Podcast: 2011 Cross Country season reviews with Bethany Brewster

Edgewood College men's and women's head cross country coach Bethany Brewster discusses her teams' performances during the 2011 season. Both the men's and women's teams placed second in the Northern Athletics Conference and Josh Williams qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship meet.

Men:


Women:

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Podcast: 2011 Volleyball season review with Paul Schlomer

Head Edgewood College volleyball coach Paul Schlomer reflects on the Eagles historical 2011 season. The Eagles won the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Thousand and Adrian featured on the Big 1070

Head women's basketball coach Casey Thousand and head men's basketball coach Todd Adrian appeared with Brian Posick on Madison's The Big 1070 (WTSO 1070-AM) to talk about the upcoming basketball season. Click the podcast players below to hear their interviews in their entirety.

Women's Basketball coach Casey Thousand:


Men's Basketball coach Todd Adrian:

What's with the weird bar code thingys?

We've been asked more than once this fall, "what is that square bar code thing on your game programs?" Those are QR Codes. Using a smartphone with a QR reading app (we like "QR Droid" and "QR Reader for iPhone") you can scan the code which will direct you to additional information on your mobile device.

For Edgewood College Athletics, we've used them to point to our new Live Video/Live Stats portal or to the cover athlete's bio page on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com. In the future, you might see QR Codes used for special concession stand offers or to direct you to other website features like text message alerts or the photo store. We will try to keep them fun and interesting, so be sure to check the QR Code at every Eagle event you attend.

Breese Stevens press box being built!

Tom Maglio from the City of Madison passed along these pictures of the new Breese Stevens Field press box under construction. JW Industries of Green Bay is building the press box in their factory. It will then be dismantled and shipped to Madison for installation by Joe Daniels Construction. Everyone is very happy at the upgrade to Breese Stevens, but the Athletic Communications staff at Edgewood College is positively ecstatic. Thanks to Tom, the City of Madison and the construction companies for getting it done!

 

O'Dell, Cordova give back on Miracle Field

Edgewood College baseball player Ryan O'Dell is serving children with disabilities this summer by managing Miracle Field in Roselle, Ill. He and 20-30 volunteers, including Eagle women's soccer player Zenaida Cordova, meet every Monday night in the summer to help kids with disabilities learn the joys of baseball, teammwork and inclusion. Read Ryan's summary of Miracle Field below... 




O'Dell (in green shirt) cheers on a Miracle Field player

 "The program I have been in charge of is called Miracle Field. Throughout the early spring I was in charge of spreading the word about the program as well as finding 20-30 volunteers. The 20 volunteers include ex-baseball players from my high school, St. Charles East, as well as others who found out about the program and just wanted to help. Zenaida Cordova who plays on the Edgewood College Women's soccer team also helps volunteer.

For eight Monday nights this summer we meet at Miracle Field in Roselle, Ill. and for two hours help teach/play baseball with children who have disabilities. Their ages are from 5-13 and their disabilities range from down syndrome to mentally challenged. Every player is paired with a "buddy" or volunteer and they stay together through out the eight weeks. When we get to the field, we meet for 10 minutes with our buddy and ask them how their week was, etc. Then we'll gather on the field and stretch. Next we try and work on basic fundamentals that can improve their overall flexibility and hand-eye coordination. These include fielding a soft ball that is rolled to them, throwing the ball back to a buddy, or running the bases. After that, it is time to play ball.

Cordova instructs her Miracle Field buddy

The players are separated into two teams and while one team is hitting the other are at their positions in the field. The team who is hitting walks one-by-one up to the plate and hits a soft ball off a tee and run to first base while the other team fields it. Base runners may only move up a base at a time and there are no outs. Often times before the ball is hit we will call out to the fielders what base the ball should be thrown to, which also helps with their concentration. The last batter to hit runs all the way around the bases for "home run". Then the teams flip from field to hitting. The games usually last 3 full innings.

