BF
Blake Fleischman
  • chemistry
  • Germantown, WI

Germantown's Fleischman Earns All-WIAC Baseball Honors at UW-Whitewater

2017 May 19

Blake Fleischman, a native of Germantown, WI, and graduate of Germantown High School, is one of 11 members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team to be selected All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference based on their performances during the 2017 season.

In addition, the Warhawks swept the league's top three honors as head coach John Vodenlich was named WIAC Coach of the Year for the eighth time in his career, junior pitcher Heath Renz (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson) was tabbed WIAC Pitcher of the Year and junior first baseman Blake Fleischman (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) garnered WIAC Position Player of the Year accolades.

Renz and Fleischman were joined on the first team by senior second baseman Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, Ill./Guilford), senior shortstop Jordan Kuczynski (Germantown, Wis./Germantown), senior pitcher Mike Nompleggi (Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls), senior pitcher Westin Wuethrich (Greenwood, Wis./Greenwood), junior pitcher Austin Jones (Wauwatowsa, Wis./West), junior outfielder Brett Krause (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) and sophomore third baseman Cal Aldridge (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge).

Senior pitcher Ankur Shah (St. Charles, Ill./North) and sophomore outfielder Matt Wary (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) were tabbed honorable mention.

Chamberlain is now a three-time all-conference honoree, while Nompleggi, Shah, Fleischman, Jones and Aldridge garnered all-league accolades for the second time in their careers.

All 11 players helped the Warhawks sweep the WIAC regular season and tournament championships and reach the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 10th straight season and 21st time in program history.

Chamberlain currently ranks among the top five in the conference in batting average (.364), slugging percentage (.562), runs scored (43), hits (59), runs batted in (38), home runs (8) and total bases (91). He also ranks third on the team with 11 stolen bases and is fielding .970.

Kuczynski, a first time honoree, ranks eighth in the WIAC in batting average (.327) and is among league leaders in slugging percentage (.463), hits (53), RBI (32), home runs (5) and total bases (75). He is tied for second in the league with 127 defensive assists.

Wuethrich, Jones, Renz and Shah have all been integral parts of the UW-Whitewater rotation.

Wuethrich is holding batters to a .222 average in 60 2/3 innings of work and owns a 5-1 record heading into the week, while Jones is 8-2 with a 1.75 earned run average in a team-high 77 innings of work and is holding opponents to a league-best .192 average. Wuethrich and Jones are tied for second in the conference with 76 strikeouts apiece.

Renz has enjoyed a breakout year in his first year as a full-time starter. The right-hander is 8-0 and ranks third in the WIAC in ERA (1.94) and opposing batting average (.214) in 65 innings.

Shah is 5-0 with a 4.24 ERA with one save in 51 innings. The left-hander is holding opponents to a .256 batting average and enters the week with 41 strikeouts.

Nompleggi has spearheaded the Warhawks' bullpen after working primarily as a starter last season. In a conference-high 21 relief appearances, the righty is 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA and six saves in 33 innings pitched.

Fleischman and Aldridge have been stable at the corner infield spots. Fleischman is batting .317 with 10 doubles, six home runs and 29 RBI to go along with a team-best 19 walks. Aldridge enters the NCAA Tournament with a .345 batting average and five doubles, six home runs and a conference-high 40 RBI. Aldridge also leads the league with a .468 on-base percentage.

Krause and Wary have enjoyed fine seasons as first-year Warhawk starters in the outfield. Krause leads the WIAC in both batting average (.396) and hits (65) and has 10 doubles, three triples and 31 RBI. Wary is hitting .322 and leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 15 stolen bases.

Sophomore catcher Mike Aiello (Racine, Wis./Horlick) is UW-Whitewater's representative on the WIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.