Junior Shawn Wozniak
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Milwaukee Baseball Team Faces Cleveland State In Tournament Opener
UWM heads to Ohio for league tournament Wednesday
May 19, 2008
This Week In Milwaukee Baseball
GAME #56 - HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
• UWM (21-34) vs. Cleveland State (21-29)
• Eastwood Field, Niles, Ohio
• Wed., May 21 at 10 a.m. CST
• Milwaukee leads series, 47-17
• UWM RHP Brad Lusti (3-4) vs. CSU LHP Josh Hungerman (5-3)
GAMES #57+ - HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
• UWM (21-34) vs. TBD
• Eastwood Field, Niles, Ohio
• Thurs., May 22 through Sat., May 24
With the regular season in the books, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team heads to Niles, Ohio, for the 2008 Horizon League Tournament this week. Action gets underway at Eastwood Field Tuesday, with the fifth-seeded Panthers playing their first game Wednesday at 10 a.m. CST against fourth-seeded Cleveland State. The tournament winner will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Complete Release in PDF Format 
The 2008 Horizon League Baseball Championship, presented by U.S. Army, is scheduled for Tuesday through Sunday, May 20-25, at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio. Single-day tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and youth, while all-tournament passes are $20 and $14, respectively. Students from all Horizon League institutions are free with a valid student identification card. Gates will open one hour prior to the first game each day.
For additional Horizon League baseball information, including the championship bracket, directions to Eastwood Field, GameTracker live statistics and game recaps, check out the official web site at www.horizonleague.org. For free, live video webcasts of all games of the Horizon League Baseball Championship, log onto the Horizon League Network at www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv. Note: Bracket also on page 10 of this release.
The Panthers are 47-17 all-time against Cleveland State, with those 47 wins marking the most UWM has against any opponent in its NCAA D-I history. The Panthers had won 11 of the past 12 games in the series after taking five of six last season - outscoring the Vikings by a total of 33-8 in a three-game series in Milwaukee a year ago. The Panthers took two of three when these teams faced each in Chicago in mid-April and then split at Cleveland last month to hold a 3-2 edge in 2008.
As a team, UWM batted .330 in those five games, led by four players at .350 or higher. Senior Jesse Hart was the biggest offensive force, going 12-for-23 (.522) in the five game, scoring eight times while registering six doubles, two home runs and seven RBI. He slugged 1.043 and had a .522 on-base percentage. Junior Josh Groves and sophomore Shaun Wegner were both next at .368, with each collecting seven hits and driving in five. Senior Nick Wichser was at .350, scoring five runs and knocking in four.
Since most of the games in 2008 have been slugfests (the teams have combined to average nearly 17 runs a game), the pitching lines are not as impressive as the batting stats. Senior Adam Ferrell does own a 1.50 ERA in the series, saving one game in three appearances. He struck out four in 6.0 innings on the hill.
The 2008 campaign marks the 44th season of baseball at UWM. It is also the 39th season of varsity play (the program was played at the club level from 1982-1986) and the 18th in the Panthers NCAA Division I era.
UWM LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Panthers have had great success in the Horizon League Tournament, winning league titles in 1999, 2001 and 2002. In 1999, UWM bounced back from a game one loss to win four-straight games and advance to the NCAA Regional. For the back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002, Milwaukee went a perfect 4-0 in the tournament each season. The first of the three crowns came as a No. 2 seed, while the last two were as the No. 1. The Panthers are the No. 5 seed this year.
Last season, Milwaukee lost an extra-inning heartbreaker to Wright State, falling a game short of playing for the tournament championship after posting two victories in the event.
OFFENSE HEATING UP HEADING INTO TOURNAMENT
Milwaukee will look to its offense to help the cause this week, as the team batting average is now up to .305 and numerous regulars carry batting averages above or near the .300 mark. The team will bring an eight-game streak of recording 10 or more hits into play Wednesday, averaging over 13 hits a contest in that stretch. The Panthers are hitting .328 as a team since the start of May and are averaging nearly seven runs a game. Junior Shawn Wozniak has led the way this month, batting .412 with two home runs and 13 runs batted in. Freshman Doug Dekoning (.359), senior Jesse Hart (.353), junior Ben Long (.341) and senior Nick Wichser (.341) have all batted over .300 this month. On the mound, junior Brad Lusti has pitched very well but does not have too much to show for it. He is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three starts, allowing five earned runs in 23.0 innings, striking out 17.
UWM'S NEW HIT KING
With a single up the middle in the eighth inning of game two versus Butler May 10, senior Jesse Hart took his place in program history by collecting career hit No. 246 to break the former mark of 245 held by Darin Haugom (1997-2001). Hart has been nothing but steady over the course of his career, collecting 33 hits as a freshman, 74 as a sophomore, 71 as a junior and 74 - and counting - as a senior this spring. He was honored as Horizon League Player of the Week for his efforts May 12.