Miracle Field itself is something special. Donated by the Chicago White Sox, it is a scaled down replica of their stadium. Complete with lights, a soft rubber coating turf, and dugouts, not only does it offer the players a special night game but is also safe for everyone and is wheelchair proof.

Currently, Miracle Field has been a great thing with a great turnout as well as the volunteers who have worked with the kids. My next job will be to meet with several sponsors/marketers in hopes of spreading the word and taking the program to more places for next summer. On July 25th there will be an open house, anyone who is interested can come stop by and see the program in action."

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Edgewood College Magazine: Summer 2011

The latest edition of the Edgewood College Magazine is released. There's a fantastic feature on Edgewood College men's basketball alum Mark Lowry. Also, see if you can find pictures of these student-athletes: Jeff Barczak, Jessi Ditzler, Josh Williams, Shae Beckwith, Brittany Storhoff, Brittany Drewiske, Emily Daniels, Amanda Bliske, Mallory Palmer, Max Divelbiss, Ben Wisniewski and Andrew Garvey.

Wait, is that Dr. Goll in one of those pictures?

Open publication - Free publishing - More magazine

O'Dell crushes walk-off homer in Legion victory

Edgewood College baseball player Ryan O'Dell crushed a two-out, two-run homer to lift his St. Charles (Ill.) Post 342 team to clinch the District 11 regular season championship. O'Dell's blast to right field gave St. Charles a 5-4 victory over Elgin Post 57. Read the full story below...

O'Dell’s walk-off homer lifts St. Charles to District 11 title (courtesy of Gene Chamberlain of the Courier-News)

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Beckwith featured on Edgewood.edu

Edgewood College women's basketball and women's tennis student-athlete Shae Beckwith was recently profiled on Edgewood College's main website. Beckwith recently completed an intense internship with toy manufacturer Mattel, Inc. Read about it here:

Student Profile - Shae Beckwith

(Pictured: Shae Beckwith with Edgewood College President Dan Carey)

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Future Eagle fires no-hitter in Legion game

Casey Geissburger, a recent graduate of Zion-Benton High School fired his first career no-hitter in a 7-0 win for the Zion Barons in an American Legion game. Geissburger and teammate Zac Creekmore, will both be attending Edgewood College in the fall and playing for the Eagles' baseball team.

Legion Baseball: Fill-in Geissburger says ‘yes,’ then hurls no-no (Courtesy of Lake County News-Sun)

Photo: Joel Lerner, Sun-Times Media

Welcome to Ryan Matthew Saltzberry!

Edgewood College's athletic business administrator is a new mom! Former three-sport athlete Suann Saltzberry and her husband, former baseball player Matt Saltzberry, welcomed a new baby boy into the world on Monday morning. He was 6 lbs, 6 oz. and 18.5 inches long.

Congratualtions to the new parents!
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Eagles and Wildcats present donation to Breast Cancer Recovery

Edgewood College head baseball coach Al Brisack and Verona Area High School head baseball coach presented the Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation with their proceeds from their "Strike Out Cancer" game. The Eagles and Wildcats sold T-shirts and collected donations at home games this season to raise money to support those affected by breast cancer.

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Krueger signs with Riverhawks

Eagle fans won't have to travel down under to see former Edgewood College pitcher Matt Krueger this summer. Krueger has signed a contract to play for the Rockford Riverhawks, an independent professional baseball team in the Frontier League.

Krueger played last season with the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League and their farm team the Wanneroo Giants of the Western Australia State Baseball League. Krueger helped the Giants to the league title, pitching to victory in the championship series.

The Riverhawks open the season with a three-game series at home against the Traverse City Beach Bums, beginning on Friday night. The Riverhawks play at Road Ranger Stadium in Loves Park, Ill., just 65 miles south of Madison.

Riverhawks sign catcher, pitcher (courtesy of RockfordRiverhawks.com)

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"Nova" nominated for Madison Area Music Award

Edgewood College baseball player James Bertakis has been nominated for a MAMA or Madison Area Music Award. Bertakis, under his stage name "Nova," has released an album with the help of teammate Jake Zadra. Nova is nominated for Hip-Hop Album of the Year with three other local artists.

