Platteville looks to play giant killer this weekend

UW-Platteville enters the 2010 WIAC Conference Baseball Tournament with just one previous appearance. That was back in 2005. The Pioneers advance to the conference tournament with a 22 & 18 record, including 11 & 13 in the WIAC.

Platteville captured the third and final playoff berth on the final day of the regular season. Four teams entered the final weekend with a chance of attaining said playoff berth.

The Pioneers have put together a tremendous season.. Eric Frese's club tied for the most victories - 22 - in program history and for just the second time qualified for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament. UW-P also ended the regular season breaking or tying 27 school marks..

The Pioneers have already shattered records for most (464), runs (357) and home runs (47) in a season, among other marks. Individuals have also set several marks and are on the verge of more.

Platteville returned a number of players from last year's team that won 21 games, then got a huge boost from a couple of junior college transfers. Junior Aaron Hopson arrived from Augustana (Ill.) College, and senior Nartowicz came from Madison Area Technical College.
Hopson's .680 slugging percentage and 11 home runs are second in the conference, and he is batting .361 with 43 RBIs. Nartowicz is batting .325 and slugging .541 with seven homers and 44 RBIs.

"As good offensively as we've been all year, it's hard to sustain that on a daily basis in baseball," UW-P head coach Eric Frese tells the Dubuque Tribune-Herald. "It still comes down to pitching and defense."

Platteville’s pitching staff is led by Wil Osmanski. The 6-foot-7 junior is 7-2 with a 3.93 ERA and three complete games.
The Pioneers enter the weekend knowing they can beat Whitewater and Point; Platteville took one of four from each in the regular season with a one-run loss to both.

"Now we have to go out and prove to ourselves that we're good enough to play with them on the big stage," Frese said.

The Pioneers open the weekend by taking on No. 2 seed, UW-Stevens Point at 10 a.m. Friday.