WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Garrett Nix (Jr.-Osseo/Osseo-Fairchild) matched a career-high by striking out nine batters as the 23rd-ranked UW-Stevens Point baseball team defeated eighth-ranked UW-Whitewater 3-0 today to win its fourth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Tournament Championship at Witter Field.

It is Stevens Point’s seventh conference tournament title in the 11-year history of the event. The Pointers have won it all four years the event has been held at Witter Field. Stevens Point has won 10 straight in the WIAC Tournament and becomes the first three-seed to win it.

The Pointers receive the conference’s automatic bid to the 54-team NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. Stevens Point has made it to the World Series the last two seasons, including finishing third last season.

It was the Pointers that struck first in the bottom of the first. After the first two batters went down, Brandon Scheidler (Sr.-Chippewa Falls/McDonell) drew a walk and then Doug Coe (Sr.-Appleton/North) hit his second home run of the tournament, a two-run blast to left field, to make it 2-0. It was Coe’s 15th home run of the season.

With the score still 2-0 in the top of the seventh, the Warhawks threatened putting runners at the corners with one out. Whitewater then flied out to right field and the runner tagged from third, but rightfielder Brad Archambeau (So.-Watertown) gunned down the runner at the plate as the score remained 2-0.
Brandon Scheidler added insurance for the Pointers in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run to right field to make it 3-0. Jeff Zielke (Jr.-Watertown) came in the ninth and set a school single-season record by shutting the Warhawks down to earn his eighth save of the season as the Pointers prevailed 3-0.
Nix allowed just four hits and walked three batters to improve to 8-3 this season. Doug Coe was 2-for-4 with a home run and a pair of RBIs to lead the Stevens Point offense.
The Pointers will now wait and see which regional they will be placed in and who they will be paired with in that regional. That will be determined Monday morning. The NCAA Division III Regionals begin on Wednesday.

Prepared by Jesse Robinson