Only MAMA members can vote for the awards, but anyone may sign up to be a member and cast their vote until May 15. Membership is a $5 minimum donation to their charitable fund.

The Eighth Annual MAMAs will be in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center in Madison on Saturday, June 4. Tickets are $15 and are available through the Overture Center website.

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Eagles go 7-1 at spring tournament

The Edgewood College volleyball team played their one permissible spring event last weekend, going 7-1 in sets against Northern Athletics Conference teams. The Eagles played two sets against each team at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee.

Edgewood College 25 25
Concordia Wis. 18 14

Edgewood College 18 25
Wis. Lutheran 25 15

Edgewood College 26 25
Maranatha Baptist 24 18

Edgewood College 25 25
MSOE 21 13

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The Daily Deuce #2: Eagles Fly South

Edgewood College pitchers Tony Ales and Glenn Nowell will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Eagles 2011 baseball season.

Edgewood College’s Eagles travelled by bus deep into the moist jungle of vegetation, fried chicken, and barbecue that is the southeastern United States. With the current weather in Madison being cold and rainy and meals returning to ramen and Spaghetti-O’s, the succulent pork of Memphis and the tropical flavor of the hot Florida sun are only memory. Reminiscing being our only option, we hope to provide a full view of what it was like to be in flight with the Eagles.

At 10 a.m. in the middle of the week (missed class – Thanks Coach!), we tied our boots, packed our lunches, and hopped on the bus for Memphis, Tenn. where we faced Christian Brothers University. This Division II team lived up to their reputation as a worthy adversary. We fell 6-4, but showed a lot of potential with some solid hitting and pitching. Everyone was in agreement that we had a lot of victories coming our way.

After suffering defeat, our hosts, the Christian Brothers, were gracious enough to serve some fantastic southern style barbeque before we took off. They may have won, but their hospitality and that Memphis chopped pork was a nice cap to our brief stop in Tennessee.

We rested shortly in Birmingham, Ala. for a quick practice and shower then continued our journey down to Florida. The bus ride was full of excitement. With the movies on full blast and players at the back of the bus’ futile efforts to turn it down, there was plenty of entertainment to help endure endless hours of sitting and eating. We could have fallen to the dreaded “bus legs” but as Eagles, we didn’t need legs. All we needed were wings, to fly above the adversity and conquer the enemy.

We proceeded to beat our next 5 opponents: 2 games vs. Ripon College, 2 games vs. Greenville College, and a blowout vs. St. Norbert College.

We were lucky enough to receive a day off in between playing Greenville and St. Norbert, where many people (including Tony Ales) decided to catch up on some much needed z’s and go to bed early. Others travelled to various beaches and some went to Disney. Dr. Goll, our team Chemist, did both, seeing the Wide World of Disney from the seats at a girls' lacrosse match while napping (pictured). It was a nice off-day, but it was back to business, with games for the rest of the week. The day after St. Norbert College, we were in for a very competitive doubleheader vs St. Olaf College, a foe coming from Minnesota.

*side note: Congrats to baby Eagle Ryan (Bucky) O’Dell on his first collegiate home run and his 5-for-6 game vs Greenville College.

The first game was a classic pitcher’s duel between our very own Blake O’Brien, and their ace Ben Hughes. With scouts in the stands, O.B. threw fantastically, allowing one unearned run through the first seven innings of play. Seeing that this was only a seven inning game, the Eagles had to attack before it was too late. Scott Ortega ripped a hit into left field, putting him on second base. Then our papa eagle, Andrew King, came up to the plate and hit a piece into right field, driving in Scott to tie the game. Unfortunately, St. Olaf would strike again, and we lost a heart breaker in extras 2-1. The next game we did not come ready to play, and lost 5-2.

We had one last game to determine if we would depart for home on a high note, or a low note. Bowdoin College from Maine was standing in the way of the high note we wished to hit. We hung in there for a while, but eventually let the difficulty of the situation get to us, falling 6-2 in the final game of our Southern trip.

