April 22, 2013-April 28, 2013

Position: Amanda Fischer, Outfielder/Catcher, 5-6, Sophomore, Wausau, Wis./West
Fischer started eight games this week as the Blugolds played four straight days (Thursday-Sunday) and finished the week with a 5-3 record. She played catcher in three games while playing in right field in all eight contests. Thursday in game two against UW-Stout, Fischer played a key role in the Blugolds' 12-9 win in 10 innings. In the top of the first, she hit a three-run homer, and in the top of the 10th with the score tied 9-9, she hit another three-run home run to give the Blugolds the 12-9 lead. For the week, she went 12-for-26 (.462 batting average) with two homers and a triple. She finished with a team-high nine runs and 10 RBI and led the Blugolds with 20 total bases and a .769 slugging percentage. Fischer had two sacrifices and stole six bases out of seven attempts. On defense, she recorded 29 putouts with three assists and no errors.
Also Selected Conference Player of the Week

Pitcher: Emma Wishau, Lefthanded Pitcher, 5-11, Junior, Burlington, Wis./Waterford Union
Playing in five out of eight games this week, Wishau helped the Blugolds to a 5-3 record pitching a total of 19.2 innings while also recording eight at-bats. She started the week Thursday against UW-Stout and also won game one Friday against River Falls, pitching five innings in each game. Saturday in game one against 13th-ranked UW-Whitewater, Wishau pitched a complete game and gave up only three hits as the Blugolds won 2-0. She also saw time in the circle in game two against the Warhawks while helping the Blugolds to a 2-1 win in game one against UW-Platteville on Sunday. Wishau finished the week with 10 strikeouts and a 3-1 record with a 2.49 ERA. She also made an impact on offense as she recorded two RBI and went 3-for-8 (.375 batting average) with one double during the week.

April 15, 2013-April 21, 2013

Position: Nikki Brooks, Leftfield, 5-7, Sophomore, New Richmond, Wis./St. Croix Central
Competing in two games this weekend, Brooks led the Blugolds with a .667 batting average (4-for-6), and helped the team defeat UW-La Crosse 3-2 in nine innings to open the day and 5-2 later in the day. The two wins this week pushed the Blugolds' conference winning streak to 17 games, tying a school record. In game one, Brooks went 2-for-4 with one RBI while she was 2-for-2 in game two with a sacrifice and one run. She had a slugging percentage of .667, second highest on the team, while leading the Blugolds with a .667 on-base percentage. Starting both games in leftfield, she recorded one putout.

Pitcher: Zana Lorbetske, Righthanded Pitcher, 5-6, Freshman, Rhinelander, Wis./Three Lakes
Lorbetske appeared in two games this weekend and recorded two victories as the Blugolds defeated UW-La Crosse 3-2 in nine innings to open the day and 5-2 later in the day. In the first game with the score tied, she pitched the final four innings and gave up just two hits and no runs while striking out four batters. In game two with the Blugolds leading 4-2, Lorbetske again pitched the final four innings, allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out seven batters. Lorbetske is now 6-1 on the season and has a 1.75 ERA on the season. The two wins this week pushed the Blugolds' conference winning streak to 17 games, tying a school record.

April 1, 2013-April 7, 2013

Position: Nikki Brooks, Leftfield, 5-7, Sophomore, New Richmond, Wis./St. Croix Central
Brooks led the Blugolds in hitting this week with a .750 average (6-for-8) as she started all four games, which the Blugolds won in Platteville. She hit two home runs, one in a 4-2 win over UW-Superior on Saturday and one in an 8-0 victory in five innings over UW-Superior on Sunday. Her homer Saturday came in the sixth inning, which gave the Blugolds a 4-0 lead. Sunday, Brooks hit her home run in the bottom of the fourth which brought in two runs. She also had a double in an 8-3 win over UW-Stevens Point on Sunday. In an 8-0 win in five innings Saturday over UW-Stevens Point, she scored two of her five runs for the weekend. Brooks had three RBI, three sacrifice hits and was walked once, never striking out. Starting in leftfield four times this weekend, she recorded three putouts with no errors.

