3 Former A’s on UW-Milwaukee 20th Anniversary Team

Story from uwmpanthers.cstv.com

MILWAUKEE – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball program is proud to announce the members of the 20th Anniversary Baseball team. Six weeks of voting and thousands of on-line ballots later, the 14-member team is now being revealed and will be honored at Miller Park during the Panthers game against Youngstown State April 29.

“Over the past 20 years, we have had some fantastic baseball players come through this program,” UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. “To be able to honor those players in a setting like this – on the field at Miller Park for a Panther home game – is going to be exciting. It will be a special day and will be great to see some faces that we haven’t seen in a while. Personally, it was an honor to be able to watch those guys practice and compete as athletes over the years. Now, it’s going to be equally rewarding shaking their hand in recognition for their accomplishments as members of this anniversary team.”

The infield consists of Chad Sadowski (1997-2000) at first base, Jesse Hart (2005-08) at second base, Matt Houk (2000-01) at shortstop and Jak Kraus (1992-96) at third base.

The three outfielders to secure spots on the team are Eric Goerdt (2000-01), Mike Goetz (2005-06) and Darin Haugom (1997-2001).

The catcher is John Vanden Berg (2001-02). Ben Long (2008-10) is the choice at designated hitter and Charlie Reschke (2002-05) is the utility player selection.

Two starting pitchers and two relief pitchers were also honored to round out the squad. Quintin Oldenburg (1998-2002) and Ben Stanczyk (2002-04) were selected as starting pitchers and Jed Dolske (2002-06) and Matt Freisleben (1999-2002) were honored as the relievers.

The 2000 team featured the most players on an active roster that made the 20th Anniversary Team. That season featured six players (Sadowski, Houk, Goerdt, Haugom, Oldenburg, Freisleben) that made the final cut. Having been the head coach since 2007 and an assistant at UWM since 1995, Doffek coached all 14 members of the squad.

The team invites all alumni and friends of the program to join the festivities at Miller Park Friday, April 29, which will be kicking off Alumni Weekend. The 20th Anniversary Team will be honored on the field in between the two Horizon League contests that day.

Join the Panthers the following day at Henry Aaron Field, as the squad is set to take on Cleveland State in a doubleheader starting at noon Saturday. The Alumni Softball game and a cookout are scheduled to follow. For all interested parties, please contact Steve Sanfilippo at stevemsanfilippo@yahoo.com for more details.

Also, for those interested, the Brewers have allowed the Panthers to reserve the AirTran Airways Landing Zone, located in Miller Park, for UWM Family & Friends on April 29. For $20 per person, you will get a player’s view of the action from this unique area in right field, which will include food and drink. For more information, please contact Chris Ciancimino at ciancim2@uwm.edu. The area holds 75 people and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The infield spots include a trio of four-year players and cover nearly all 20 years of UWM NCAA Division I play.

Sadowski, a recent inductee into the UWM Athletics Hall of Fame, was named to the All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference First-Team three times after earning a spot on the league’s all-newcomer team as a freshman. He also was named MCC Tournament MVP in leading the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament in 1999. In 182 career games, he batted .323 with a program-best 150 runs batted in while also hitting 28 home runs – second all-time.

Hart was a two-time First-Team All-Horizon League selection who graduated as the program career leader in hits (267), at bats (778) and doubles (66, which was also a Horizon League career record) and drove in 140 runs (second all-time) in 196 career games. Hart also became the first player in the history of the program to bat over .300 in all four seasons in a Panther uniform.

Kraus played in the early 90’s and set the bar for many of the program’s career records. He batted .350 in 185 games, driving in 127 runs and hitting 26 home runs. His home run total still stands fourth all-time, while his 99 career walks are still at the top of the charts. He went on to bat .336 in four seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system.

Houk played in 104 games over his two seasons, batting .342 with 58 runs batted in, while stealing 30 bases (fifth all-time). He earned a spot on the MCC All-Newcomer Team in 2000 and helped lead the Panthers back to the NCAA Tournament in 2001.

The outfield consists of a pair of teammates who played together in both the 2000 and 2001 campaigns and also Milwaukee’s only All-American.

Goerdt piled up offensive numbers in his two seasons, batting .389 (third all-time) in 104 games, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 109 runs. He was named MCC First-Team All-League in both of his seasons and was also the 2000 MCC Newcomer of the Year.

Goetz remains the only All-American in program history, leading the country with a .493 batting average in 2006. That year, he set UWM season records in average, runs, hits, doubles, triples, total bases and walks. He played in 110 games in two seasons, recording 179 hits and a .428 average – the highest career mark in program history. He was also named the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2006, a season in which he recorded hitting streaks of 32 and 27 games (hitting safely in 59 out of 60 games), the top two hitting streaks in program history.

Haugom had a stellar career for the Panthers and still remains in the top five in most career categories. His 73 stolen bases remain first and his hit total of 245 was the record until it was broken in 2008. He is third with 138 RBI and 692 at bats, fourth with 186 games played and fifth with 23 home runs. The MCC Player of the Year in 2001, he earned first-team all-league honors in 2000 and 2001 and second-team accolades in 1999.

Vanden Berg batted .378 in 109 career games, the fourth-highest in program history. He belted 16 home runs and drove in 103 runs. He was named First-Team All-Horizon League as a senior in 2002 and was Second-Team All-MCC and the MCC Newcomer of the Year in 2001.

Long spent three seasons in a UWM uniform, batting .322 with 16 home runs and 112 RBI’s in 127 games. He was tabbed for Second-Team All-Horizon League honors as a DH in 2008 and is one of just three players all-time to hit three home runs in a game.

Reschke was as steady as they come, piling up a .312 average in 202 games (second all-time) and 683 at bats (fourth). He finished with 213 hits (fourth), 18 home runs and 123 runs batted in. He capped his career with First-Team All-Horizon League honors in 2005.

Oldenburg remains at the top of the career charts with his 26 wins and 238 strikeouts, while his 268.1 innings, 62 career games, and 3.81 ERA are third. The MCC Pitcher of the Year in 2001, he was a first-team all-league choice in 2001 and a second-team member in 2002.

Stanczyk compiled a 13-3 career mark with nine saves in three seasons, recording a 3.07 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 140.1 innings of work. In 2004 he became the first player to ever be named the Horizon League Player and Pitcher of the Year in the same season – earning first-team honors at both pitcher and third base. He was also a second-team member in 2003.

Dolske sits at the top of the career saves list with 21, compiled in 103 games (second all-time) and 157.2 innings of work. Freisleben tops the chart with 115 games and he saved 18 contests in his career (second), appearing in 139.1 innings on the mound. He was an MCC All-Newcomer honoree in 1999 and was named First-Team All-Mideast Region in 2002.