HART IN THE 200 CLUB; WICHSER UP NEXT
Senior Jesse Hart joined a select group with his base hit against NIU April 2: players to collect 200 or more hits in a Panther career. Hart sat at 199 in his illustrious career heading into the game at Northern Illinois before lacing a double in his first at-bat. Senior Nick Wichser is banging on the door of that select group as well, as he has upped his career total to 199 after play this weekend. Darin Haugom (245), Ross McCoy (220) and Charlie Reschke (213) are the only other three to reach the 200-plus level.
SENIOR RECOGNITION
With the games at Miller Park arriving much later on the schedule this season than normal, the team was able to have its Senior Day on May 15 as well. The seven Milwaukee seniors - Adam Ferrell, Jesse Hart, Matt Holzheuter, Ben McClarey, John Sarcia, Troy Vesling and Nick Wichser - were all honored in an on-field presentation between games.
LAST WEEK'S RECAP
Milwaukee closed out the regular season with three games against Youngstown State, falling twice at Miller Park before recording a 9-8 victory in the season finale Friday at Henry Aaron Field. The 13-inning loss to YSU in the nightcap Thursday tied the mark for longest game in UWM program history, equaling a 13-inning affair with Butler in May of 1998.
Junior Shawn Wozniak led the way with a .615 week, going a red-hot 8-for-13 with a double, two home runs and six runs batted in against the Penguins. Senior Jesse Hart added another career record to his resume Thursday, eclipsing the all-time at bats record during game two.
DOFFEK OFFICIALLY ON TOP AFTER TWO YEARS
Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek established a baseball program record last year for wins by a first-year coach with 25 victories, breaking the former mark of 21. He made it 2-for-2 this year, as victory No. 20 on the season May 10 gave him 45 is his two seasons at the helm, topping the old mark of 44 set by former skipper Jerry Augustine, with 21 in 1995 and 23 in 1996.
DOUBLE THE FUN
Hitting doubles has been a hallmark of the UWM offense, as the team has broken the season record in two-baggers five times in the past eight seasons. This year is no different, as they currently lead the Horizon League with 137 doubles and are on pace to break the record once again. Senior Jesse Hart has been the biggest contributor, leading the team with 25 entering play this week. With a double in the fourth inning against Northwestern April 30, he also broke the career record for two-baggers with No. 59. That eclipsed the former mark of 58, held by Ross McCoy (2004-07) and he has now pushed that total to 63 entering play this week. As of this week's NCAA statistical release, Milwaukee ranked 10th as a team in doubles per game and sixth in overall doubles. Hart ranked tied for second in the NCAA in total doubles and seventh in the NCAA in doubles per game. In addition to that, UWM has the top three accumulators of doubles in the Horizon League: Hart is first with 25, junior Shawn Wozniak is second with 23 and senior Nick Wichser is tied for third with 20.
More doubles notes:
--UWM has three players with 20 or more doubles in the same season for the first time in school history.
--Hart (25) and Wozniak (23) have combined for more doubles than any other pair of teammates at the NCAA D-I level. One or the other will hold the school record for doubles at the end of the season.
--Hart already holds the UWM record for career doubles at 63, breaking the UWM mark of 59. Up next would be the 21-year old Horizon League record for two-baggers, currently held by Adam Casillas of Oral Roberts (1984-87) at 66.
AN ACE UP THEIR SLEEVE
Junior Andy Hetebrueg has been heating up as the season has progressed and is now 5-6 overall after recording wins in four of his last six appearances. He has four of his last five starts, beating UIC (two earned runs in 8.0 IP) May 9, Valparaiso (6 K's in 6.2 IP) May 3, Wright State April 25 and Cleveland State (three earned runs in 8.0 IP, career-high 7 K's) April 19. He is second in the league with five victories.
THESE GUYS CAN HIT
With the team batting average hovering above .300 lately (currently .305), a look at the line-up shows six different every day players with season averages over the .300 mark. Senior Nick Wichser currently leads the team at .363 and has started all 55 games in the outfield. Junior Shawn Wozniak is second at .356, having started 52 games at first base. Sophomore Shaun Wegner is next at .344, having started 37 games at catcher. Senior Jesse Hart is batting .329 and has started 53 games (mostly at second base) and freshman Doug Dekoning gives UWM two starting outfielders over the mark, as he is up to .319 on the year in 46 games. Junior Josh Groves is batting .303 as the starting third baseman and junior Andy Gerhartz is at .279 after having been over the .300 mark for most of the season.
THIS "WOZ" GOOD; VERY GOOD
Junior Shawn Wozniak continues his impressive breakout junior campaign, as he has set new career-highs in runs (38), at bats (194), doubles (23), home runs (5) and runs batted in (44) while batting .356. He also has a 16-game hitting streak on his resume this year. In 50 games last year, Wozniak recorded 33 hits in 133 at bats (.248), scored 26 runs, hit four home runs and drove in 22.