Even though we would have liked to have won all the games, there were many small victories in the process of learning who we are as a team. We learned it will take every individual to succeed as a team. No one Eagle shall fly above the flock. The trip south served as a great opportunity to find the areas in which our team needs to improve, and this week’s practice will be about fine tuning and getting back to working hard.

The 24-hour bus trip back to Madison was no cake walk, but the Annual Eagle Karaoke Competition was just that for Joe Gura. His golden voice and witty charm wooed the judges, and his rendition of “A Whole New World” surely would have captured Aladdin’s heart if Jasmine had not had such a small waist.

This weekend, the Eagles have their home opener at Stampfl Field. Saturday brings a double header against Concordia College (Moorhead) from Minnesota. They’re an opponent that we faced twice last year, in a more weather friendly environment (the Metrodome). Don’t worry. Unlike the Metrodome, the roof at the Chuck won’t cave in. (EDITOR: Saturday's games against Concordia have been cancelled) The following day, we face off against Macalester College.

Hopefully we’ll see you all at the Chuck this weekend! (weather permitting)

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Men's Tennis spring trip #7: The Double Blog edition

Rexford Shield of the men's tennis team is keeping a running diary of the Eagle men's and women's tennis team trip to Hilton Head, S.C...

On the fourth day, we rested. Everything was extremely laid back after an exhausting week of intense college tennis. Everyone pretty much had their own schedule and did as they pleased. The guys went to a local restaurant, grabbed some food, and watched some of the NCAA tournament games while the women went to the beach and the shops around noon time.

As a team, we then relaxed by the pool and soaked up the Hilton Head sun. What should come as a surprise is that we didn't do that much eating today due to the fact that we weren't in the house much. In the afternoon, Clint, Hannah, Cody, and Coach hit at the local tennis courts when everyone else went to little shops to buy some souvenirs; Tim, Vince, and I got some pretty sweet watches at a surf shop.

Then, the three of us came back and watched the Badgers beat Belmont while the others stayed in the town to eat dinner. It was a great day here in Hilton Head because we were able to clear our minds from tennis and enjoy our spring break for what it's worth. Most of us have avoided doing school work except Max and I, surprisingly. Tomorrow is our last day in great weather, then it's back to reality in Wisconsin. Go Eagles!

It was our last day in Hilton Head and we relaxed, once again. Like yesterday, everyone were on their own schedules with what they wanted to do. In the morning, everyone went to the outlet mall where they had tons of selections just like the one in Johnson Creek. It seemed that everyone found something that they were interested in. Vince and I then went to the shops again and picked out more souvenirs while others went for a sushi lunch.

Coach, Cody, and Max went to hit while everyone else stayed back and either took a nap, read, watched TV, or completed a puzzle. As a team, we went to Fuddruckers for dinner and that was absolutely delicious. Of course, we ate way too much but you only live once so it's okay to splurge. We packed up, cleaned the house, and laid around the rest of the night.

Personally, I had a blast on the trip because it was extremely warm weather, I was able to experience another part of the country, and I got to spend my spring break with my great teammates. We won't remember what the final scores were; we will remember the memories and the laughs that we had on the trip and those are priceless. I hope everyone appreciated the spring break blog and I hope it gave everyone a glimpse of how great our team is. We have a very early morning tomorrow with our flight leaving at 7 am which means we have to leave the house at 3:30 am. It's the end of paradise and back to reality of the college life. Go Eagles!

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Men's Tennis spring trip #6: Throw Vince in the Pool edition

Rexford Shield of the men's tennis team is keeping a running diary of the Eagle men's and women's tennis team trip to Hilton Head, S.C...

It calls for a celebration. Vince, the senior walk-on, won his first match of the season 6-4, 6-2 against FDU-Florham in the nightcap of our matches today.

