Warhawk baseball closing in a season opening weekend in Omaha, Nebraska

Coming off an outstanding 42 & 7 record in 2010, the defending WIAC regular season and postseason champions have been busy during the preseason filling holes in the lineup due to graduation.

There is an old baseball axiom in baseball that for success you must be strong up the middle.

Gone from last year's Warhawk baseball team are Mike Kenseth and Ben Kuhlmann, the WIAC’s top shortstop/2nd hase combination. Also finishing up his eligibility was multi-year All-WIAC centerfielder Jordan Stine.

Third baseman Nick Rechlitz must also be replaced

“It all boils down to pitching, hitting and defense” 2010 WIAC Coach of the Year John Vodenlich tells Voiceseyeonbaseball.blogspot.com. “During preseason practice we have done the same thing we do every year. We believe if we can throw, catch, hit, run, and play defense, the fundamentals, we will win the majority of games again this year.”

“Having said that, it always begins with pitching and defense,” Vodenlich said. “Both Riley Tincher and Jeff Donovan are back and that gives us two great arms at the top of our rotation.”

“With the loss of our shortstop, second baseman, and center fielder, filling those rolls will be vitally important,” Vodenlich indicated in an interview last week. “If we can fill those spots satisfactorly I think we’ll do just fine.”

The Hawks open the season with three nonconference games vs. Concordia-Moorehead (Minn) next weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday (March 4th) and a single game on Saturday (March 5th)

The Hawks once again will head to central Florida for a jampacked eight days of games beginning on March 17th.

The Warhawks’ home opener is a doubleheader vs. Bethel University (Minn) on March 26th on Prucha Field at James Miller Stadium.

Check back often this week as I’ll be blogging numerous articles previewing the 2011 Warhawk baseball team. My tentative plans will also have me travelling to Omaha this weekend to keep UWW baseball fans “in the know” on the season-opening three games vs. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn).

2011 UW-Whitewater Warhawk Baseball Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time/Result
3/4/2011 Concordia Moorhead (DH)
Omaha, NE 12:00 PM

3/5/2011 Concordia Moorhead (DH)
Omaha, NE 11:00 AM

3/17/2011 St. Lawrence (Reserve) (Spring Training)
FL, Lake Bonny #2 5:00 PM

3/18/2011 Southern Maine (Reserve) (Spring Training)
FL, Lake Myrtle #3 9:30 AM

3/19/2011 St. Olaf (Spring Training) (DH)
FL, Pat Thomas Stadium 1:00 PM

3/20/2011 St. Thomas (Spring Training)
FL, Lake Myrtle #3 11:30 AM

3/20/2011 Benedictine (Reserve) (Spring Training)
Lake Myrtle #4 3:00 PM

3/21/2011 Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Spring Training)
FL, Lake Myrtle #1 10:00 AM

3/21/2011 St. Thomas (Spring Training)
FL, Lake Myrtle #2 2:00 PM

3/22/2011 Allegheny (PA) Reserve
FL, Chain of Lakes #3 10:00 AM

3/23/2011 Minnesota Twins (Minor League) (Spring Training)
Fort Myers, FL 1:00 PM

3/26/2011 Bethel University (MN) (DH)
Whitewater 12:00 PM

3/31/2011 Ripon College (DH)
Ripon, WI 1:00 PM

4/2/2011 * UW-Superior (DH)
Whitewater 12:00 PM

4/3/2011 * UW-Superior (DH)
Whitewater 12:00 PM

4/9/2011 * UW-Stevens Point (DH)
Stevens Point, WI 12:00 PM

4/10/2011 * UW-Stevens Point (DH)
Stevens Point, WI 12:00 PM

4/13/2011 * UW-Platteville (DH)
Whitewater 1:00 PM

4/16/2011 * UW-Stout (DH)
Menomonie, WI 12:00 PM

4/17/2011 * UW-Stout (DH)
Menomonie, WI 12:00 PM

4/21/2011 Concordia University (IL)
Whitewater 1:00 PM

4/27/2011 * UW-Platteville (DH)
Whitewater 1:00 PM

4/30/2011 * UW-Oshkosh (DH)
Oshkosh, WI 12:00 PM

5/1/2011 * UW-Oshkosh (DH)
Oshkosh, WI 12:00 PM

5/6/2011 * UW-La Crosse (DH)
Whitewater 1:00 PM

5/7/2011 * UW-La Crosse (DH)
Whitewater 12:00 PM

5/10/2011 Concordia University (WI)
Whitewater 1:00 PM

WIAC POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT - May 13th & May 14th TBA

Hawks ranked 5th in D3baseball.com Preseason Poll

The 2011 NCBWA/d3baseball.com preseason poll is out, and the UW-Whitewater baseball team opens the season rated No. 5 in the nation.

The Warhawks captured the the 2010 WIAC regular season title and finished the season with a very impressive 42-7 record.

The team will begin the season on March 4-5 in Omaha, Nebraska with a pair of nonconference doubleheaders vs Concordia-Moorhead (Minnesota).

The Warhawks were originally scheduled to open in the Metrodomein in Minneapolis, but the a December 12th collapse of the Dome has forced cancellation of all games until at least the end of May.

The first home games of the season will be played April 2 at 1 pm and April 3 at 12 pm against UW-Superior. All home games are played at Prucha Field in Jim Miller Stadium on the north end of the UW-W campus.

Warhawks to open 2011 season in Omaha

Hello again Warhawk baseball fans... I'm Tom Pattison and lets get started with my 2011 UW-Whitewater baseball blog.

Over the past decade, the Warhawks have opened its season by playing at least a couple of doubleheaders at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. It was an excellent way of getting the season started prior to heading to Florida (or Arizona) for its annual spring training trip.

This season Whitewater is being forced to find another location for its early season games due to the much publicized collape of the Metrodome roof back in December.

The Hawks are now scheduled to open the season with a pair of doubleheaders in Omaha, Nebraska. The Hawks will play Concordia-Moorhead (Minn) with doubleheaders set for Friday, March 4th and Saturday March 5th. The Central Florida portion of the schedule opens on Thursday, March 17th.

The Metrodome's Teflon roof collapsed after Minneapolis got more than 17 inches of snow. No injuries were reported in the collapse.

UW-Whitewater head coach John Vodenlich was notified in January that all games at the Metrodome scheduled for this spring would be cancelled. Work on replacement of the dome could get underway by the middle of March with a goal of finishing by Aug. 1st at an estimated cost of $18.3 million.