Pitcher: Laura Raflik, Righthanded Pitcher, 5-6, Sophomore, Plover, Wis./Pacelli
Pitching in two games against UW-Superior this weekend in Platteville, Raflik picked up two wins to improve to 6-1 on the season. Saturday in a 4-2 victory over the Yellowjackets, Raflik faced 24 batters as she pitched 6.1 innings. She recorded three strikeouts while allowing just four hits and two runs. Sunday she pitched a complete game as the Blugolds beat UW-Superior 8-0 in five innings. Raflik gave up only four hits while striking out three batters, facing a total of 17 for the game. She finished the weekend with a 1.24 ERA, pitching 11.1 innings.

March 25, 2013-March 31, 2013

Position: Sarah Fern, Firstbase, 5-9, Senior, Brooklyn Center, Minn./Park Center
Starting three games last week, Fern, who earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III Player of the Week honors last week, led the Blugolds in hitting with an average of .444. Fern accumulated four hits and four RBI in nine at-bats. In the top of the sixth inning against Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) on Friday, Fern hit her second home run of the season to bring in two runs, which helped the Blugolds defeat the Gusties 7-4. She finished with three RBI and two hits in that game. Fern had a hit in the Blugolds' two other games this weekend, giving her at least one hit in each of the Blugolds' last seven games. Starting two games at first base this week, Fern tied for a team-high 10 putouts while also recording one assist with no errors.

March 11, 2013-March 24, 2013

Position: Sarah Fern, Firstbase, 5-9, Senior, Brooklyn Center, Minn./Park Center
Playing 10 games over Spring Break in Clermont, Fla., the Blugolds finished with a 9-1 record, falling only to eighth-ranked Tufts University (Mass.). Fern hit safely in eight out of 10 games, recording a total of 16 hits, a team-high, for a batting average of .533. Six of the hits were for extra bases (five doubles and a home run) while she was also walked five times and struck out only twice. Fern also led the Blugolds with 14 RBI. Against a Tufts' pitcher who was an All-American last season, Fern was 1-for-2 while walking once without a strikeout. In the field for the week, Fern recorded 30 putouts and had two assists with no errors.

Pitcher: Zana Lorbetske, Righthanded Pitcher, 5-6, Freshman, Rhinelander, Wis./Three Lakes
Making six appearances in 10 games over Spring Break in Clermont, Fla., Lorbetske helped the Blugolds to a 9-1 record. She started one game, against SUNY-Geneseo and pitched 2.1 innings of a game the Blugolds went on to win 8-7. For the week, she gave up just 11 hits, five runs (only three earned) in 15.1 innings and recorded 18 strikeouts. Against Allegheny (Pa.) on March 22, she faced six batters over two innings and struck out all six of them. Facing eighth-ranked Tufts University (Mass.) on March 19, she pitched five innings in relief and recorded six strikeouts while allowing just four hits and one unearned run. Against Ramapo (N.J.) to end the week, Lorbetske struck out two of three batters in the seventh inning and the Blugolds scored one run in the bottom of the inning to win 3-2. She finished the week with a 2-0 record and an ERA of 1.37, which led the team.

February 25, 2013-March 3, 2013

Position: Jenny Hess, Secondbase, 5-6, Senior, Senior, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Lincoln
Hess was instrumental in two Blugold victories Saturday at the Rosemount Irish Sports Dome in Minnesota. Eau Claire opened its season defeating the College of St. Benedict (Minn.) 8-0 and followed with an 8-4 victory over the Blazers in game two. In game one, Hess led the Blugolds with three hits and three runs, to go along with one RBI. She also stole three bases. After striking out in her initial at-bat, Hess then had three straight singles in the third, fifth and seventh innings. She continued her hitting streak in the second game with three more singles in a row. Hess stole two more bases in game two while finishing with one run and one RBI. For the weekend, Hess led the team batting with a .750 average (6-for-8) and tied for a team-high four runs. She went 5-for-5 stealing bases. In the field, she started both game at secondbase and recorded one putout with five assists and no errors.

Pitcher: Laura Raflik, Righthanded Pitcher, 5-6, Sophomore, Plover, Wis./Pacelli
Pitching in the Blugolds' season-opener Saturday, Raflik gave up just one hit while striking out five batters in the team's 8-0 victory over the College of St. Benedict (Minn.). Raflik pitched a total of five innings and recorded three assists. On offense, she batted three times and finished with one hit.