Pioneers enjoy big weekend of success
Platteville, Wis.- All four University of Wisconsin-Platteville spring varsity sports were in action on Saturday, April 24. Baseball and softball both swept their doubleheaders at home. Junior Brianna Leahy broke her school record in the shot put one week after setting the new record, while two Pioneer golfers finished in the top 10 at the UW-Whitewater Spring Invite.
Platteville, Wis.- All four University of Wisconsin-Platteville spring varsity sports were in action on Saturday, April 24. Baseball and softball both swept their doubleheaders at home. Junior Brianna Leahy broke her school record in the shot put one week after setting the new record, while two Pioneer golfers finished in the top 10 at the UW-Whitewater Spring Invite.
Ash and Olson finish top 10 at UW-Whitewater Spring Invite
For the third straight week, the Pioneer golfers traveled to the Riverside Golf Course in Janesville, Wisconsin for an event held by UW-Whitewater. Junior Markie Ash and senior Cortney Olson paced the Pioneers with top 10 finishes in a field of 59 golfers. Ash took eighth with a one-day score of 80. Olson tied for ninth with a one-day total of 81.
UW-Whitewater Spring Invite recap and results.
Week ahead
The Pioneer golf team will be the first Pioneer spring sport to compete in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. The three-day championship will be held at Reedsburg Country Club, with first round set for Friday, April 30 and finishing on Sunday, May 2.
Softball splits four WIAC games
The Pioneers (11-11, 5-5 WIAC) dropped the first two games of the week at UW-Oshkosh before sweeping UW-Stout to finish out the week. The Pioneers dropped game one to the Titans 3-2 before the Titans doubled them up for an 8-4 victory.
Junior Ashton Hoeppner picked up the win in game one and saved game two as the Pioneers swept the Blue Devils. In game one, Hoeppner went the distance and scattered nine hits while striking out seven. Junior Riley Kelsch led the Pioneers with two hits.
In game two, Hoeppner set down the final five hitters to save the win for starter sophomore Claire Bakkestuen. Senior Abby Burns led the Pioneers with three hits, including a double.
Week ahead
The Pioneers will continue conference play on Friday, April 30 as they welcome UW-La Crosse (9-8, 5-4 WIAC) to the Pioneer Softball Complex. First pitch vs. the Eagles is scheduled for 3 p.m. The conference doubleheader is sandwiched between two non-conference doubleheaders as the Pioneers will travel to UW-Stevens Point (17-12, 4-6 WIAC) on Wednesday, April 28. The Pioneers and Pointers split a conference doubleheader on April 11. The Pointers took game one 2-1 in nine innings before the Pioneers took the night cap 5-3.
The Pioneers will finish out the week when they travel to Menomonie, Wisconsin to meet up with the Blue Devils on Saturday, May 1. The Pioneers are fresh off a sweep of the Blue Devils.
The Pioneers enter the week fourth in the WIAC with a .315 batting average, and third in pitching with a 3.62 ERA.
Rachel Plautz leads the Pioneers with a .382 average (26-for-68). Senior Shannon Gaul and Bakkestuen are tied for the team lead with four homeruns. Bakkestuen leads the Pioneers with 19 RBIs. Burns leads the team with seven doubles while hitting .373 (28-for-75). Seven of the nine Pioneer regulars are hitting over .300.
Hoeppner leads the Pioneers in the circle with a 3.48 ERA in 17 appearances. She has four wins and four saves.
Baseball sweeps Blugolds
The Pioneers (14-12, 8-8 WIAC) broke out of a 10-game skid by scoring 71 runs in six victories over UW-Eau Claire. The Pioneers opened the week with a sweep at home before sweeping UW-Eau Claire at historic Carson Park to pick up four conference wins. The Pioneers finished the week off with two 10-run rule victories to pick up two non-conference wins.
UW-Eau Claire recap and photos.
At UW-Eau Claire recap and photos.
UW-Eau Claire non-conference recap and photos.
Week ahead
The Pioneers return to WIAC play with a pair of doubleheaders vs. UW-Oshkosh (13-10, 10-6 WIAC). The Titans will visit Kendall Murray Field on Wednesday, April 28 for a pair before the Pioneers travel to UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, May 1. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. both days.
Junior Jonathan Kelso continues to put up video game numbers. Kelso is currently batting .495 (46-for-93) with a WIAC leading .598 on-base-percentage and 14 doubles. Kelso is closing in on the school record for career doubles (42-Ross Bennett 2005-08), hits (195-Ross Bennett 2005-08) and triples (12-Levi Ney 2009-12). Kelso currently has 39 career doubles, 174 hits and seven triples. Kelso is also on pace to set the single season record for on-base-percentage (.570-Kevin Gucwa 1993) and closing in on the single season double record set by teammate Jose Moses with 20 in 2018.
Freshman Grant Mullins leads the WIAC with five triples. He is tied for the team lead in home runs with Kelso, both with two.
Junior Michael Greco is turning into the Pioneers ace. He lowered his ERA to 2.66 after eight innings of one hit ball vs. UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday, April 20. Greco was four outs from the first nine-inning no-hitter in school history before giving up a two out single in the top of the eighth.
Leahy increases school record week after breaking school record
Junior Brianna Leahy continues to open eyes around the nation after she bettered her school shot put record a week after breaking the old record. The Pioneers competed in the UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet on Saturday, April 24 where Leahy threw the shot put 14.55 meters (47' 9") to top her old mark of 14.13 meters (46' 4.25"). The two-sport athlete has not competed or thrown since her senior season of high school. Leahy's throw ranks her first in the WIAC and second in the nation.
Senior Alexander Walechka threw a personal best in the hammer with a toss of 55.90 meters (185' 5") to win the event. The mark currently ranks third in the WIAC and seventh in the nation. The top 19 marks qualify for the national meet. Walechka is currently second in the WIAC and third in the nation in the discus, comfortably qualified for nationals.
UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative meet recap and results.
Women's 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Qualifying list.
Men's 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Qualifying list.
Week ahead:
The Pioneers will host their final home meet of the 2021 outdoor season on Friday, April 30. The UW-Platteville Border Battle will start with field events at 1 p.m. It is the final meet before the Pioneers compete in the WIAC Championship at UW-River Falls Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8.
To follow all the Pioneer action this spring, visit www.Letsgopioneers.com for links for live stats, postgame recaps, and links for the contests that are live streamed. Follow the official social media accounts of Pioneer Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.