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College Report: Barrett getting things started
By Mark Feldman
Prairie graduate Josh Barrett has had some sweet feet for the Emory University baseball team this season.
The junior outfielder leads NCAA Division III with 48 stolen bases and is second in the nation among all schools regardless of division. Earlier this year he set the school record for stolen bases in a season. He is hitting .360, is second on team with 47 runs scored and has helped the Eagles win a school-record 40 games.
Emory (40-3) is ranked second among Division III schools and will have the No. 1 seed in the South region of the Division III playoffs, which start May 20.
"The only way to describe this season is awesome," said Barrett, who is studying economics and education at the prestigious school in Atlanta. "This has been a career year for our team. We have never been ranked No. 1 yet, but we want to finish this season by winning the World Series and proving we are the best team in the country."
"Coach has been very aggressive with the stolen bases," Barrett said. "Last year, I got my chances as a pinch runner. This season I really worked on running. My coach has worked with me, and I think I'm a little faster now than I was when I started here. I never really stole many bases at Prairie, but I think I have grown into my body."
Barrett has stole 48 bases in 56 attempts. The Eagles have stolen 164 bases in 195 attempts - almost four stolen bases a game.
Taking risks has led to wins for the Eagles. On April 20, against LaGrange College, Emory trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Justin Gordon singled and Barrett got on base when the first baseman dropped the throw. With one out, Gordon and Barrett pulled a successful double steal. Gordon then scored on a groundout to tie the game. With two outs, Adam Schnorr singled in Barrett for the winning run.
The Eagles started the season by winning their first 27 games, and that streak set the tone for the rest of the year.
"We go into every game expecting to win," Barrett said. "We know we are in every game no matter what the score is. Two of our three loses have been by one run, and one came in the bottom of the ninth. We're not out of any game."
In the playoffs, Emory will be the team to beat in the South and should be a strong contender for the national title at the Division III World Series in Appleton. Last season, the Eagles won the Central region, beating Carthage College, then placed fifth at the World Series.
"This year our goal isn't to make regionals, win regionals or get to the World Series. We have done those things," Barrett said. "Our goal is to win the whole thing."
After Emory's season ends, Barrett will stay down south and play in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League. He is on track to earn his degree next year, but playing professional baseball remains his hope and dream.
"Just like every kid, I would love to play professional baseball," Barrett said. "I will do everything I can to stay in baseball."
Barrett has taken heart that St. Catherine's graduate Vinnie Rottino - a former Division III player and former teammate on the Racine Kiwanis baseball team - is playing Class A baseball at Beloit.
"After seeing Vinnie get signed after not getting drafted, I know it can happen," Barrett said. "You still have a chance if you work hard. I know Vinnie worked extremely hard to get where he is. I know I have to work that hard."
* Catholic Central graduate and University of Illinois-Chicago junior Ryan Gehring allowed three runs in eight innings, but took the loss as UWM beat UIC 4-3 April 18. The left-hander (6-4 this season) lost his second straight April 25, allowing six runs in four innings in a 10-5 loss to Illinois State.
* Catholic Central graduate Jeremy Wilson went 1-for-2 and drove in two runs for UWM in a 4-3 victory over University of Illinois-Chicago April 18. Wilson drove in two with a single off former high school teammate Ryan Gehring in a three-run fourth inning.
* Case graduate Jason Jaramillo went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs as Oklahoma State beat Kansas States 16-2 April 25. On April 17, Jaramillo went 2-for-5 with an RBI in a 14-4 win over Kansas. The junior catcher is hitting .350, second on the team, has four home runs and 35 RBIs.
* Horlick graduate and Missouri freshman Gary Arndt went 1-for-2 in a 7-1 loss to Texas A&M April 24. On April 17, Arndt went 2-for-5 and drove in a run in a 16-11 win against Nebraska.
* St. Catherine's graduate Ryan Schmidt went 2-for-3 - getting two of Columbia's three total hits - in a 5-0 loss to Cornell April 24. On April 21, Schmidt hit his sixth home run of the season in 13-10 win against Fordham. Schmidt, a junior, leads Columbia in home runs and in RBIs with 25.
* Waterford graduate Noah Wishau pitched back-to-back shutouts for Ripon College April 15 and 18. On April 15, Wishau struck out 12 and allowed only two hits in a 10-0 win over Beloit College. On April 18 he struck out 10 and gave up four hits in a 12-0 win against Lawrence University. His streak ended April 21, when he allowed three runs in a 3-2 loss to Carthage.
Golf * Park graduate Molly Redfearn tied for 21st at the Big Ten meet April 25, helping Indiana place second. Redfearn shot a 76-78-81-79 for a 314. On April 18, she tied for 29th at the Lady Boilermaker meet at Purdue with a 78-80-84-242. The Hoosiers will play in the Central regional of the NCAA Division I tournament May 6-8 at Illinois State.
Softball * Horlick graduate Lindsey Spraker went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for UW-La Crosse April 24, but Whitewater won the game 6-4. On April 22, Spraker went 3-for-3 and drove in both runs of a 2-0 La Crosse win. Spraker is hitting .269 this season and leads the team with 32 hits and three triples.
* Union Grove graduate Jenny Stannis improved to 8-1 for Winona State by striking out five and beating North Dakota 4-2 April 25. Stannis, a freshman, suffered her first collegiate loss April 14 in a 5-1 loss to UW-Platteville.
