Pioneer track progam sees another school record fall, baseball and softball sweep

Platteville, Wis.-The University of Wisconsin-Platteville spring sports programs had an impressive week and look to build on the success heading to the second half of the spring season.

Softball sweeps UW-Eau Claire for first time in school history, welcomes Loras for midweek doubleheader and heads to UW-Stevens Point

Coming into the WIAC doubleheader with UW-Eau Claire, the Pioneers had never swept a doubleheader from the Blugolds. The Pioneers pulled the sweep off with a pair of dramatic 5-4 walk off wins. In game one, the Pioneers celebrated what they thought was a victory as Riley Kelsch scored from second on an error by UW-Eau Claire's shortstop. Home plate umpire ruled Haili Cota out for stepping out of the batter's box when contact was made for the second out of the inning.

The Pioneers got to celebrate for real when the next batter, freshman Lauren Heuberger, split the left center gap for a triple, scoring Kelsch, who hit a one out double to start the game ending rally.

In game two, the Pioneers rallied for two runs in the seventh for the victory. Once again, Kelsch would score the winning run when freshman Madison Hughes was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Freshman Jordan Johnson improved to 5-1 on the year with the game one win. Junior Claire Bakkestuen picked up the save in game one, while earning the complete game victory in game two. Her record improved to 4-3.

UW-Eau Claire Recap and Photos

The Pioneers started the week with a split against UW-Whitewater. The Pioneers run-ruled the Warhawks 14-6 in game one and the Warhawks returned the favor of a run-rule in game two 13-1. 

Senior Rachel Plautz led the charge in game one, going 3-5, a home run, double and five runs batted in.

UW-Whitewater Recap and Photos

The Pioneers (11-11, 3-1 WIAC) will welcome Loras College (16-2, 3-1 ARC) to the Softball Complex on the campus of UW-Platteville on Thursday, April 14. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Duhawks are holding opposing teams to a .150 batting average, while hitting .274 as a team. They have allowed only 21 runs (17 earned) in 17 games, for an earned run average of 1.02. As a team, the Duhawks have thrown nine shut outs.

The Pioneers will finish up the week when they travel to UW-Stevens Point (15-9, 0-2 WIAC) on Saturday, April 16 for a pair of WIAC games. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Pointers are the second-best offensive team in the WIAC, hitting .334. They lead the league in hits (223), doubles (49), and total bases (314). They are fifth in the WIAC in earned run average, allowing 3.79 earned runs a game. 

The Pioneers enter the week as the third best hitting team in the WIAC, hitting .327 as a team. They are the top defensive team in the WIAC with a .964 fielding percentage. The Pioneers have a 4.11 team earned run average. 

Sophomore Kendall Drake is hitting .600 on the season in five plate appearances. Plautz is sixth in the WIAC with a .486 average. Bakkesteuen leads the Pioneers with three home runs, 21 runs batted in and 15 walks. Plautz leads the Pioneers in hits with 34.

Bakkestuen leads the Pioneers in the pitching circle with a 2.63 earned run average. She is 4-3 on the year with two saves in 56 innings pitched.

Becca (Lowe) Runde is in her third year as head coach. She has a career record of 30-30. 

Records fall at Ashton May Invitational, Pioneers prepare for second home meet

The Pioneer track and field programs traveled to the Ashton May Invitational at UW-La Crosse on April 9 and came home with two WIAC Kwik Trip Athletes of the Week and a few school records.

All-American junior Cade VanHout continues to impress on the track. He currently holds the top time nationally in the 100-meter after breaking UW-Platteville's school record in 10.51 seconds. VanHout also ran a personal best 21.49 in the 200-meter dash, which ranks in the top 10 nationally. VanHout earned the WIAC Kwik Trip Track Athlete of the Week for his performances.

Fellow All-American Brianna Leahy continues to break her own school record in the shot put, winning the event with a toss of 14.83-meters (48'-8"). Her mark is the top toss in the nation by two feet. Leahy finished second in the discus throw and set a personal best in the hammer throw. Leahy earned the WIAC Kwik Trip Field Athlete of the Week for her performance. 

Senior Gwen Orr continues to lower her school records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Orr won the 100-meter after a 12.11 preliminary time. She would finish third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.82. Orr's times rank in the top 10 nationally.

