Cardinal Stritch University split a pair of close games with DeSales University. The Wolves won both games of a doubleheader on Monday against Schreiner University. Dean Mlachnik has been hot so far this season hitting .500 with 2 HR and 11 RBI. The Wolves will be in Texas for two more days before returning to Wisconsin. Their home opener is next Saturday against Trinity International University.
UW Parkside lost last weekend to Wayne State and St Cloud State playing in Evansville,IN. They dropped a doubleheader to St Cloud State Saturday. The Rangers picked up the first win of their season Sunday against Illinois-Springfield 9-6. That afternoon they lost another game to St Cloud State. They open up at home next Saturday against Quincy University.
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Mar 15, 2011
Feb 19, 2011
Wanderings
- The 13U Rivercats are headed to Florida to play in the Cocoa Expo President's Day Challenge.
- Three Brewers spring training games will be televised on the MLB Network.
- UW Milwaukee outhit Tennessee but still lost 0-4 on Friday.
- The Madison Mallards have signed two Wisconsin natives. Michael Handel is from Sun Prairie, and currently attends the University of Minnesota. Justin Scanlon attends Michigan State and is originally from Verona.
- Yahoo has an article discussing how well the Brewers pitchers can hit.
Feb 17, 2011
Pitchers and Catchers Report
- Pitchers and catchers have now reported for the Brewers, but none of them made the biggest news of the day. Milwaukee signed Rickie Weeks to a contract extension. I like the deal, but hope he can stay healthy and continue to improve defensively.
- The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association has released its preseason poll. They have expanded their rankings this year to 20 teams in each division.
- UW Milwaukee is opening its season Friday at Tennessee . Also don't forget to vote for their 20th anniversary team.
- Here is a good editorial on why they should bring varsity baseball back to UW Eau Claire.
- A newspaper in Tennessee says It may be the best time ever to be a Cheesehead. I couldn't agree more.
- Appleton Native Trent Whitcomb has commited to play at Division 1 Eastern Illinois next year.
- The Timber Rattlers box office manager was one of the Super Bowl ticket holders that didn't get a seat in the game. They are offering tickets to the other displaced fans.
Feb 1, 2011
Todays Links
On Milwaukee has their all time team of Wisconsin born players. JS Online did a similar list last winter. Concordia University is trying to raise funds for a new ballpark. I hope they get it done. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are putting up new episodes of The Offseason every Thursday. I love having an in-state farm team for the Brewers. Amateur Baseball Report is having their Top 30 showcase in Racine on February 12th. If you want to find all your Brewers news in one place then check out the Daily Mug at BrewCrewBall.
Jan 30, 2011
UW Milwaukee Panthers
Scott Doffek is the head coach of the UW Milwaukee Panthers. He answered a few questions for this blog.
BAW: With the increases in home schooling and online school options, have you ever recruited someone that didnt play high school ball but just played on a traveling all star team?
Scott: That is certainly becoming far more prevalent. I am torn on this subject. I love the fact that some players want to play for there school and represent there hometown. That shows some allegiance. However, with the explosion of traveling teams and the exposure they get you can hardly blame any of them for going with that option. We have recruited players that have chosen to play for traveling teams as well there high school. Our job is to find the best talent and the best fit possible for the University. We need to look everywhere.
BAW: Do you have any tips for youth ball players hoping to play college ball someday?
Scott: My suggestion would be to take care of there academics. Finding the right fit for a college needs to start with that. If you have prepared yourself and done well in in school you have opened a lot of doors. Just like anything you need to work on your craft. Baseball has become a year round commitment like all sports be at the same time I think you will find most coaches are looking for a well rounded athletes. If you can play football or basketball or whatever do it! Just make sure you are getting in your baseball reps along the way. There is no substitute for competition.
BAW: Does the lack of D1 baseball schools in the state help or hurt you when recruting?
Scott: I think this state just loves its sports. Whether we have 1 or 5 D1 programs people are going to go out support whatever quality product is out there. In some regards the state has become a big recruiting pool for the D1's. Coaches from all over now there is only one hometown D1 program that they are going to have to fight through. There a few schools out there that have really done a great job of recognizing the talent that it is here.
BAW: Are any of your players signed up yet to play in the Northwoods League this summer?
Scott: Yes, we currently have 5. I'm sure before it's all said and done that number will be closer to 10.
BAW: Do you have any players whose names might be called in the draft this June?
Scott: I think we have a few. Paul Hoenecke who was drafted out of high school by the Tigers is certainly on the radar screen as well as Doug Dekoning and Chad Pierce. We have 5 or 6 players not yet eligible but are waiting in the wings as well.