We had a 7:15 am wake-up call and traveled to Hilton Head High school where we played Heidelberg. The men lost 1-8 and the women won 8-1. John and Tim collected our lone victory on the men's side where they absolutely dominated.

We had some time off between our early match and the late match so we enjoyed the sunlight by the pool, took naps, read, and ate, once again. It was pretty neat when we played under the lights against FDU-Florham (men's opponent) and Illinois at Springfield (women's opponent). It was a great challenge for the women playing against a Division II opponent and they held their own pretty well by only losing 3-6. The men had a tough, close match against Florham but lost 3-6. Like always, Max won at both singles and doubles because he just hates to lose, plain and simple.

We didn't have an epic dinner like the night before but everyone made their own food including chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and breakfast burritos. Vince was by far the man of the night because of his epic performance. We celebrated his victory by throwing his 215 pound frame into the pool and watching Super Troopers.

No matches tomorrow or the rest of the trip. Life is good in Hilton Head. Go Eagles!

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Twins rookies defeat Eagles 6-3

The Edgewood College baseball team lost to a team of rookies from the Minnesota Twins organization 6-3 today in Fort Myers, Florida. Scott Ortega and Andrew King each had a double, while the Eagles used 11 pitchers by design.

"It was a good experience and I think it helped both clubs get better," said head coach Al Brisack. "I think we're a better team for it."

Edgewood College returns to collegiate action tomorrow when the play St. Norbert College at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) in Auburndale, Florida.

(Pictured: Kyle Smith)

Highlights from the Eagles exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins rookies:

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Men's Tennis spring trip #5: Extreme Taco edition

Rexford Shield of the men's tennis team is keeping a running diary of the Eagle men's and women's tennis team trip to Hilton Head, S.C...

Taco Tuesday here at the tennis house. Our matches weren't till later in the day so we were able to sleep in. A handful of us went shopping at the small shops down the street from our house and Tim and I printed out some NCAA tournament brackets, which was awesome to say the least. Before our match, we lounged around and some of us went to the beach and threw the football around while Max took pictures.

The men lost their match against Messiah, 3-6, and the women won their match against Messiah, 6-3. On the men's side, John won his first singles match of the year in a 3rd set tiebreaker. Max won at 3 singles like he always does and won his doubles match with Cody in dominant fashion.

However, the highlight of the day was our dinner: Taco Tuesday. Pretty sure, we had around 10 pounds of ground beef to feed a team of 15 so hopefully that paints enough of a picture in your head. You would think that the tacos would be the highlight but Hannah surprised the team with Sweet Caroline's cupcakes. If you haven't got the hint, we eat a lot. After dinner, everyone was way too full to even move so we were all pretty lazy and went to bed early. We added a match to our schedule for Wednesday so both the men and women will have a match at 8 am and 6:30 pm. It should be an awesome day of tennis. Go Eagles!

Men's Tennis spring trip #4

Rexford Shield of the men's tennis team is keeping a running diary of the Eagle men's and women's tennis team trip to Hilton Head, S.C...

Wake-up call was at 7:00 am for the women and 7:30 am for the men. The women had their first match of the trip at 8 am against the College of Wooster. After the women took 2 out of the 3 doubles matches, they came up short in the singles matches with 4 of them being decided in the 3rd set tiebreaker and lost the overall match 5-4. The men played Gordon College at 1 pm and lost 8-1. No. 3 singles player, Max Divelbiss, registered the lone win for the men by dominating 6-1, 6-0.

A lot of us were too tough to put on sun tan lotion and we paid for it by being sun burnt. For dinner, Cody, Max, Clint, and Vince cooked the traditional American barbeque of burgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken. We pretty much stuffed our face with as much food as we could tolerate and it ended up successful. The men then tossed the football around at the beach while Coach and the women stayed at the house and watched Iron Chef.

Tomorrow, both the women and the men don't play until 3 pm so we will be able to sleep in, get a good breakfast, and come out ready to go. Weather forecast for tomorrow will be a high of 79. I definitely don't miss the Wisconsin weather. Go Eagles!

Men's Tennis spring trip #3

Rexford Shield of the men's tennis team is keeping a running diary of the Eagle men's and women's tennis team trip to Hilton Head, S.C...

Day 2 in Hilton Head and the weather is absolutely amazing. I'm not sure about the exact temperature, but I couldn't see my breath and I was wearing shorts with a t-shirt so it was warm enough.

To kick off our trip, the men were faced against a very good team, Illinois Wesleyan. Overall, we lost the match 9-0. John and Tim were faced up against the number four ranked team in the country so they had their hands full but were competitive in a 8-1 loss. Max and Cody battled like they always do, but came up short in a 8-5 loss. Vince and Clint keep on improving even though the results may not show it as they lost 8-1.

The interesting and even frustrating part of tennis is that the final score doesn't show how the match actually went and it doesn't show how much progress we are making as a team. We are definitely making sufficient progress as a team and these tough matches will prepare us for our conference season. After our match, we came back to the house and the guys jumped in a freezing pool.

The women had practice on the clay courts which is something that they obviously aren't accustomed to. Also, the women made a great pasta dinner with a side of salad and garlic bread and to top it all off, we had birthday cake to celebrate Vince's 22nd birthday. Tomorrow will be a busy tennis day with the women playing at 8 am and the men playing 12 pm. Hopefully, tomorrow will result in victories on both sides. Go Eagles!

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Men's tennis spring trip #2

Rexford Shield of the men's tennis team is keeping a running diary of the Eagle men's and women's tennis team trip to Hilton Head, S.C.

The men and women's tennis teams have finally arrived in Hilton Head! We had a very long day of traveling going from Edgewood College to Milwaukee, Milwaukee to Chicago, Chicago to Charleston, and Charleston to Hilton Head. We pulled up to the house at 10 pm local time and were immediately blown away by the size of the house. To say to the least, it's pretty massive. It sleeps twenty, but Vince and I were still confined to the pull-out couch. We ordered some quality Domino's pizza and relaxed by watching ESPN.

From my previous blog post, I forgot to mention the women's schedule of opponents for the week. Unlike the men, they only play three matches that include The College of Wooster (3/14), Messiah College, Pa (3/15), and Heidelberg University, Ohio (3/16). You would think there would be no complaints during Spring Break, but Vince, Tim, and I experienced some problems in the airport that were rather ironic. All three of us chose to share a large suitcase in order to save money and it backfired on us. To make a long story short, instead of paying $25 to check our suitcase, we had to pay $100. Other than that, it's smooth sailing and couldn't ask for anything better.

I will check in again tomorrow night to review our match and the activities we have lined up. Go Eagles!

Men's tennis spring trip #1

Hello everyone! This is Rexford Sheild, a freshman on the Edgewood College men's tennis team. While others at Edgewood College are going to their various locations for spring break, members of the tennis team are going to Hilton Head, South Carolina. We are leaving Saturday March 12 and coming back Saturday March 19 so we will have a week to experience the beautiful weather and attractions that Hilton Head has to offer.

During our stay, we have five matches starting on Sunday the 13th and ending on Thursday the 16th. Our opponents include Illinois Wesleyan (3/13), Gordon College, Mass. (3/14), FDU-Florham, N.J (3/14), Messiah College, Pa. (3/15), Heidelberg University, Ohio (3/16). It's going to be a very competitive week of tennis for us, but as a competitor, you look forward to matches like these. Nevertheless, I'm really looking forward to a break from school and bonding with my teammates. I'll check in everyday and let everyone know how our matches went along with stuff we did for fun. Go Eagles!

P.S. I checked the weather and it's suppose to be high 60s all week. It's okay for you to be jealous.

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The Daily Deuce #1: The season begins

Edgewood College pitchers Tony Ales and Glenn Nowell will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Eagles 2011 baseball season.

Another season; another blog: brought to you by us, and we are Tony Ales (upper left) and Glenn Nowell (lower right), two pitchers on the Edgewood College Eagle baseball team that you’re probably intending to read about right now.

So, sit down and enjoy your Daily Deuce.

Before we unload, we’d like to pay tribute to last year’s blog writer, Blake Hunt, the vivacious personality that was the Sidearm Scoop. Although one of us (Glenn) is a side arm pitcher, we hope to continue the informative tradition of his posts while branching off to shed light on aspects of Eagle Baseball life that have remained in the shadows. Thank you Blake for your service to our team and the general public. May your flame always light our torch, paving the way to success.

The team has a much different look than last year. After losing some key seniors, Edgewood is seemingly in a rebuilding year; however, the baby Eagles Coach Brisack recruited to join our flock have shown us that a baby Eagle can hunt for its own and help the flock feast mightily. With 13 Freshmen and three transfers, the Eagles are proving to be a synthesis of old and new: where old social mores dictating the amount of affection a player with seniority ought to give to a younger player stood between a team and its success has now been fully replaced with unity and synergy.

Not only has the barrier of seniority been overcome, but since the beginning of Fall, we have made great improvements as a team. Thanks to Hitter’s Sportsplex, we are able to practice indoors all winter and prepare for the season ahead. The team from Day 1’s practice is no more. A team that once was lost on what to do with runners on 1st and 3rd now could do the variety of bunt defenses blindfolded. We have fine tuned our skills, whittling every facet of our game, finally peaking just in time for our spring trip down to Florida.

We don’t just speak for the two of us when we say that we are excited to go south. The team is more than ready to take our talents to the field, and actually play against an opponent. Not to mention playing outside in warm weather! We leave Wednesday morning with our destination being Tennessee where we begin our trip playing against Christian Brothers University. We are eager for the completion that this Division II school will have to offer. (Watch Live Stats here)

We have some highlight games on our schedule this year. First off, playing larger schools will be a great challenge for us. Christian Brothers will be our first game against a bigger school. Soon after we return from our southern trip, we also play against University of Illinois-Chicago. They are a Division I school that earned a pre-season regional rank. The Eagles can’t wait to prove their skills against these two schools in particular. We also get an opportunity to play UW-Stevens Point again, who last year played two very competitive games against us, and received a bid to the NCAA tournament.

This season is a special one. We have an opportunity to defend our conference championship, which is a task that we are determined to complete. Being a champion once is great, but to prove that you are a real champion, you have to defend your title. Our conference season is just around the corner, and The Eagles are a team that everyone in the NAC wants to beat.

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Podcast: 2011 Baseball season preview with Al Brisack

Head baseball coach Al Brisack discusses the upcoimg 2011 Edgewood College baseball season. Last year, the Eagles won their first Northern Athletics Conference championship and finished with a 29-15 record. Edgewood College owns three conference titles in their history.



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Podcast: 2011 Softball Preview with J.P. Richards

Edgewood College head softball coach J.P. Richards talks about his team's prospects for the 2011 season. The Eagles kick off the season on Friday, February 25, at the Finlandia Dome Tournament in the Upper Peninsula.


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2010 Cross County Season recap

Head men's and women's cross country coach Bethany Brewster reviews the 2010 men's and women's cross country seasons in a pair of podcasts:

2010 Men's Cross Country recap:


2010 Women's Cross Country recap:

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Nova concert raises money for Breast Cancer Recovery

Edgewood College baseball players James Bertakis and Jake Zadra spearheaded a hip-hop benefit concert for the Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation. Bertakis, under his stage name Nova, performed with local artists IAmEnglish and Nick Venturella (himself a former Eagle baseball player). Zadra creates the music and handled all the concert publicity, under his record label Prinz Records. All proceeds from the event were presented to Deb Ray and Renee Schlosser of the Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation on February 10, 2011.

Photo Gallery

Video clips of set-up, sound check and performance of Nova on January 30, 2011

Nova in concert: Sunday, January 30

Two Edgewood College baseball players Jake Zadra and James Bertakis are showing how well-rounded a Division III student-athlete can be.

