May 6, 2002

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Games #40-41 - Milwaukee (25-14) At Iowa (21-22)

Tues. May 7 - 5 p.m. CDT - Iowa City, Iowa

Games #42-45 - Milwaukee (25-14, 12-4) At Youngstown State (16-21, 10-6)

Fri. May 10-Sun. May 12 - Youngstown, Ohio

* The Week Ahead

UWM faces six-straight road contests in its quest to keep its school-record winning streak alive and to stay in first place in the Horizon League. The Panthers play a doubleheader Tuesday night at Iowa before starting a four-game series at Youngstown State Friday afternoon.

* About Iowa

The Hawkeyes split a four-game series with Northwestern over the weekend to stay in the race for a spot in the Big 10 Tournament. Iowa is 21-22-1 overall. Ian Mattiace leads the Hawkeyes in hitting with a .362 batting average and seven home runs while Andy Jansen hits .351 with five home runs. Nick Jensen has five saves and a 2.13 ERA out of the bullpen, while Hawkeye pitchers have posted a team ERA of 4.70.

* About Youngstown State

Playing its first season in the Horizon League, the Penguins moved into the thick of the league title chase with a four-game sweep of Wright State over the weekend. They will begin play this weekend two games back of UWM for the top spot in the league. Kendall Schlabach leads the Penguins in hitting with a .386 batting average while four other regulars hit at least .295. YSU has a 5.75 team ERA but Matt Brumit leads the starters with a 3.70 ERA while Chris Dennis has a 2.90 ERA in seven starts.

* Record Streak

With its four-game sweep of Detroit over the weekend, UWM now has a school-record 10-game winning streak. The Panthers won nine in a row twice last season. After a 4-10 start, UWM has rattled off wins in 21 of its last 25 games, including winning 13 of its last 14 contests. Winning the close games has been the difference for the Panthers. In its last 25 contests, UWM is 7-1 in one-run games.

* Tough Against Detroit

The four-game sweep of Detroit extended a lengthy streak of wins by UWM over the Titans. The Panthers haven't lost to Detroit since April 10, 1999, a streak of 16 straight games.

* Series Success

UWM has kept alive an impressive streak through the first four league series of the year. The Panthers have avoided losing a league series since May of 1999, when Cleveland State won three of four games over the Panthers. The streak now includes 14 series, totaling nine series wins and five series splits.

* A Record-Setting Day

Quintin Oldenburg set a school record by tossing 10 shutout innings as UWM collected a 1-0 win over Detroit on Saturday. The senior right-hander allowed just six hits and did not walk a batter while striking out nine. Oldenburg now leads UWM with six wins and has a 2.45 ERA in league contests.

* Just Another Spot In The Records

Quintin Oldenburg's record performance Saturday placed him all alone atop UWM's all-time wins list and all-time strikeouts list. He now has 222 strikeouts in his career, surpassing Chad Sadowski's 213. Meanwhile, the win was the 23rd of his career, besting Sadowski's 22.

* Saving The Day

Senior Matt Freisleben had a great week out of the bullpen, posting six saves in seven games and raising his season total to 12. That marks a new school record and should have Freisleben among the national leaders when the NCAA releases updated statistics on Tuesday. Freisleben allowed just two runs in 7 2/3 innings of work this week and his season ERA stands at 1.73. Freisleben already holds the single-season appearance record with 30 chances last year, but with 27 appearances so far this year the senior will likely smash that mark. Freisleben also already holds the school's career appearance record and last Tuesday made his 100th appearance on the mound for UWM. He is also nearing an unofficial NCAA record of 115 appearances in relief without ever making a start.

* Guden Is Good

Steve Guden recorded the second two-homer game of his career and drove in 11 runs last week in helping the Panthers to a perfect 7-0 record. The senior hit a grand slam against UW-Parkside in the second game of a doubleheader Thursday, then blasted a two-run home run in his next at bat against the Rangers. Guden also had a key, two-run double in Friday night's win over Detroit and added two more RBI in the game-one win on Saturday. For the week, Guden recorded a .680 slugging percentage and also scored five runs while pushing his season batting average to .275 and upping his RBI total to 33 - second on the team.

* Mound Mastery

Runs have been hard to come by for UWM opponents lately. Panther pitchers posted a 2.02 ERA in the seven wins last week and the Panthers have their league ERA down to just 2.69. UWM's season ERA stands at 3.94, on pace to smash the school record mark of 4.73 set last year.

* Leading With Lefeber

Geoff Lefeber has put together three-straight stellar league starts, including his second win of the year Friday night against Detroit. He allowed just one earned run and six hits in 8 2/3 innings of work. His league totals now include a 2-0 record and a 1.30 ERA, as Lefeber has allowed just 18 hits and seven walks in 27 2/3 innings. Overall, Lefeber has a 2.11 ERA.

* Streaks Ending

Two Panthers saw notable hitting streaks end during the previous week. David Michna's 10-game streak ended Thursday against UW-Parkside while Dave Pudlosky's nine-game streak ended Friday night against Detroit. The only hitting streak on the team this season to match those marks is the 10-game streak by John Vanden Berg early this season.

