Pointers Lead All-Region Baseball Squad With Seven Selections

     UW-Stevens Point led the Midwest Region with seven selections, including three first-team performers, on the all-region baseball squad.

Seniors Bill Verbrick, Randy Reed and Paul Molitor all earned first-team honors as the Pointers were also the only team with three players on the first-team squad. All three players are now eligible for All-American accolades.

Sophomore catcher Joe Waksmonski and sophomore first baseman Ryan Jones were named to the second team, while senior rightfielder Ryan Ivy and junior pitcher Jeff Pieper earned third-team honors.

     The Pointers finished 37-10 overall and were the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions. Midwest Conference member Ripon College had six selections to the all-region team and WIAC runner-up UW-Whitewater had four.

Verbrick, an Appleton Xavier High school graduate, was named the 2002 WIAC Pitcher of the Year after establishing WIAC season records with 102 innings pitched and 115 strikeouts. He also set a UW-Stevens Point record with 10 victories and pitched the first nine-inning perfect game in league history in a 5-0 win over UW-River Falls on April 6.

Reed, an Appleton East High School graduate, led the WIAC with 57 runs scored and five triples. His five triples this season established a Pointer season record and increased his all-time school record to 10. He started the final 134 games of his collegiate career in centerfield.

Molitor, a third baseman who graduated from Reedsburg High School, played in all 47 games for the Pointers this season and established a WIAC season record with 210 at bats. He also tied for the league lead with 57 runs scored and led the league with 58 RBI�s, while ranking second with 78 hits.

Waksmonski, a Schofield native and D.C. Everest graduate, hit .351 with 15 doubles, seven home runs and 32 RBI�s. Waksmonski took over as the team�s starting catcher early in the season and started all but one of the 28 WIAC contests.

Jones, an Eau Claire North High School graduate, hit a school-record 14 home runs to rank second in the WIAC, while hitting .347 with 46 RBI�s. Jones also drew a single-season school record 42 walks for a team-leading .484 on base percentage.

Ivy, a Kenosha native who attended Duluth (Ga.) High School, had a school record 24-game hitting streak at mid-season and hit .323 with seven homers and 47 RBI�s. His 20 doubles led the WIAC and ranked second in a single season in Pointer history.

     Pieper, a Wausau West High School graduate, was 5-2 and ranked third in the WIAC with a 3.38 ERA. He threw a four-hit shutout in a win over UW-Platteville and ranked second on the team with 66 2/3 innings pitched.