Junior Justin Eichler won the hammer throw with a school record breaking toss of 60.39 meters (198'-1") to win the event. Eichler's mark currently sits number two in the national rankings.

Ashton May Invitational Recap, men's results and women's results 

The Pioneers will return to the UW-Platteville Track and Field Complex on Thursday, April 14 and Friday, April 15 for the UW-Platteville Invitational. Heats for the men's and women's 5,000-meter runs will be held on Thursday night. The men's and women's hammer throw will also be held Thursday night beginning at 6 p.m.

Track and field events will start on Friday at 11 a.m. A complete schedule can be found here.

Chris Rotzenberg is in his 10th year at UW-Platteville as the director of track and field. 

Baseball sweeps Finlandia, head to UW-Eau Claire

The Pioneer baseball team picked up a four-game sweep of Finlandia. It is the Pioneers' sixth win in the last nine games. The first two games were played in strong winds blowing out to right center field, and the scores reflected that.

The Pioneers would rally for five runs in their final two at-bats to outlast Finlandia 10-5 in game one. Freshman Isaac Bixby picked up his second consecutive win in seven innings of work. He allowed five runs, two earned runs and struck out a career-high 12 batters. Senior Nate Jennings pitched the final two frames for his second save of the season.

Wyatt Molitor, Ben Espinoza and Brady Katterhagen all had doubles for the Pioneers.

In game two, the Pioneers broke the game open with nine runs in the third inning. They would add four more runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to finish off the Lions 17-4 in seven innings. Sophomore Jake Wegner hit his third home run of the year, while collecting two hits and three runs batted in.

The final two games of the series were played in calmer weather and pitching was the story of the day. The Pioneers allowed three runs over the 19 innings of play. In game one, junior Andrew Zakula delivered the game winning hit in the bottom of the 10^th to give the Pioneers the 4-3 victory. Junior Sam Hernandez picked up the win in relief, pitching four innings and allowing one unearned run.

Sophomore Parker Heidorf set the tone early in game two on the mound, striking out the first three batters he faced in route to a career-high 11 strike outs. Heidorf allowed two hits and walked two in seven innings for his first victory as a Pioneer.

The Pioneers scored four runs in the sixth inning highlighted by freshman Slate Higa's two run single. Zach McCoy collected two hits on the day.

Finlandia game one and two recap and photos

Finlandia game three and four recap and photos 

The Pioneers dropped a mid-week contest to Edgewood College on April 6. The game was switched from Kendall Murray Field to Edgewood due to field conditions. The Eagles will now travel to UW-Platteville on April 20. 

Edgewood recap

The Pioneers (8-11, 6-6 WIAC) will travel to UW-Eau Claire (7-13, 2-8 WIAC) for four games beginning on Friday, April 15. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Pioneers and Blugolds will conclude the four-game series on Saturday, April 16. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for noon.

The Blugolds enter the week hitting .258 as a team, led by Nate Witte's .359 average. Six Blugolds have hit one home run on the year, while Otto Treichel leads the team in doubles. 

The Blugolds' pitching staff allows opponents to hit .326 and have surrendered 18 home runs. They have a combined earned run average of 6.85. 

The Pioneers enter the week hitting .313 as a team with nine home runs. Wegner and senior Ross Krist both have three long balls for the Pioneers, while Krist and senior Jonathan Kelso have five doubles each.

Bixby leads the Pioneer pitching staff with a 2.10 earned run average in 25 2/3 innings. As a staff, the Pioneers have a 6.71 earned run average. Hernandez and Bixby are tied with two wins each.

Chad Harris is in his fourth season at UW-Platteville. He has a record of 46-61.

Ash finishes second at Firebird Invitational

Senior Markie Ash led the Pioneers to a sixth-place finish at the Firebird Spring Invitational at Bristol Oaks Country Club. Ash shot a 165 (83-82) at the 36-hole event to finish second individually.

Firebird Invitational recap and results

The Pioneers are off this weekend from competition and will return to the links when they host the Pioneer Invitational on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24. The Pioneer Invitational will be the first meet the Pioneers ever hosted at the Platteville Country Club.

Mark Evetovich is in his first season as head coach of the Pioneer women's golf team.

To follow the Pioneers all season, 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.