FRESHMEN LEARNING CURVE
Freshman Doug Dekoning opened the season as one of the starting outfielders for the Panthers and has gone on to appear in 46 games, making 38 starts. After a slow start which saw him batting .173 at the end of March, the Dick Falk Award winner (high school player of the year in the state of Wisconsin) has raised his batting average to its current .319. Over his last 27 contests, he has recorded 34 hits in 83 at bats (.411) with 20 runs scored.
HURTS SO GOOD
For a pair of Panther players, getting on base by any means can be a little painful at times. Junior Andy Gerhartz and sophomore Shaun Wegner lead the team in getting hit by a pitch this season, with both ranking in the top four in the league heading into play this week. Gerhartz has been plunked a league-leading 18 times and Wegner is now tied for fourth at 13. For good measure, senior Nick Wichser ranks seventh in the league with 10. For the record, the UWM season mark is 26 by Clay Schwartz in 1997.
OUR TURN
Senior Troy Vesling and sophomore Shaun Wegner have made the most of additional playing time this season, as each has already set career-highs in numerous categories. Vesling has established career marks in at bats with 184 (was 99), runs with 26 (14), hits with 46 (25) and has already gone well past his RBI-total from last season (18) sitting at 29 after play this weekend. After batting .277 as a freshman, Wegner is currently at .344 and has blown by last season's totals of 18 runs (he currently has 31), 26 hits (has 44), and 13 RBI (has 21). In addition, he has picked four runners off base and thrown out 16 would-be base stealers.
THE BEAT GOES ON NO MORE...
Senior Nick Wichser saw his hitting streak end at 24 games in the first contest of a doubleheader at Cleveland State April 19. The streak will go down as the third-longest in program history, trailing only 32 and 27-game hitting streaks by Mike Goetz in 2006. Wichser ended the stretch with 16 multi-hit efforts in those 24 games, going 44 for 92 (.478) while scoring 28 runs and driving in 25 more.
HART ON SEASON-LONG MISSION
Senior Jesse Hart is looking to put his name in the UWM record books in numerous spots over the course of his final season, as he has established new career marks for hits, at bats and doubles this season. In addition to chasing career records in several categories, he will also look to become the first-ever Panther to bat over .300 in each of his four seasons in a Milwaukee uniform. Charlie Reschke (2002-05) was the last senior in line to give it a shot, but batted .287 his final season. Hart, a career .342 hitter, batted an impressive .371 in 35 games as a freshman in 2005, .315 in 55 games as a sophomore and .360 as a junior a year ago.
CAREER RECORDS CHASE
AT-BATS HITS
1. 746, Jesse Hart 1. 252, Jesse Hart
2. 737, Ross McCoy (2004-07) 2. 245, Darin Haugom (1997-2001)
3. 692, Darin Haugom (1997-2001) 3. 220, Ross McCoy (2004-07)
4. 683, Charlie Reschke (2002-05) 4. 213, Charlie Reschke (2002-05)
5. 610, Chad Sadowski (1997-2000) 5. 197, Chad Sadowski (1997-2000)
READY FOR BUS RIDES AND MOTEL STOPS...
The Panthers were busier than ever while waiting for the snow to melt and Henry Aaron Field to be ready for them to play in Milwaukee. While that happened, they played 30-straight road games to open 2008, the most-ever to start a season in their NCAA Division I history. The previous record of 26 occurred in 2001.
The Panthers traveled more than 12,500 miles over the course of the first seven weeks of the season via plane or bus, visiting six different states (Florida, California, Louisiana, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana), including two trips to Indiana and four separate road trips to Illinois.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
The Panthers will look to replace four team members (three position players and one pitcher) that all earned Second Team All-Horizon League honors a year ago. The trio of position players (Ross McCoy, Rob Brockel, Grant Berkovitz) accounted for 618 at-bats and a composite .306 batting average, 110 runs scored and 102 runs batted in. The pitcher (Robert Michalkiewicz) led the squad in earned run average, wins, games started, innings pitched, shutouts and complete games and was second in strikeouts.
PRESEASON POLL
The Panthers were picked third in the 2008 Horizon League preseason baseball poll. They will look to improve on their third place finish from a year ago, when they had their season come to a close in extra innings just one game away from the league tournament championship.
Wright State was the top pick to win the league in the vote of Horizon League head coaches. The Raiders went 36-22 last year, falling in the league tournament championship to UIC. They received 34 points and four of the seven first-place votes. UIC took a close second despite having won its sixth-straight regular season title in 2007 and third tournament crown in that span as well, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
1. Wright State (4) - 34 points
2. UIC (3) - 32 points
3. Milwaukee - 25 points
4. Butler - 17 points
5. Youngstown State - 14 points
6. Cleveland State - 13 points
7. Valparaiso - 12 points
ON TAP
If the Panthers secure the Horizon League Tournament Championship, they will be heading to NCAA Regionals starting May 30, 2008.
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