WIAC Pitcher of the Year Joe Lange Photo by Andy McNeill

Posted May 13, 2009

UW-Platteville's Joe Lange is the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, and he joined teammates Justin Jacobson and Lee Hawkins on the all-WIAC first team.

Catcher Matt Paulus earned a spot on the WIAC Sportsmanship Team.

Lange, a senior from East Dubuque, Ill., is the first-ever Pioneer to earn the WIAC Pitcher of the Year Award. In 10 conference appearances, he recorded a 2.38 earned-run average with three wins and two saves. He had 63 strikeouts to just eight walks in 68 innings of WIAC play. He pitched complete-game shutout victories against both UW-Superior and UW-Oshkosh and allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of his 10 conference outings.

Overall, Lange was 4-7 with a 3.86 ERA and 85 strikeouts, with the latter breaking his own Pioneer single-season record. In fact, Lange now holds the top three single-season strikeout marks in school history. The left-hander recorded 247 career strikeouts, which not only beat the previous Pioneer record of 171 set by Kendall Murray, but also tied for the fourth-most in WIAC history. No Pioneer has ever thrown in more games (52) or pitched more innings (271.2) or faced more batters (1,227) than Lange, yet he has the second-lowest career ERA at 4.04.

First Teamers Jason Jacobson (6) and Lee Hawkins

Jacobson was second in the league in batting with a .364 average and led the conference with a .492 on-base percentage and with 30 walks. The junior second baseman and shortstop from Caledonia (Racine Case) set a Pioneer record and tied the WIAC mark with six hits in one game at UW-Stout, part of a 9-for-10 doubleheader in Menomonie April 4. His 43 runs scored were the third-most in Pioneer history. A clutch hitter, he delivered a game-tying home run against UW-Whitewater in the ninth inning April 22, then smacked a game-winner in the 11th the next night against Edgewood.

Hawkins, a senior third baseman from Eureka, Calif. (McKinley), was fifth in the league in batting average at .340. He also ranked fourth in the WIAC with a .451 on-base percentage, helped in part by a school-record four walks in a single game against Edgewood. Hawkins had 17 multi-hit games, including a 4-for-5 performance in a victory at Coe.

Paulus, a senior catcher from Neenah, hit .340 in 19 games, that included 11 starts.

The Pioneers were 21-19 in 2009, the second-most wins in school history. This marks the first time since the league moved to a single-division format in 1998 that the Pioneers have had three first-team selections.

2009 All-WIAC Baseball Team

First Team

Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)

Blake Berger, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Firstbase/Outfield, Star Prairie (New Richmond)

Rob Coe, Whitewater, Sophomore, Catcher, Appleton (North)

Kyle Cummings, Stevens Point, Senior, Secondbase, Prentice

Aaron Dott, Whitewater, Junior, Lefthanded Pitcher, Green Lake

Nolan Fadness, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Outfield, Eau Claire (Memorial)

Jay Fanta, La Crosse, Freshman, Thirdbase, Viroqua

Jason Fosler, Oshkosh, Senior, Outfield, DeForest

Eric Fritz, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Shortstop, Custer (SPASH)

Storm Gram, La Crosse, Senior, Centerfield, Woodbury, Minn.

Lee Hawkins, Platteville, Senior, Thirdbase, Eureka, Calif. (McKinleyville)

Jason Hooper, Whitewater, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Lake Mills

Jason Jacobson, Platteville, Junior, Infield, Caledonia (Racine Case)

Kyle Kannenberg, Oshkosh, Junior, Thirdbase, Oshkosh (West)

Ben Kuhlmann, Whitewater, Junior, Secondbase, Minneapolis, Minn. (Southwest)

Joe Lange, Platteville, Senior, Lefthanded Pitcher, East Dubuque, Ill.

Brandon O’Connell, Stout, Sophomore, Thirdbase, Elk Mound

Jeremy Richter, Stevens Point, Junior, Firstbase/Outfield, Rosholt

Ryan Stace, Stout, Senior, Catcher, Oregon

Scott Williams, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Righthanded Pitcher, Baraboo

Kevin Zalnis, Whitewater, Senior, Outfield/Infield, Woodstock, Ill.

Honorable Mention

Kyle Barry, Stevens Point, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Twin Lakes (Wilmot)

Ross Benitz, La Crosse, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Osceola

Sean Cummings, Superior, Junior, Secondbase, Superior

Ryan Demmin, Oshkosh, Junior, Lefthanded Pitcher, Oshkosh (North)

Brian Giebel, Stout, Sophomore, Outfield, River Falls

Derek Hiroskey, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Catcher, Kimberly

Kyle Kannenberg, Oshkosh, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, Oshkosh (West)

Cody Koback, Stevens Point, Freshman, Centerfield, Plover (SPASH)

Brett Olson, Superior, Junior, Catcher, Eau Claire (Regis)

Cory Poppitz, La Crosse, Senior, Catcher, Chaska, Minn.

Jeremy Rubens, Oshkosh, Junior, Righthanded Pitcher, New Franken (Luxemburg-Casco)

Ben Sebesta, Oshkosh, Freshman, Outfield, Eau Claire (Memorial)

Greg Smolinski, Stout, Junior, Designated Hitter, Menasha

Jeff Zielke, Stevens Point, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Watertown

All-Sportsmanship Team

Lance Poppy, La Crosse, Junior, Firstbase, New London

Brad Demmin, Oshkosh, Senior, Firstbase, Oshkosh (North)

Matt Paulus, Platteville, Senior, Catcher/Firstbase, Neenah

Jordan Rennicke, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Catcher, Mequon (Homestead)

Ryan Stace, Stout, Senior, Catcher, Oregon

Paul Schlangen, Superior, Junior, Outfield, Rice, Minn. (Sauk Rapids-Rice)

Nick Rechlitz, Whitewater, Junior, Secondbase/Shortstop, Milwaukee (Marquette)

Position Player of the Year: Jeremy Richter of Stevens Point

Pitcher of the Year: Joe Lange of Platteville

Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete: Ross Benitz of La Crosse

Coach of the Year: John Vodenlich of Whitewater