BAW: With the increases in home schooling and online school options, have you ever recruited someone that didnt play high school ball but just played on a traveling all star team?
Scott: That is certainly becoming far more prevalent. I am torn on this subject. I love the fact that some players want to play for there school and represent there hometown. That shows some allegiance. However, with the explosion of traveling teams and the exposure they get you can hardly blame any of them for going with that option. We have recruited players that have chosen to play for traveling teams as well there high school. Our job is to find the best talent and the best fit possible for the University. We need to look everywhere.
BAW: Do you have any tips for youth ball players hoping to play college ball someday?
Scott: My suggestion would be to take care of there academics. Finding the right fit for a college needs to start with that. If you have prepared yourself and done well in in school you have opened a lot of doors. Just like anything you need to work on your craft. Baseball has become a year round commitment like all sports be at the same time I think you will find most coaches are looking for a well rounded athletes. If you can play football or basketball or whatever do it! Just make sure you are getting in your baseball reps along the way. There is no substitute for competition.
BAW: Does the lack of D1 baseball schools in the state help or hurt you when recruting?
Scott: I think this state just loves its sports. Whether we have 1 or 5 D1 programs people are going to go out support whatever quality product is out there. In some regards the state has become a big recruiting pool for the D1's. Coaches from all over now there is only one hometown D1 program that they are going to have to fight through. There a few schools out there that have really done a great job of recognizing the talent that it is here.
BAW: Are any of your players signed up yet to play in the Northwoods League this summer?
Scott: Yes, we currently have 5. I'm sure before it's all said and done that number will be closer to 10.
BAW: Do you have any players whose names might be called in the draft this June?
Scott: I think we have a few. Paul Hoenecke who was drafted out of high school by the Tigers is certainly on the radar screen as well as Doug Dekoning and Chad Pierce. We have 5 or 6 players not yet eligible but are waiting in the wings as well.
Jan 29, 2011
Beloit College Buccaneers
Dave DeGeorge is starting his 21st season as head coach of the Beloit College Buccaneers. I got the chance to ask him a few questions.
BAW: What do you think is the biggest adjustment to college baseball for incoming freshman?
Dave: The biggest adjustment for players moving from high school to college baseball is the speed of the game. Foot speed affects both offense and defense. Arm strength is greater across the board. Freshman base runners make mistakes due to the range and arm strength of the defenders. Freshman pitchers can be greatly bothered by running game of a veteran team. Freshman defenders struggle to get the ball to the base on-time against many college runners. The best players make the adjustment to the speed of the game within their first year.
BAW: How many all star tournaments do you go to in the summer to check out players?
Dave: Beloit is a national college, so I can recruit the entire country. My bread and butter are the northwest suburbs of Chicago and the areas in and around Milwaukee and Madison.
BAW: How big is your recruiting area?
Dave: Beloit is a national college, so I can recruit the entire country. My bread and butter are the northwest suburbs of Chicago and the areas in and around Milwaukee and Madison.
BAW: Do you have anyone on the team that appears to have a shot to get drafted this summer?
Dave: Mike Kovach is the player on our team most likely to play at the next level. He can play every position on the field, he is fast and he has a natural knack for the game. If he doesn’t get the opportunity to play in the minor leagues, he may go overseas to play.
BAW: What do you think is the biggest adjustment to college baseball for incoming freshman?
Dave: The biggest adjustment for players moving from high school to college baseball is the speed of the game. Foot speed affects both offense and defense. Arm strength is greater across the board. Freshman base runners make mistakes due to the range and arm strength of the defenders. Freshman pitchers can be greatly bothered by running game of a veteran team. Freshman defenders struggle to get the ball to the base on-time against many college runners. The best players make the adjustment to the speed of the game within their first year.
BAW: How many all star tournaments do you go to in the summer to check out players?
Dave: Beloit is a national college, so I can recruit the entire country. My bread and butter are the northwest suburbs of Chicago and the areas in and around Milwaukee and Madison.
BAW: How big is your recruiting area?
Dave: Beloit is a national college, so I can recruit the entire country. My bread and butter are the northwest suburbs of Chicago and the areas in and around Milwaukee and Madison.
BAW: Do you have anyone on the team that appears to have a shot to get drafted this summer?
Dave: Mike Kovach is the player on our team most likely to play at the next level. He can play every position on the field, he is fast and he has a natural knack for the game. If he doesn’t get the opportunity to play in the minor leagues, he may go overseas to play.
Jan 28, 2011
UW Parkside Rangers
I had the opportunity to interview Joel Weaver, the head baseball coach at Division 2 UW Parkside.
BAW: Do you scout the traveling all star teams at all?
