BB: WIAC: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Jim Dixon]

Former WW RHP Greg Reinhard has made the opening roster of the Cubs AA Tennessee Smokies.

Excellent!  Good for him!  That's one more team I'll have to check up on periodoically.  Who is their MLB affiliate?

Without checking I expect they are a Chicago Cubs minor league team.

[badgerwarhawk]

Former WW RHP Greg Reinhard has made the opening roster of the Cubs AA Tennessee Smokies.

You are correct, JD.

[OshDude]

That didn't take long. All the top teams took care of business, and the seeds are locked in for the WIAC tournament.

#1 Oshkosh
#2 Stevens Point
#3 Whitewater
#4 Stout

Now all that is left is the all-conference team. Stout OF Erik Johnson probably secured his spot with a big day against Platteville. So did Stout SP Rob Heller, who improved to 6-0.

Anyone else have an all-conference team?

[Spence]

Could be an interesting matchup between Stout and Oshkosh in the first round. Would assume Heller would pitch for Stout, and he left with a lead against them in the regular season before the bullpen blew it.

[OshDude]

Could be an interesting matchup between Stout and Oshkosh in the first round. Would assume Heller would pitch for Stout, and he left with a lead against them in the regular season before the bullpen blew it.

I agree, Spence. Besides facing Stevens Point with Zimmerman on the mound, I think Stout and those bats (and Heller) is the next worst scenario for Oshkosh.

Good thing Oshkosh probably has a Pool C bid going in because Stout is not your average WIAC #4 seed.

[Spence]

Maybe. An 0-2 would make it kind of iffy.

I'm curious to see what UWSP does with their pitchers. Both Zimmerman and Hemstead should stand a decent chance against Whitewater, but Zimmerman would stand a lot better chance against Oshkosh in a theoretical second game. That said, you have to win the first one to win the first two.

I'd have a hard time not throwing Zimmerman, but it's tempting.

[Just Bill]

I think Oshkosh is anything but a lock for a Pool C bid.  Too many upsets across the nation and Oshkosh will have no safety net left.  It wouldn't surprise me if this was a 1 bid year for the WIAC.

[badgerwarhawk]

I see it pretty much the same way, Bill.

[OshDude]

If Point wins the tourney and Oshkosh gets a win, I think both are in.

If Whitewater or Stout wins over anyone but Oshkosh in the final, I think the WIAC gets one bid.

[OshDude]

I ran some QOWi numbers, and most Midwest Region teams need to do more than they think. These results should be very close, though I have four more St. Scholastica in-region games than the previous rankings had.

Though there are many criteria, on the national board many posters think 9.7 is a reasonable cutoff for at-large bids using the QOWi criterion.

Let me know if I made any errors or if another team should be considered.

Numbers through Sunday's games:
1. Oshkosh 10.32
2. St. Olaf 10.04
3. Ripon 9.7
4. St. Thomas 9.66
5. Stevens Point 9.61
6. St. Scholastica 9.33
7. St. Norbert 9.2

[titan2000]

Does Gillespie wear a uniform or one of those silly sport coats he wears when he coaches Hoops?

Better dead than Red.

[BigPoppa]

UWO 7
UW Stout 9 (10 innings)

Currently in the 7th:
Whitewater 1
Stevens Point 2

[OshDude]

Here's my updated 2007 all-WIAC team, which uses only conference stats (24 possible games, in most cases). There were a couple changes from the original.

1B Brad Demmin (UWO) - .455, 5 HR, 36 RBI, 27 R (Co-Position POY)
1B Seth Maier (Stout) - .398, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 28 R
1B Ross Bennett (Platte) - .366, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 21 R (Co-Position POY)
2B Storm Gram (LC) - .443, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 25 R
2B Tim Schlosser (STP) - .354, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 18 R
OF Jason Fosler (UWO) - .390, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 28 R
OF Ryan Byrnes (STP) - .358, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 28 R
OF Brandon Scheidler (STP) - .354, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 22 R
*OF Jeff Donovan (WW) - .376, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 31 R
OF Erik Johnson (Stout) - .347, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 25 R
OF Bryan Schwebke (UWO) - .320, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 27 R
*OF Jordan Stine (WW) - .442, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 30 R
DH Thomas Corcoran (WW) - .396, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 16 R
UTIL Adam Evanoff (STP) - .398, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 26 R
*UTIL Mickey Fadness (UWO) - .396, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 20 R

P Brian Gerl (UWO) - 4-1, 3.10 ERA, 7 saves, 40.2 IP, 34 H, 2 BB, 24 K (Pitcher of the Year)
P Jordan Zimmerman (STP) - 5-0, 2.60, 2 saves, 34.2 IP, 26 H, 9 BB, 42 K
P Brandon Hempstead (STP) - 3-0, 2.66 ERA, 44 IP, 42 H, 16 BB, 32 K
P Rob Heller (Stout) - 4-0, 1.89 ERA, 1 save, 33.1 IP, 36 H, 18 BB, 17 K
P Adam Bretl (UWO) - 5-1, 4.54 ERA, 37.2 IP, 40 H, 6 BB, 22 K

*Different from my last team

Just missed:
DH Mike Kuhn (Platte), OF Joel Hojnacki (STP), OF Scott Dybevik (Platte), UTIL Brad Archambeau (STP), OF Ben Prather (WW), P Ross Benitz (Platte), P Adam Roos (UWO), P Joe Cox (Platte), P Ben Sivertson (Stout), P Matt Doornink (Stout).

[Just Bill]

Point beat Whitewater 5-4.

Oshkosh def. Whitewater 7-4. WW is eliminated.

Point vs. Stout just underway.

[janesvilleflash]

I liked Gerl for pitcher of the year. Only 2 walks is amazing.