentum in Point's favor, but it didn't. Ruebens is definetly the real deal. But I will say your fans were much worse then the Pointer fans.
As to why Thrun started the 2nd game, your guess is as good as mine. Rumor was Zielke was to start game 2, then the coach changed his mind. One thing is for sure, we will play each other again in a couple of weeks at the WIAC tournament. Good luck with the remainder of your season and see you at the WIAC Tournament.

[OshDude]

Right on. Thanks for the catcher correction. And thanks for your take on how things went down. Greatly appreciated.

And you're right ... this is just another chapter. Can't wait for round 3, if you'll pardon the pun.

Anything in particular with the fans or just an overall perception? Hope it wasn't too bad. Things got a bit heated on and off the field for those 10 minutes or so.

[badgerwarhawk]

Following the Oshkosh/WARHAWK brawl a few years ago both head coaches were suspended for a game and Doug Henry, our pitching coach, was suspended for three games if I remember correctly.  I don't recall any players being suspended.  Henry had struck the Oshkosh scorer who felt he needed to be involved and had rushed onto the field with the players.   He sued but I never heard how that was resolved.  It was an ugly scene. 

I think any suspensions handed out will be for conference games.  If they aren't, they should be.

Of course Garrett Bloom is head coach Howard Bloom's son.  I played high school baseball with Howard Bloom ( useless trivial information).

[Just Bill]

Of course Garrett Bloom is head coach Howard Bloom's son.  I played high school baseball with Howard Bloom ( useless trivial information).

Whoa, whoa, BW.

The head coach of UWSP is Pat Bloom.  Garrett Bloom is Pat Bloom's younger brother.

[Mr. Downtown]

What is the ruling in the WIAC/NCAA with close plays at home plate?

I know in the WIAA, you pretty much cannot touch the catcher for safety reasons. If the catcher is blocking the plate, you can slide into them, but cannot throw a forearm to knock the ball out of the mitt.

I wonder if the NCAA/WIAC has the same ruling? If that's the case then Fadness should have been thrown out (like he was) immediately.

However, their is NO reason why Stevens Point should have cleared the benches IMO. Anytime their are plays at home plate, you as the runner, or you as the catcher, have to do everything possible to win that situation. Sliding into a catcher who is blocking the plate is like sliding into a brick wall. A great way to injure any part of the lower leg. A forearm to the glove might give you a bruise, or if you have weak wrists, worse. With the ruling, it's always more dangerous for the runner then for the catcher (again, my opinion).

If the Pointers and their fans believe it was to protect their player I'm sorry to say this, but toughen up a bit? Just because one catcher got hurt in a bang-bang play doesn't mean that all catchers are going to get hurt... If anything, from listening to the game on the radio, Oshkosh deserved one ejection, but Point instigated the other 3 players to be tossed.

Like Harry Truman once said "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." (I've been paying probably too much attention to the Democratic Race and not the WIAC race... )