Todays Update

Butler may be one of the top dogs in the NCAA basketball tournament, but UWM took two out of three games against them this weekend on the baseball diamond.  Doug Dekoning is still leading them in most offensive categories and has yet to commit an error in the field.  Chad Pierce  has 35 strikeouts and only 9 walks in 7 starts this spring. 

UW La Crosse won three and lost one against UW Stout to improve their record to 11-4.  They face off against UW Oshkosh next weekend for a pair of doubleheaders.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers kick off their season on April 7th.  They have announced their roster to start the season.  The Timber Rattlers always seem to be a step ahead of everyone when it comes to improving the experience for fans.  Now they have unveiled the Rattlers In Game mobile phone app.  It will do many things including letting you order food from your seat and helping pick what songs play at the stadium. 

Buccaneers and Sabres and Panthers

Beloit College finished up their Florida trip with a loss to Vassar College.  The Buccaneers ended up with a 4-3 record including two blowout victories against Northland College.  Scoring 57 runs in 7 games is pretty impressive, especially considering they didn't have a single home run. 

Marian University has started out 0-2 this spring while playing St. Mary's(MN) and The College of New Jersey in Arizona.  The Sabres face Augsburg College tomorrow for a doubleheader and will remain in Arizona through March 18.  Marian's head coach Jason Bartelt was inducted into the Lakeland College Hall of Fame last October.  He was named All-Conference in each of his three seasons as a player there. 

UWM dropped 3 to the University or Arkansas last weekend despite being ahead or tied in the fifth inning or later of each of them.   This week the Panthers are in California playing in the Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament.  They lost the first two games to San Jose State and UC Davis.  Today's game was a different story as the Panther pitching staff was lights out against Santa Clara.  Chad Pierce had a perfect game into the fifth inning and only gave up 3 hits and walked none in seven and a third innings while striking out 3.  Greg Blohowiak and Kaleb Engelke finished the 3-0 shutout.  Doug Dekoning went 2 for 3 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.  He has been on fire this season hitting .500 with 2 HR, 13 RBI, and 4 steals.  UWM will finish up their west coast trip tomorrow with a rematch against San Jose State.

Northwoods League Part 1

The Northwoods League has done a lot to improve Wisconsin baseball.  The teams usually sign a few local players to fill up the roster while waiting for some colleges to finish their seasons.  Sometimes those players do enough to earn a spot for the full year.  We are now up to six Wisconsin teams in the Northwoods League.

Carson Park, Home of the Express

The Eau Claire Express have been around since 2005 and are the defending champions.  They were also ranked #1 by Perfect Game  in their ranking of summer league teams.  Pretty impressive considering not too long ago the Northwoods league was considered inferior to the east coast summer leagues.  Follow them on twitter for all the latest news.

In 2007 the Green Bay Bullfrogs started play. They went through 45 different players last year for a variety or reasons but still finished a respectable 39-31.  The Titletown Entertainment Group is hoping to have a new stadium ready in time for the 2012 season.  Follow that link and check out the photo section.  It's going to be a pretty cool looking stadium.  The Bullfrogs recently signed three Wisconsin natives to return this summer.  Paul Hoenecke and Greg Blohowiak are coming from UWM while Joe Betcher is from the University of Illinois-Chicago.  You can follow Green Bay on twitter also. 

Bobby Juan

The La Crosse Loggers were formed in 2003.  The Lumberyard at Copeland Park has pulled in over 100,000 fans each of the last five seasons.  Three out of the last four MLB drafts have had a former Logger taken in the first round.  2010 Gatorade Wisconsin State Player of the Year and La Crosse native Bobby Juan will be coming home to play for the Loggers this summer.  You can receive text alerts from the Loggers.

Founded in 2001, the Madison Mallards blow away the competition when it comes to attendance.  Already averaging almost 6,000 fans a game, look for that number to increase as they renovate their stadium.  The Mallards will have a new field manager this season as they named former Rochester Honkers manager Greg Labbe to the position.  Madison has also unveiled a new mascot and logo for this season. 

Weekend Roundup

Sorry for the hiatus.  I will try not to go that long without posting again. Now on to the news.

• UWM had to contend with the weather even on their trip to Tennessee last weekend.  They dropped two to Illinois State playing in Clarksville, TN.  Their game against Austin Peay was canceled due to weather.  The Panthers are in Fayetteville this weekend taking on the #16 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks.  Two home runs by Doug Dekoning was not enough on Friday as Arkansas won 15-6.  They play again on both Saturday and Sunday.  Also make sure you check out Diamond Chronicles.  Senior Sam Sivilotti and junior Greg Blohowiak, members of the Milwaukee baseball team, are blogging about the season.
   
•  UW Parkside was swept last weekend in their season opening series against Winona State University.  Their games this weekend in Evansville, Indiana against Wayne State and the University of Missouri- St. Louis have been bumped back a day due to weather, and will be played on Sunday and Monday.  
• Cardinal Stritch University finished its opening weekend with a 1-3 record playing against Harris Stowe State University in St.Louis, Mo.  Andy Klein picked up the win striking out 6 and walking 1 in six innings of work.  This weekends games against Indiana University Southwest have been canceled and they will next play March 12 in San Antonio, TX against DeSales University. 
• The Milwaukee School of Engineering has put in a full week of baseball in Florida.  They were 1-6 before yesterday's doubleheader with Hanover.  I can't find results of those games.  
• UW Whitewater took two from Washington University this week.  Daniel Putnam hit .889 with 3 stolen bases while Rob Coe hit .714 with a HR and two steals.  Riley Tincher and Jeff Donovan picked up the wins.  The fifth ranked Warhawks next play on March 17 against St Lawrence.  
• The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are having a Rummage Sale today from 10-3 selling lots of game used jerseys and bats among other things.  Individual tickets also go on sale today.  
• The Beloit Snappers are also selling their game worn jerseys. They have a job fair on March 15 and are looking to fill many positions.
• The Milwaukee Brewers have started out 4-2 so far in spring training.   As they showed last year spring training records dont always match the regular season results.  Check out the Brewerfan.net Power 50 to learn more about Brewer prospects than you thought possible.  
• The Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League have signed UWM Panther pitcher and area native Cameron Amsrud to play for them this summer.