Tennis * St. Catherine's graduate and UW-Whitewater senior Mary Steimle lost to Kirsten Madsen 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Luther College Invitational April 17. Steimle and Jen Stamm also lost their doubles match at the meet.
* Union Grove graduate Amber Murdoch went 2-1 at No. 3 singles for UW-Green Bay at the Horizon League championships April 22-24. Murdoch beat Paulina Reyes of Cleveland State 7-5, 6-4, and defeated Mary Chang of Detroit 6-0, 6-4. Murdoch lost to Jessica Lee of Wright State 6-1, 6-0 as the Phoenix placed sixth.
* Also at the Horizon meet, Case graduate Cassie Kuranz lost two matches at No. 5 singles for UWM.
* Prairie graduate Kara Metzger went 2-2 at No. 4 singles for Dayton at the Atlantic 10 Conference championships April 16 and 17. Metzger beat Courtney Tereszcuk of La Salle 6-0, 6-1, and Danielle Spigler of Fordham 6-0, 6-1. The Flyers finished seventh at the meet, and Metzger finished 20-18 in singles matches this season.
* Horlick graduate Lindsey Stauss earned the only points for Georgia Tech at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament April 16. Stauss beat Caitlin Collins of North Carolina 6-2, 7-5 at No. 3 singles as Tech lost the match 4-1.
* Case graduate and UW-Oshkosh freshman Trevor Degerman lost to Dan Clarke of Winona State at No. 6 singles at the Northern Collegiate Tennis Association tournament April 17. Oshkosh placed third in the meet. Degerman finished the season 4-3 at singles and 4-1 in doubles play for the Titans.
Track and Field * Park graduate Nick Davis placed eighth in the high jump at the prestigious Drake Relays April 23. Davis, a senior at UW-Milwaukee, cleared 6-7 ¾. On April 17, Davis won the event (6-6 ¾ ) at the Kansas Relays.
* Horlick graduate Katie Slamka helped UWM's 400 relay place fifth at the Drake Relays April 23 in 47.98. Slamka also placed 21st in the 400 hurdles with a season-best time of 1:02.42.
* Shoreland Lutheran graduate Beth Proeber won the hammer throw for UW-Whitewater at the Keck Invitational April 10. Proeber passed the provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III outdoor national meet with a throw of 155-8. She also placed second in discus (124-10) and fifth in the shot out (34-1).
* Also at the Keck, at Illinois Wesleyan, Burlington graduate Laura Ensberg was third in the high jump (5-0) for Whitewater, and Burlington graduate Meagan Cook was second in the hammer (149-10) and fourth in the discus (110-11) Prairie graduate R.J. Schacht was seventh in the 5,000-meter run, and Park graduate Alex Thompson was fourth in the shot put (45-9) and eighth in the discus (118-11).
Whitewater won the women's and men's meet.
* At the Augustana meet April 17, Schacht placed ninth in the 5,000, Proeber was fifth in the hammer (159-8). At the Loras Open April 24, Proeber was seventh in the hammer, seventh in the discus and ninth in the shot. Ensberg was ninth in high jump (4-9 ¾ ).
* Park graduate Ben Gregory was sixth in the 1,500-meter run for Wisconsin at the Oregon Invitational April 23. Gregory, a sophomore, ran the race in 3:49.12. On April 9 Gregory helped the team's 3,200 relay place second (7:28.21) at the SeaRay Relays in Knoxville, Tenn.
* Horlick graduate Rick Hutchins was second in the 100-meter run (11.18) and second in the 200 (22.23) for Concordia University at the Elmhurst Invitational April 17.
* Horlick graduate Christine Locke placed fourth in the 1,500-meter run for UW-Eau Claire at the UW-La Crosse Classic April 24. Locke, a freshman, finished in 5:02.64. On April 17 she was fourth in 1,500 (5:03.48) at the UW-Eau Claire Open.
* Horlick graduate Jill Lynch placed second in the shot put and fifth in the discus for Brown at the Connecticut Invitational April 17. Lynch, a junior, reached 43-6 ½ with the shot and 130-5 with the discus. On April 10, Lynch was second in the shot (44-3 ½) and third in the discus (130-8) at the Brown Invitational.
Volleyball * Burlington graduate Tyler Galstad finished second on the Clarke College team with 173 assists. The sophomore had eight assists April 8 as Loyola beat Clarke 3-0. Galstad also finished the season with nine aces.
Honors * Horlick graduate Lisa Paasch received a student-athlete award from Lewis University for academic excellence. Paasch, who plays for the Flyers volleyball team, won a bronze medal for compiling a grade point average of between 3.25 and 3.499.
* Horlick graduate Damonte Foots was named a third team All-American and first team All-Kentucky Intercollegiate Conference for Brescia University. Foots, a junior point guard, set the school record for career assists and scored more than 1,000 points. He also was named the team's most valuable player.
* St. Catherine's graduate Matt Lojeski was named to the All-National Junior College tournament team and player of the year for Eastern Wyoming College. Lojeski, a freshman, led the tournament by averaging 21 points and eight rebounds.
* Case graduate Keyanna Mayfield was named most valuable player for Oliver Harvey Community College in Chicago. The freshman guard averaged 14.4 points, five assists and 2.5 steals per game this season.
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