* Pudlosky Packing A Punch

Dave Pudlosky had his nine-game hitting streak snapped when he went 0-for-3 Friday night. But, he has still hit safely in 11 of the last 13 games and has raised his batting average in that stretch from .149 to .266 during a time that has seen him collect 19 hits in 42 at bats. He was named the Horizon League Player of the Week last Monday after hitting .500 in six contests. Pudlosky also continues to be UWM's most patient hitter, collecting 31 walks and compiling a .430 on-base percentage. In fact, he is on pace to break the school record of 39 walks set by Jak Kraus in 1996. With two more walks he will break into the top five all-time. Pudlosky is also yet to make an error at either first base or in the outfield this season.

* Bushong Keeps Battling

Aaron Bushong won his third-straight start Saturday by allowing just one earned run in five innings of work. He also struck out six batters while allowing seven hits and one walk. It was the first time in the last three weeks Bushong didn't go the distance in a league start. In game one of a doubleheader April 27 against Cleveland State, when he allowed just six hits, two walks and two runs while striking out five. He worked a complete game in a 2-1 win over Butler April 20. He has allowed just four earned runs and 17 hits in his last 19 innings of work in league play. He also went the distance in an 11-4 win over Rider in March.

* Daring Doering

Troy Doering has added a much-needed element to the Panther attack since moving to the leadoff spot - hitting and aggressive base-running. Doering, who has been in the leadoff spot in 17 of the last 19 games, went 21-for-64 in those contests, stealing 13 bases and scoring 18 runs.

* Kardelis Gets A Chance

Dan Kardelis is finding himself in the lineup with more regularity and appears to be taking advantage of his opportunity. He had five hits in 10 at bats last week and is now hitting .315 on the season.

* Home Field Edge

UWM's 13 wins at home so far this season have pushed the Panthers to 23-2 in their last 25 home games. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Panthers are 39-6 at Henry Aaron Field. UWM is 77-23 at home over the last five-plus seasons.

* Getting Used To Home

Now that UWM finally has its home schedule rolling, the Panthers can look forward to one of the most extensive home slates in school history. Weather permitting, UWM will play a total of 20 home games - including two at Miller Park - equaling the most home games the Panthers have ever played. UWM played 20 home games in 1997.

* The Fans Are Watching

The April 24 doubleheader win over Bradley at Miller Park included the largest crowd ever to witness the Panthers play baseball in Milwaukee. 1,056 fans went through the turnstiles at the Milwaukee Brewers' year-old facility. UWM won game one, 5-4, before cruising to a 20-7 win in the nightcap.

* Player Of The Week Honorees

UWM has had two players honored as the Horizon League Player of the Week this year. Steve Guden won the award last week after collecting 11 hits in 20 at bats during a six-game span that saw the Panthers go 4-2. John Vanden Berg won the award in March after hitting .588 with 10 hits in four-game stretch.

* Run Shortage

UWM didn't put too many dents in the Bulldog Park scoreboard during the weekend series at Butler April 19-21. The Panthers scored just nine runs - the fewest UWM has ever scored in a four-game league series.

* Tough Early Season

Sure enough, UWM's return to Wisconsin meant more success on the field. The Panthers battled through the most difficult non-conference schedule in school history during February and March. UWM dropped a pair of games to Nebraska two weeks ago. The Cornhuskers made the College World Series a season ago. UWM has also already faced defending national champion Miami (Fla.), Northern Iowa, which qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year, and Illinois, which is off to one of its best starts in school history. UWM has also already played six games against Big 12 schools, falling three times to Kansas, twice to Nebraska and once to K-State.

* Fresh Faces

The lineup UWM fielded in its season opener with Kansas in February included newcomers in five of the nine spots in the batting order, and the trend of using newcomers has continued throughout the early season. Ben Beno, a transfer from UW-Oshkosh, was in center field while Adam Christ, a transfer from Iowa State, was at shortstop. Newcomers David Michna, P.J. Cannon and Troy Doering were also in the starting lineup. Plus, the starting pitcher in each half of the doubleheader with Kansas on day two of the series was new to the Panther program. In total, the roster includes 18 players that did not play for UWM last year.

* Picked To Win

UWM has been picked to win the 2002 Horizon League championship. They received four first-place votes and 34 total points in voting conducted among league coaches. UIC received two first-place votes and was picked to finish second. UWM has also been picked to win the league crown in a number of publications.

* Panther Background

UWM won the regular season and tournament titles in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference last season, claiming its second berth in the NCAA Tournament. UWM finished the season 39-18, setting a new school record for wins. The Panthers were eliminated from NCAA Tournament play by Notre Dame and UC-Santa Barbara.

* Returning With Honors

A handful of Panthers honored by the league last season are back this year. Senior Quintin Oldenburg is the reigning League Pitcher of the Year, while John Vanden Berg was the League Co-Newcomer of the Year. Oldenburg was on the all-league first team while Steve Guden joined Vanden Berg on the second team and the all-newcomer team.

* Tough To Replace

The newcomers on this year's roster have plenty of big shoes to fill. In total, the players lost to graduation from last year's roster combined for 39 home runs and 301 RBIs, while on the mound the group recorded an 18-7 mark with four saves.

* Tourney At The Jake

League officials announced last week that an additional day of games at this year's league tournament will be played at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, meaning only the first-round game will not be played in the Indians' facility. The tourney is May 22-26.

* Up Next

UWM wraps up the regular season with five home games next week.