Joel: From year to year we go through our needs as a program and look at the areas that we'll need to either improve or maintain. Sometimes that means going with an older, more experienced, transfer and sometimes it's developing a high school player to have around for four years. Either way, we'll take the time to evaluate players on both sides, and the traveling all star teams are nice since they typically carry a number of college caliber athletes.
BAW: What do you think is the biggest adjustment a ballplayer has to make
coming into college ball?
Joel: There are certainly a number of adjustments coming into college baseball that challenge freshmen. Most often they come from a high school program where they were the best player on the team and when they get to college, they're one of many very talented players. The competition to win a spot is an adjustment that some players have never had to face before. Another big adjustment is the speed of the game. Everything from the velocity of pitches, the athleticism and arm strength of the defenses, the speed of the base runners and how hard the ball comes of the bat makes the college game a lot different from what they've been used to. Any details that be exposed in a player will and that's tough for a lot of freshmen to adjust to. To me, the biggest adjustment is the size of the workload and the requirement to perform at a high level day in and day out within that workload. The quickest way for an incoming freshmen to make an impact on our team is to learn time management skills that will allow him to focus when needed in the classroom and on the baseball field. If a freshman struggles in his first year it's usually not being able to keep up with the overwhelming workload they're given.
BAW: Do you have any players signed up to play in the Northwoods league this summer?
Joel: We do not currently have anyone committed to the Northwoods league for this summer, but from my experience playing and coaching in collegiate summer leagues, I know that there is a lot of late roster movement that could open some doors for some of our them. We do however have a number of players who will be playing comparative baseball out in the Coastal Plains League, the New York Collegiate League and the Western Major Baseball League.
BAW: Are any of your players prospects for the MLB draft this June?
Joel: I've had a number of players that I've recruited and coached play professionally, and lot of them tend to come on strong late. We'll have a left handed pitcher who will get some strong attention this season with a couple of others that could jump on to the radar if they progress like some I've had in the past.
Thanks Joel for taking the time to answer some questions.
BAW: Do you scout the traveling all star teams at all?
Joel: From year to year we go through our needs as a program and look at the areas that we'll need to either improve or maintain. Sometimes that means going with an older, more experienced, transfer and sometimes it's developing a high school player to have around for four years. Either way, we'll take the time to evaluate players on both sides, and the traveling all star teams are nice since they typically carry a number of college caliber athletes.
BAW: What do you think is the biggest adjustment a ballplayer has to make
coming into college ball?
Joel: There are certainly a number of adjustments coming into college baseball that challenge freshmen. Most often they come from a high school program where they were the best player on the team and when they get to college, they're one of many very talented players. The competition to win a spot is an adjustment that some players have never had to face before. Another big adjustment is the speed of the game. Everything from the velocity of pitches, the athleticism and arm strength of the defenses, the speed of the base runners and how hard the ball comes of the bat makes the college game a lot different from what they've been used to. Any details that be exposed in a player will and that's tough for a lot of freshmen to adjust to. To me, the biggest adjustment is the size of the workload and the requirement to perform at a high level day in and day out within that workload. The quickest way for an incoming freshmen to make an impact on our team is to learn time management skills that will allow him to focus when needed in the classroom and on the baseball field. If a freshman struggles in his first year it's usually not being able to keep up with the overwhelming workload they're given.
BAW: Do you have any players signed up to play in the Northwoods league this summer?
Joel: We do not currently have anyone committed to the Northwoods league for this summer, but from my experience playing and coaching in collegiate summer leagues, I know that there is a lot of late roster movement that could open some doors for some of our them. We do however have a number of players who will be playing comparative baseball out in the Coastal Plains League, the New York Collegiate League and the Western Major Baseball League.
BAW: Are any of your players prospects for the MLB draft this June?
Joel: I've had a number of players that I've recruited and coached play professionally, and lot of them tend to come on strong late. We'll have a left handed pitcher who will get some strong attention this season with a couple of others that could jump on to the radar if they progress like some I've had in the past.
Thanks Joel for taking the time to answer some questions.
Jan 27, 2011
Carroll University Pioneers
Carroll University (formerly Carroll College) plays Division 3 baseball and is located in Waukesha. Derek Hassell is the head coach and agreed to answer a few of my questions.
BAW: How much do you pay attention to the elite all star teams in the state
when recruiting?
Derek: I pay very close attention to the elite all star teams. The majority of my recruiting will be out on the road watching summer and fall all star tournaments. In my experience, watching all star tournaments is a better use of my time because there will be a good number of players from both teams that are good enough to play college baseball. Watching the elite all star teams play, also gives me a chance to see players multiple times to better evaluate if they would be a good fit for my program. If I go and watch a high school or a legion game, there may only be one or two players on the field that has a chance to be a really good college baseball player.
BAW: Do you have any tips for youth baseball players hoping to play college ball?
Derek: Yes. Put the video games down and practice, practice, practice baseball. The more you play and practice baseball, the better baseball player you will become. Especially starting at the youth level. Developing strong practice habits at a young age will only make it easier to continue them into high school. Another tip I would give is to always play hard! Colleges coaches love players who hustle and work hard in practice and in games.
BAW: How big of an area do you try to recruit players from?
Derek: I don't have an area that I try and recruit from exclusively. For my 2012 recruiting class, I have players from Colorado, Virginia, Illinois and Wisconsin all committed to playing at Carroll next year and we aren't done yet. I would love to get this program to the point where the best players from the Waukesha and Milwaukee area want to be a part of our University, but I will never restrict my recruiting to just one specific area. Watching all star tournaments also gives me an opportunity to see recruits from other states that I wouldn't normally have a chance to see as well.
BAW: Are any of your players legitimate prospects for this summers draft?
Derek: I don't think we have any pro prospects this year. But we do have a lot of scrappy type players that are good college baseball players, and we are excited about getting the 2011 season underway!
BAW: How much do you pay attention to the elite all star teams in the state
when recruiting?
Derek: I pay very close attention to the elite all star teams. The majority of my recruiting will be out on the road watching summer and fall all star tournaments. In my experience, watching all star tournaments is a better use of my time because there will be a good number of players from both teams that are good enough to play college baseball. Watching the elite all star teams play, also gives me a chance to see players multiple times to better evaluate if they would be a good fit for my program. If I go and watch a high school or a legion game, there may only be one or two players on the field that has a chance to be a really good college baseball player.
BAW: Do you have any tips for youth baseball players hoping to play college ball?
Derek: Yes. Put the video games down and practice, practice, practice baseball. The more you play and practice baseball, the better baseball player you will become. Especially starting at the youth level. Developing strong practice habits at a young age will only make it easier to continue them into high school. Another tip I would give is to always play hard! Colleges coaches love players who hustle and work hard in practice and in games.
BAW: How big of an area do you try to recruit players from?
Derek: I don't have an area that I try and recruit from exclusively. For my 2012 recruiting class, I have players from Colorado, Virginia, Illinois and Wisconsin all committed to playing at Carroll next year and we aren't done yet. I would love to get this program to the point where the best players from the Waukesha and Milwaukee area want to be a part of our University, but I will never restrict my recruiting to just one specific area. Watching all star tournaments also gives me an opportunity to see recruits from other states that I wouldn't normally have a chance to see as well.
BAW: Are any of your players legitimate prospects for this summers draft?
Derek: I don't think we have any pro prospects this year. But we do have a lot of scrappy type players that are good college baseball players, and we are excited about getting the 2011 season underway!
Lawrence University Vikings
Lawrence University is located in Appleton, WI and plays Division 3 baseball. Head baseball coach Jason Anderson answered some questions for me. Thanks Jason.
BAW: With the increases in home schooling and online school options, have you ever recruited someone that didnt play high school ball but just played on a traveling all star team?
Jason: We recruit one or two of those types of players every year. Home schooled players tend to do well in the class room and fit our academic profile, and some that we have spoken with actually play on a home school team. Many other guys have gone to a high school with a very competitive baseball program and didn’t make that varsity team. Those guys still have played legion baseball in the summer and can come in and help out any DIII program.
BAW: Whats your best tip for youth ball players hoping to play college ball?
Jason: I have three sons in tee ball right now and I tell them the best thing about baseball is that it is a game and it is fun. Be passionate about it. We just play a lot and have fun doing it. If you can seek out genuine teachers and work on the fundamentals every day then college coaches will be excited to have you as a part of their program.
BAW: Do you have any players that plan on playing in the Northwoods League this summer?
Jason: I have a couple that would like to do that and that probably have the ability to do it. It’s a matter of having a good enough season to get a team to notice them and to want to sign them.
BAW: Are any players on your team prospects to get drafted this summer?
Jason: Robert Rashid from Evanston, IL was all region last year and was in the top 10 in the nation in stolen bases per game. He may not get drafted but I expect him to get some opportunities to play at a higher level.
Jan 21, 2011
Intro
Baseball players in Wisconsin have it tough. The season is short and there is a major lack of indoor facilities to practice in over the winter. And to top it off our biggest university doesn't offer it as a scholarship sport. I think we still have a ton of good ball players in this state, but they might not get the attention they deserve. I hope to change some of that and highlight talent from around the state. I also plan on sharing resources and other helpful info I find along the way. Maybe even share an opinion about the Brew Crew now and then.
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