James’s hobby is remixing hip-hop and techno music and adding his own lyrics to it. Jake has experience in the music production business. Jake started to create his own beats and James provided the lyrics and vocals under the stage name Nova. Using Jake’s knowledge of the music industry and marketing skill under his own label Prinz Records, he has been able to get publicity for Nova on the internet. Their single “After Midnight” has reached #5 on ReverbNation.com’s local Madison pop chart.

Their next endeavor is their first public performance which will be held in Edgewood College’s Todd Wehr Edgedome on Sunday, January 30 at 8:00 p.m. The concert is free, but they are requesting a donation to raise money for the Breast Cancer Recovery foundation in support of breast cancer research. Edgewood College alum Nick Venturella and local hip-hop artist IAmEnglish will open for Nova. The Edgewood College Campus Activities Board (CAB), Vital Signs of Verona and Dental Health Associates of Madison are sponsors of the event.

Nova Concert on Facebook

Prinz Records on Facebook

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Krueger promoted to Australian Baseball League

Edgewood College graduate Matt Krueger got “the call” Australian-style earlier this month. Krueger, pitching since October for the Wanneroo Giants of the Western Australia State League, was promoted up to the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League, the highest level of professional baseball on the continent.

Krueger's Perth Heat bio page

Krueger, a native of Madison and a graduate of Madison West High School, was added to the Heat roster in time for their January 6-9 series at the Sydney Blue Sox. He didn’t get into a game in Sydney, although Perth swept the four-game series. The next weekend, Krueger made his ABL debut pitching the final 1.2 innings of a 15-6 victory on the road against the Melbourne Aces. He struck out two batters, allowing just one hit and one walk.

This weekend, Perth is hosting Melbourne in the final four-game series of the year. Despite losing today, the Heat have clinched a playoff berth and hold a half-game lead for first place in the ABL. The playoffs begin on January 27 with a best-of-three games semifinal series.

Krueger graduated from Edgewood College last spring as one of the top pitchers in Eagle history. He was a second team All-Midwest Region selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association and went 13-1 in his career with 116 strikeouts.

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Janusek featured in hometown newspaper

The Daily Tribune News of Bartow County, Georgia, ran a nice feature article on Edgewood College men's basketball player Michael Janusek. The sophomore guard is from Cartersville, Georgia and recently scored a career-high 10 points against Wisconsin Lutheran College. Check out the story...


Defensive-minded Janusek locked, loaded for Eagles (by Chike Nwakamma of the Daily Tribune News)

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Beckwith's career-high featured in IWS

Inside Wisconsin Sports magazine featured Edgewood College women's basketball senior Shae Beckwith in their "On Fire" feature. IWS was recognizing Beckwith's career-high of 20 points which propelled the Eagles to their first ever victory over UW-Oshkosh.

On Fire: Shae Beckwith (courtesy of Inside Wisconsin Sports)

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Volleyball 2010 recap: Paul Schlomer

The Edgewood College volleyball team reached new heights once again in 2010. Listen as head coach Paul Schlomer describes the team's season and looks forward to 2011.

Krueger making a name Down Under

Former Edgewood College baseball player Matt Krueger is off to a strong start as a member of the Wanneroo Giants. Krueger has started eight games for the Giants, going the distance three times. On November 15 he threw a complete game, six-hit shutout of Victoria Park.

Wanneroo Giants season statistics

At the beginning of the season, Krueger pitched for the USA All-Stars in a preseason three-game series against the Perth Heat of the ABL (Australia's highest level of baseball). Krueger won a 3-2 decision to give the USA All-Stars their only win in the series.

Game story: USA All-Stars prevent sweep (courtesy of Ben Cameron, Perth Heat and Baseball Western Australia)

Krueger has also been working as coach for the North Coast Ball Club, an organization of more than 30 youth baseball teams. Krueger has been training young players as they transition from T-ball to baseball. The NCBC is sponsoring their first official Little League team this season.

Giant steps for NCBC (courtesy of Emma Brennan, North Coast Times)

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