HR
Heath Renz
  • Health and Human Performance
  • Class of 2018
  • Jefferson, WI

Jefferson's Renz Earns All-Region Honors for UW-Whitewater Baseball

2018 May 23

Heath Renz, a native of Jefferson, WI, and graduate of Jefferson High School, is one of six members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team who were selected All-Midwest Region by D3baseball.com and/or the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) based on their performances during the 2018 season.

Junior designated hitter Cal Aldridge (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) highlighted the Warhawks' ABCA/Rawlings honorees, earning Midwest Region Position Player of the Year distinction and first team All-Midwest Region accolades.

Aldridge was joined on the first team by senior outfielder Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) and junior pitcher Michael Kaska (Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton Community). Sophomore outfielder Alex Doud (Waukesha, Wis./Mukwonago) was named to the second team.

Bryden was selected Midwest Region Player of the Year by D3baseball.com, while Kaska garnered Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year accolades from the website.

Aldridge joined Bryden and Kaska on the first team. Doud and senior pitcher Heath Renz (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson) earned second team honors, and senior pitcher Austin Jones (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) collected a spot on the third team.

All six players earned first team all-conference honors and helped the Warhawks finish the 2018 season with a 33-8 record, including a 20-4 mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team claimed its fifth WIAC regular season championship in the last six years and its 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.

Aldridge, now a three-time ABCA all-region pick, ranks among the top five in the nation in home runs (15), homers per game (0.38), sacrifice flies (8), slugging percentage (.882) and total bases (135). He is 12th in batting average (.451) and tied for first in the league in doubles (19), and finished second in the conference in hits (69), runs (53), runs batted in (52) and on-base percentage (.505).

Bryden, the WIAC Position Player of the Year, leads the nation in runs per game (1.83), total bases (142) and triples (9) and is among Division III leaders in batting average (.488). He is among Division III's top 15 in hits (80), on-base percentage (.554), runs (75), slugging percentage (.866) and stolen bases (29). Bryden finished with 17 doubles, nine home runs, 41 RBI and a team-high 23 walks.

Kaska ranks among the top 20 in the country in wins with a 9-1 record and earned run average with a 1.41. The WIAC Pitcher of the Year held opponents to a .221 batting average in 63 2/3 innings and collected 55 strikeouts, and was a three-time WIAC Pitcher of the Week during the regular season.

Doud finished third in the league behind Aldridge and Bryden in batting average (.438), slugging percentage (.733) and on-base percentage (.483) and registered nine doubles, six home runs and 38 RBI.

Renz finished the year with a 5-3 record and a 3.15 ERA in 54 1/3 innings over 12 appearances. He totaled 70 strikeouts and is 28th in the nation with 11.60 strikeouts per nine innings. Renz is now a two-time D3baseball.com All-Region selection after earning a spot on the first team in 2017.

Jones, now a two-year all-region pick, recorded an 8-2 mark with a 2.91 ERA in 2018, registering team highs in innings (65) and strikeouts (81). He held opponents to a .238 batting average in 11 appearances, including 10 starts.