BB: WIAC: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Mr. Downtown]

I see that Oshkosh is ranked #12 in the nation now.

[BoBo]

WW and Oshkosh split their games today...WW takes the opener 12-4, OWO in the nightcap 10-5.

[cubs]

Updated WIAC Standings (Through 4/25)
Oshkosh 18-2
Stevens Point 11-4
Whitewater 8-7-1
La Crosse 8-8
Stout 9-11
Platteville 3-11-1
Superior 1-15

UWO is guaranteed a share of the WIAC regular season championship with just one win over UWSP in a pair of DH's this weekend. 

The best race is for the 3-4 spot and a berth in the WIAC conference tournament.  Things could REALLY get interesting with a UWO four game sweep over UWSP (not very likely) this weekend.

We should get a better idea of what kind of team UWL is as they face Whitewater and Stevens Point in a pair of 4 game sets the next two weekends.

[titan2000]

I thought Superior would have an awesome team this year.   Dissapointing.

[badgerwarhawk]

Remaining conference schedules:

Oshkosh: @ Stevens Point (4), bye
Stevens Point: Oshkosh (4), LaCrosse (4)
WHITEWATER: @ LaCrosse (4), Superior (4)
LaCrosse: WHITEWATER (4), @ Stevens Point (4)
Stout: bye, @Platteville (4)
Platteville: @Superior (4), Stout (4)
Superior:  Platteville (4), @ WHITEWATER (4)

It could get very interesting but I think, with their pitching, Oshkosh has a good shot at the championship.  But you never know and Point's bats are certainly capable of giving the Titan staff a run for their money but I'd be pretty shocked if they couldn't get that done.

WARHAWKS and LaCrosse, who knows?  We've been so inconsistant that you never know which team is going to take the field.   Obviously WHITEWATER'S chances of repeating as conference champions have evaporated so our only chance of playing after the middle of May is to make the conference tournament and being playing our best baseball.  I'm just not sure what to expect.   If it's more of the same, we've got a problem.  At least the schedule concludes with Superior.  Obviously the series is critical to LaCrosse as well.  Finishing with Stevens Point only makes it more so for them.

I certainly wouldn't rule Stout out of the picture though their chances are slim.  They get a week to rest and then take on Platteville.  They'll probably have to sweep that series to have any chance.  They've got the sticks to do it but I don't think they have the arms.   

[OshDude]

I'll stick with my preseason prediction. Stout will be the No. 4 seed.

Not to toot my own horn, but before the season I said the winner of the La Crosse/Stout season series would be the No. 4. I'm pretty sure I'm right (toot, toot).

Lax has not beaten a good team besides Stout (1 of 4) all year. I don't see the Eagles doing much against Whitewater or Point either.

I would go so far as to say Blue Devils are in even if Platteville somehow sweeps them, because that would means Lax has to win 2 of 8 against Point/Whitewater due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Lax is not winning 2 of its last 8 games. And that's the best-case scenario. Even though Platteville is dangerous, Stout should at least get a split in that series, forcing Lax to split with SP/WW to earn a berth.

Granted, Stout's pitching is very suspect. But needing a win or two with a week off and the entire staff available against Platteville is much easier than the gauntlet Lax is facing.

Though I have been wrong before ...

[cubs]

Lax has not beaten a good team besides Stout (1 of 4) all year. I don't see the Eagles doing much against Whitewater or Point either.

In all fairness, La Crosse could have just as well won 3 out 4 from the Titans, losing three 1-run contests.  If they happened to win one or two of those one run games, do you give them a better chance?

I could see La Crosse splitting with both Whitewater and Stevens Point (which would put them at 12-12) and it still won't be enough for them to get in if Stout takes just one of four from Platteville.  They have nobody to blame but themselves however, considering they gave Superior their only win of the season.

[balco]

Anyone hear the results yet from Whitewater and Lacrosse today?

[BoBo]

They split, LaX taking the opener 10-0 in 8 innings and the Warhawks in the second 16-10.

[OshDude]

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Platteville as the No. 4 seed. All the Pioneers need is to win 3 of 4 at home over Stout and a little help from Stevens Point. That's very possible.

The lost game against the Pointers could turn out to be the most important game of the year. It's hard to assume a Stevens Point win over Platteville in that game, but I would say it's better than 50/50 that Platteville would have another loss had the game been played.

Too bad Whitewater gets Superior. Things would be really interesting if they had Oshkosh to close out the year.

Nevertheless, there is some drama this weekend. The WIAC is always good for that.

[OshDude]

Here's my 2007 all-WIAC team. Don't see these changing in the last four games. Chime in with yours.

1B Brad Demmin (UWO) - .424, 5 HR, 40 RBI, 32 R
1B Seth Maier (Stout) - .416, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 33 R
1B Ross Bennett (Platte) - .383, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 40 R, 10-11 SB (Position POY)
2B Storm Gram (LC) - .403, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 37 R, 8-9 SB
2B Tim Schlosser (STP) - .317, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 22 R
OF Jason Fosler (UWO) - .361, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 35 R
OF Ryan Byrnes (STP) - .363, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 40 R
OF Brandon Scheidler (STP) - .368, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 37 R
OF Erik Johnson (Stout) - .298, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 24 R
OF Bryan Schwebke (UWO) - .338, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 37 R
OF Joel Hojnacki (STP) - .328, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 43 R, 13-16 SB
DH Thomas Corcoran (WW) - .379, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 26 R
DH Mike Kuhn (Platte) - .302, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 24 R
UTIL Adam Evanoff (STP) - .384, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 35 R
UTIL Brad Archambeau (STP) - .403, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 36 R

P Brian Gerl (UWO) - 4-2, 2.85 ERA, 9 saves, 47.1 IP, 42 H, 3 BB, 31 K (Pitcher of the Year)
P Jordan Zimmerman (STP) - 5-0, 2.56, 2 saves, 38.2 IP, 30 H, 9 BB, 40 K
P Brandon Hempstead (STP) - 4-0, 2.18 ERA, 53.2 IP, 47 H, 21 BB, 46 K
P Rob Heller (Stout) - 5-0, 1.99 ERA, 1 save, 40.2 IP, 49 H, 11 BB, 16 K
P Adam Bretl (UWO) - 6-2, 3.70 ERA, 1 save, 56 IP, 52 H, 8 BB, 34 K

[BigPoppa]

Here's my 2007 all-WIAC team. Don't see these changing in the last four games. Chime in with yours.

1B Brad Demmin (UWO) - .424, 5 HR, 40 RBI, 32 R
1B Seth Maier (Stout) - .416, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 33 R
1B Ross Bennett (Platte) - .383, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 40 R, 10-11 SB (Position POY)
2B Storm Gram (LC) - .403, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 37 R, 8-9 SB
2B Tim Schlosser (STP) - .317, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 22 R
OF Jason Fosler (UWO) - .361, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 35 R
OF Ryan Byrnes (STP) - .363, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 40 R
OF Brandon Scheidler (STP) - .368, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 37 R
OF Erik Johnson (Stout) - .298, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 24 R
OF Bryan Schwebke (UWO) - .338, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 37 R
OF Joel Hojnacki (STP) - .328, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 43 R, 13-16 SB
DH Thomas Corcoran (WW) - .379, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 26 R
DH Mike Kuhn (Platte) - .302, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 24 R
UTIL Adam Evanoff (STP) - .384, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 35 R
UTIL Brad Archambeau (STP) - .403, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 36 R

P Brian Gerl (UWO) - 4-2, 2.85 ERA, 9 saves, 47.1 IP, 42 H, 3 BB, 31 K (Pitcher of the Year)
P Jordan Zimmerman (STP) - 5-0, 2.56, 2 saves, 38.2 IP, 30 H, 9 BB, 40 K
P Brandon Hempstead (STP) - 4-0, 2.18 ERA, 53.2 IP, 47 H, 21 BB, 46 K
P Rob Heller (Stout) - 5-0, 1.99 ERA, 1 save, 40.2 IP, 49 H, 11 BB, 16 K
P Adam Bretl (UWO) - 6-2, 3.70 ERA, 1 save, 56 IP, 52 H, 8 BB, 34 K

Are those WIAC-only stats or all season?

[badgerwarhawk]

Jeff Donovan, WW...........  .377,    5 HR  26 RBI  33 R  .447 Slug%   4-5  SB/Att  (Season Stats)

[OshDude]

Here's my 2007 all-WIAC team. Don't see these changing in the last four games. Chime in with yours.

1B Brad Demmin (UWO) - .424, 5 HR, 40 RBI, 32 R
1B Seth Maier (Stout) - .416, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 33 R
1B Ross Bennett (Platte) - .383, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 40 R, 10-11 SB (Position POY)
2B Storm Gram (LC) - .403, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 37 R, 8-9 SB
2B Tim Schlosser (STP) - .317, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 22 R
OF Jason Fosler (UWO) - .361, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 35 R
OF Ryan Byrnes (STP) - .363, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 40 R
OF Brandon Scheidler (STP) - .368, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 37 R
OF Erik Johnson (Stout) - .298, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 24 R
OF Bryan Schwebke (UWO) - .338, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 37 R
OF Joel Hojnacki (STP) - .328, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 43 R, 13-16 SB
DH Thomas Corcoran (WW) - .379, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 26 R
DH Mike Kuhn (Platte) - .302, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 24 R
UTIL Adam Evanoff (STP) - .384, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 35 R
UTIL Brad Archambeau (STP) - .403, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 36 R

P Brian Gerl (UWO) - 4-2, 2.85 ERA, 9 saves, 47.1 IP, 42 H, 3 BB, 31 K (Pitcher of the Year)
P Jordan Zimmerman (STP) - 5-0, 2.56, 2 saves, 38.2 IP, 30 H, 9 BB, 40 K
P Brandon Hempstead (STP) - 4-0, 2.18 ERA, 53.2 IP, 47 H, 21 BB, 46 K
P Rob Heller (Stout) - 5-0, 1.99 ERA, 1 save, 40.2 IP, 49 H, 11 BB, 16 K
P Adam Bretl (UWO) - 6-2, 3.70 ERA, 1 save, 56 IP, 52 H, 8 BB, 34 K

Are those WIAC-only stats or all season?

Season.
Edit: I now understand why you asked ... good point. Without going back to look at WIAC-only stats, I'll go with this team anyway.

Jeff Donovan, WW...........  .377,    5 HR  26 RBI  33 R  .447 Slug%   4-5  SB/Att  (Season Stats)

Donovan and Andy Podmolik were my last two off the team.

If you took anyone off my team for JD, who would it be? My guess is either Schlosser or Schwebke. But I'm curious anyway. It was tough to get it from about 18 to 15 offensive guys. I can't argue with JD being on there.

Also tough to leave off Ross Benitz and a couple other pitchers.

[badgerwarhawk]

Schlosser, Schwebke and/or Johnson.

I wondered about Podmolik when I saw your list but his numbers are a little down this year though he's still an exceptional player.

While my general perception is that the league, as a whole, is having a down year there are still a lot of very good players and I agree whitling the pack down to that few short changes someone.  I thought your's was a pretty good list.