#3 UW-Eau Claire 4, #5 UW-Whitewater 3
Janke's
Blast Catapults Blugolds to National
Title
May 19, 2008
SALEM, Va. ---
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
picked up the school's second overall
NCAA championship today by defeating
fellow Wisconsin Intercollegiate
Athletic Association (WIAC) member the
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 4-3,
in nine innings in the 2008 NCAA
Division III Softball Championship title
game in Salem, Va.
“What a ballgame," said Leslie
Huntington, head coach of UW-Eau
Claire. "I couldn’t be more proud of
our kids. These players have been
resilient; they’ve hung together all
year. I told them today that in the last
two weeks especially they have had one
heartbeat and they kept that one
heartbeat today and won UW Eau-Claire a
national championship! This is amazing!”
The Blugolds (36-11) entered the
tournament on Friday as the fourth
seeded team and made their way through
the winners bracket by downing #6 Ithaca
8-0 in six innings and then beating #7
Muskingum 5-1 on Saturday. UW-Eau
Claire came back on Monday and defeated
top-ranked Louisiana College, 2-1, to
reach the title game.
In the bottom of the ninth inning
against UW-Whitewater, senior Jill Janke
hit a walk-off solo homerun over the
right field fence for her sixth
round-tripper of the season and most
memorable knock of her career. The
Blugolds had not yet hit a homer in the
the NCAA tournament despite hitting 37
long shots throughout the regular
season. Janke's home run was her only
hit on the afternoon.
“I walked up to the plate and I felt
really good... I felt really confident,"
said Janke on her game-winning homerun.
"I had this feeling as soon as we ran in
from getting that third out, that this
was the inning, this was when we were
going to end it. I swung and hit and
thought 'Just get out of here!'".
In the seventh frame, the Blugolds were
down 3-1 with two outs and no runners on
base when they found their offensive
rhythm. Katie Stalker changed the game
when she got on base by sending a single
to the pitcher. Casey Leisgang then
singled to left field, putting two
runners on base. Tamara Zeman knocked a
single to left field and Stalker was
able to tap home plate, making the score
3-2. Then Michelle Butkus reached first
on fielder's choice back up the middle.
On the play, UW-Whitewater committed a
fielding error which brought Leisgang
home for the tying run that sent the
game into extra innings.
The other UW-Eau Claire score came early
in the game during the third frame when
Zeman slapped a single to first base
that plated Stalker.
UW-Whitewater (39-11) posted the first
score of the game in the second inning
when Lauren Rankins singled up the
middle and Amanda LeBeau scored. The
Warhawks recorded two more runs in the
fifth frame when Suzanne Gersich knocked
her ball beyond the left field fence.
Gersich's long-ball marked her 13th on
the season and UW-Whitewater's 68th,
setting a school and WIAC record as well
as placing second all-time in NCAA
Division III history. The Warhawks'
power total is topped only by the 72
dingers posted by the University of
Saint Thomas in 2006.
“This really set the stage for us," said
Gersich on the success of her team this
year. "We will be nationally recognized
as being a great team.”
Jenny Ross picked up the win, upping her
mark to 27-2 and extending the Blugolds'
longest winning streak of the season to
eight games, all of which Ross has been
in the circle. Ross pitched all nine
innings and gave up three runs and eight
hits while fanning six batters. In the
Blugolds four games during the
championship series, Ross allowed only
twenty hits and five runs in 29 innings
of play. She posted a 1.21 ERA and
whiffed 16 batters.
Jessica Stang pitched the entire game
for the Warhawks and permitted four runs
on ten hits while fanning six batters.
Stang finishes her freshman season with
a record of 16-6. Throughout the
championship series, Stang pitched 42.1
innings and gave up 34 hits and 12 runs
while posting a 0.99 ERA. Stang racked
up 40 strikeouts.
“I can’t even explain how proud I am of
them, said Warhawk mentor, Brenda Volk.
"Not only have they worked hard but they
are the nicest bunch of kids I have ever
worked with. They have stayed focused
and worked hard; they wanted this more
than anything.”
Five Blugolds and five Warhawks were
named to the all-tournament team.
Listed below you can find those ten
players and the rest of the 2008 NCAA
Division III Softball Championship
All-Tournament Team.
2008 NCAA Division III Softball
Championship All-Tournament Team
Catcher:
Kari Hoying, Muskingum
First Base:
Caitlin Ryan, Ithaca
Second Base:
Casey Leisgang, UW-Eau Claire
Third Base:
Michelle Butkus, UW-Eau Claire
Shortstop:
Ashleigh Clement, Louisiana
Outfield:
Lauren Cruz, UW-Whitewater
Outfield:
Amy Gahl, UW-Whitewater
Outfield:
Suzanne Gersich, UW-Whitewater
Pitcher:
Jenny Ross, UW-Eau Claire
Pitcher:
Jessica Stang, UW-Whitewater
Designated/Utility Player:
McCaslin Carson, Louisiana
At-Large:
Katie Stalker, UW-Eau Claire
At-Large:
Amanda LeBeau, UW-Whitewater
At-Large:
Emily Ringen, Cortland State
At-Large:
Jill Janke, UW-Eau Claire