CA
Cal Aldridge
  • special education
  • Class of 2020
  • Crystal Lake, IL

Crystal Lake's Aldridge Named All-Midwest Region in Baseball at UW-Whitewater

2017 May 24

Cal Aldridge, a native of Crystal Lake, IL, and graduate of Prairie Ridge High School, was one of nine members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team to be named All-Midwest Region by D3baseball.com and/or the American Baseball Coaches Association in partnership with Rawlings.

From D3baseball.com, junior pitcher Heath Renz (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson) collected Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year and first team All-Midwest Region accolades, and head coach John Vodenlich was selected Midwest Region Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career.



Senior relief pitcher Mike Nompleggi (Oconto Falls/Oconto Falls), junior first baseman Blake Fleischman (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) and junior starting pitcher Austin Jones (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) joined Renz on the first team. Senior second baseman Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, IL/Guilford) and junior outfielder Brett Krause (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) were tabbed second team, and senior pitcher Westin Wuethrich (Greenwood, Wis./Greenwood) earned third team honors.

For the ABCA/Rawlings, Renz was tabbed Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year.



Renz, Chamberlain, Jones and Krause garnered first team accolades. Sophomore third baseman Cal Aldridge (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) earned second team honors, and Fleischman and senior shortstop Jordan Kuczynski (Germantown/Germantown) were named to the third team.



The Warhawks swept the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships and reached the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 21st time in program history. The team was the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Midwest Regional, which it hosted from May 18-22.



UW-Whitewater finished 36-9 overall and 17-3 in the conference.



Renz was tabbed WIAC Pitcher of the Year and finished with a 9-0 record and a 1.96 earned run average in 69 innings pitched (12 appearances). He collected 55 strikeouts and held opponents to a .215 batting average during his breakout campaign.



Jones was also a key member of the starting rotation. The first team All-WIAC honoree posted an 8-3 record with a 1.91 earned run average to go along with 83 strikeouts and held opponents to a .202 batting average in 85 innings pitched. The right-hander finished with four complete games and added one save.



Nompleggi solidified the back end of the bullpen, registering a 4-1 record with seven saves in a team-high 22 appearances. The first team all-conference selection tallied a 1.85 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched.



Fleischman, the WIAC Position Player of the Year, finished the season with a .309 batting average and led the team with 11 doubles and 20 walks. He also contributed six home runs, 31 runs batted in and four stolen bases.



Chamberlain batted .355 with 39 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, and Krause finished with a .376 average, 10 doubles, 31 RBIs and 12 stolen bases and committed only one error during the year. Both were named first team All-WIAC.



Wuethrich recorded a 5-1 mark with a 3.34 ERA in 11 games, including nine starts. He held opponents to a .214 batting average in 64 2/3 innings pitched and struck out 81.

Aldridge, a member of the second team for each of the last two seasons, collected a .342 average to go along with six home runs, 41 RBI and a .470 on-base percentage.

Kuczynski led the defense with 137 assists and registered a .324 batting average with eight doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI.