Afternoon State Sports Briefs: WIAC names spring sports Athletes of the Week

• Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

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Student athletes for various spring sports in the WIAC were given top honors for their efforts last week

Brandon O’Connell of UW-Stout is the WIAC’s baseball position player-of-the-week. And Scott Williams of Stevens Point is the league’s top pitcher. O’Connell, a senior third baseman, raised his batting average by more than 100 points in four games last week. He went 13-of-16 with a homer, five doubles, and 12 RBI’s – and he’s now batting .405 for the year. Williams, a senior right-hander, tossed a three-hitter against Oshkosh in which he struck out eight. In softball, Emily Epifanio of Whitewater is the league’s top position player for the second time in three weeks. And the Warhawks’ Jessica Stang is the pitcher-of-the-week for the third time in four weeks. Epifanio, a sophomore catcher, went 7-for-9 in four games last week with four extra-base hits. She walked six times and belted three homers. Stang, a senior left-hander, improved to 17-and-2 this season with three more victories this past week. She tossed a three-hitter against Oshkosh in which she struck out 10 – and Stang threw a pair of shutouts against Eau Claire. The WIAC also recognized Terry Witkowski and Claire Roberts, both of Stevens Point, in outdoor track – and Issac Vasquez of La Crosse and Brittany Frederick of Eau Claire in outdoor field events.

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The UW-Whitewater baseball team remains at No. 10 in the new national small college poll from D3baseball.com. The Warhawks are 16-5 overall. Stevens Point rose two places to 15th in the new poll. Carthage dropped two spots to 16th. And Oshkosh moved up three places to 17th. Christopher Newport moved into the top spot after being Number-four a week ago. Shenandoah, which led for much of the season, fell to the fourth spot.

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The UW-Green Bay men’s basketball team has gained two players and lost one in recent days. Sophomore guard Seth Evans is leaving the program – although there’s no word on what he might be doing next fall. But the Phoenix signed guard Josh Humphrey from Delafield Saint John’s Northwestern Military and Naval Academy. And they received a verbal commitment for this fall from forward Brennan Cougill of Kirkwood Community College. Humphrey can play at either of the guard spots. He averaged 13 points a game in high school in suburban Chicago. While at Delafield Saint John’s, he earned 24 college credits from nearby UW -Waukesha junior collegte. Humphrey says they’ll all transfer to Green Bay, and he’ll still have four years of eligibility. Cougill played for one year at Kirkwood after spending his freshman year at Iowa. He was Kirkwood’s leading scorer this past season with almost 14.5 points per game, with nine boards. Evans played in all but one game for Green Bay this past year. His scoring average of three-point-six and shooting percentage of .321 were down from his freshman year. And he might not have earned as much playing time for next season, considering the new players the Phoenix have signed.

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The Milwaukee School of Engineering had the lead going into the final nine holes of the Northern Athletics Conference men’s golf tournament in Aurora, Illinois. MSOE was 35-over-par after 27 holes. Aurora was second, 13 strokes back. And Edgewood College was third at 14 off the pace. Dane Zachman of Milwaukee Engineering had the individual lead after a round-and-a-half. He was at one-over-par 109. Cory Ashbeck of Marian in Fond du Lac was second at six-over.

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Nick Beaman of Ripon College is the Midwest Conference baseball position player-of-the-week. The senior third baseman extended his hitting streak to six games as Ripon went 3-and-1 last week. He hit .500 in a pair of double-headers with two homers and six RBI’s. Larry Milsteadt of Monmouth is the league’s top pitcher. In softball, Katy Sandt of Beloit is the Midwest pitcher-of-the-week. The junior became the third pitcher in Beloit history to strike out 300 career hitters in a shutout of Ripon. Sandt fanned seven in that game, and four more in relief in the other game of that double-header. Ashley Cuthbert of Lake Forest is the Midwest softball position player-of-the-week.

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Juan Montenegro of the Milwaukee School of Engineering is the men’s tennis Player-of-the-Week in the Northern Athletics Conference. Montenegro, a senior, went 6-0 last week in both the Number-one singles and Number-one doubles’ slots.

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In the Midwest League, the Beloit Snappers are scheduled to play at Appleton tonight against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. But 5-to-8-inches of snow are in the forecast at Fox Cities’ Stadium, with perhaps a little sleet and freezing rain thrown in. The Timber Rattlers hope it will stay dry long enough to avenge a 4-2 loss to the Snappers last night. Beloit remains second in the West Division at 7-4. Wisconsin is 5-6. There’s already one postponement for tonight. Burlington’s game at Kane County has been called off. The schedule also has Clinton hosting Cedar Rapids. Peoria is at Quad Cities. East Division leader Great Lakes hosts South Bend. Fort Wayne is at West Michigan. Lake County is scheduled to entertain Lansing. And Bowling Green is at Dayton.

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