2024 WIAC Baseball Championship

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team (29-11) faces UW-Stevens Point (25-15) in the 2024 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) on Thursday, May 9. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at UW-Whitewater's Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium. 
 

WIAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

• UWL is appearing in the WIAC Championship for the 21st time in the 25 years of the league tournament, with a 28-29 all-time record. 
• UWL has advanced to the WIAC Championship game in seven of the past 10 tournaments, winning the title in 2012, 2016 and 2023
• The Eagles won the 2023 WIAC Tournament Title with three straight wins including beating UW-Whitewater 14-4, UW-Oshkosh 9-8 (10 innings) and UW-Whitewater 7-2.  

THE BASICS

• Game time: 3:00 pm
• Location: Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium, Whitewater, Wis.
• Regular Season Match-ups between UW-Stevens Point and UW-La Crosse: These two teams played a four game series on April 26 and 27 in Stevens Point, Wis. The Pointers won game one (11-1 in 7 innings) and game three (17-14) while the Eagles took games two (8-4) and four (8-7). 
• Tournament Bracket/Seeds: The top four teams qualify for the WIAC tournament with the top seed earning the right to host. UW-Whitewater won the regular season title by going 19-5 in WIAC play.   
  • Game 1--UW-Oshkosh (#4) at UW-Whitewater (#1), 12:00 p.m.  (Live Video) (Live Stats)
  • Game 2--UW-Stevens Point (#3) vs. UW-La Crosse (#2), 3:00 p.m.  (Live Video) (Live Stats)
  • Complete Tournament schedule here
• WIAC Tournament Champion: The winner of the WIAC Championship earns an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships. 

FROM THE DIAMOND

• As a team, the Eagles enter the tournament hitting .334 which ranks second in the WIAC. Individually, Chris VandenHeuvel leads the way hitting .398 with 10 doubles, eight home runs, 47 runs scored and 46 RBIs. Mac Born is second on the team batting .371 with 12 home runs, eight doubles, 35 runs scored and 50 RBIs. George Seaman leads the Eagles and the WIAC in RBIs with 56 while ranking second in the conference with 13 home runs. 
• UWL's pitching staff has compiled a 6.23 earned run average this season with three complete games and two shutouts. The Eagles are holding opponents to a .289 batting average while recording 358 strikeouts in 335.0 innings. Isaiah Katz (6-4) leads the Eagles in wins (6), innings pitched (56.1), starts (10) and complete games (2). Tyler Schmitt (3-2) is tops the Eagles in strikeouts (70) whiile ranking second in starts (9) and innings (48.0). Caleb Matl (3-0) has served as the teams closer making 11 appearances with four saves and a team best 2.73 ERA. Owen Deprez (5-0) has been another top option out of the bullpen for UWL with  34.0 innings pitched in 11 appearances and ranking second on the team in strikeouts.  

HEAD COACH CHRIS SCHWARZ

• Schwarz is in his 20th season and has an overall record of 492-325-2 (.601). 
• The winningest coach in school history, Schwarz has led the Eagles to six appearances in the NCAA Division III Championships.
• Schwarz and the Eagles won the 2023 WIAC Tournament Title, NCAA III Regional Title, NCAA III Super Regional Title while advancing to the NCAA III College World Series.