What To Know About: Wisconsin-Milwaukee

In a new feature here on PFN, we’ll bring you all the fun facts about each non-conference school that Arizona State will take on throughout the baseball season.

And as the season starts, we welcome in a proud member of the Horizon League, the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.

For most of us who have not traveled to the great state of Wisconsin (notably, me), our only real knowledge about the history of the city of Milwaukee comes from Alice Cooper and his band from the movie Wayne’s World.

Alice Cooper: “Milwaukee has certainly had its share of visitors. The French missionaries and explorers began visiting here in the late 16th century.” 
Pete: “Hey, isn’t “Milwaukee” an Indian name?” 
Alice Cooper: “Yes, Pete, it is. In fact, it was originally an Algonquin term meaning “the good land.”” 
Wayne: “I was not aware of that.” 
Alice Cooper: “I think one of the most interesting things about Milwaukee is that it’s the only American city to elect three Socialist mayors.” 
Wayne: “Does this guy know how to party or what?”

Needless to say, there’s more to know about UWM. For instance…

-Before having their nickname changed to Panthers in 1964, the school’s mascot was the Cardinal.

-The only time you probably ever heard of UWM was when their basketball team miraculously beat Alabama and Boston College en route to an improbable trip to the 2005 Sweet 16.

-Not to be outdone by “regular schools” that have just one social gathering spot, UWM’s campus in Northeast Milwaukee has THREE quads.

-Mitchell Hall on the UWM campus is affectionately called “Old Main” by students, but we know full well our Old Main is better.

-In 2006, UWM was named the #9 “Savior of our City” because of “its strong positive contribution of careful strategic planning and thoughtful use of resources that have dramatically strengthened the economy and quality of life of Milwaukee.”

Neat!

Now, onto the stuff that actually matters.

UWM baseball has seen moderate success over the past decade. The Panthers have posted six 30+ win seasons since 2000, have gone to three NCAA tournaments and even beat Rice in the NCAA Tournament in 1999. However, the Panthers have not seen the bright side of the tournament bubble since 2002.

Last year, the Panthers were certainly no pushover…in the Horizon League tournament, at least. UWM went to the Horizon League title game where they were ultimately thrashed 16-3 by the UIC Flames after going a paltry 21-35 in the regular season. Milwaukee scored three upsets over Cleveland State, Wright State and UIC on their way to a surprising visit to the conference title game.

The Panthers were picked to finished 4th in the Horizon League in 2009 by the conference coaches behind UIC, Wright State and Youngstown State.

Do you remember back in 2004, when the Sun Devils rattled off 26 straight home games and 32 of their first 35 in the friendly confines of Arizona? Milwaukee is doing that too…kind of. Just replace “home” with “road.” UWM is playing their first 27 games away from home and will log over 9,300 miles of travel during this odyssey. The Panthers home opener isn’t scheduled until April 3.

The hitter to watch out for on UWM is 1st baseman Shawn Wozniak. Before you ask, there is no relation to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, seen here in this file photo. Shawn is widely regarded as one of the most intimidating hitters in the Horizon League, and his stats back up that he can hit for contact and power: .364 batting average, 26 doubles and 6 homeruns in 2008. His doubles total was good for 7th overall in the NCAA. 

Righty Brad Lusty takes the hill for Milwaukee on Friday night against Mike Leake. Lusty went 4-4 in 13 starts in 2008, posting a 4.24 ERA. Not bad in the college game…until you factor in the .302 batting average against him…which is actually the lowest among their 2008 rotation. The Devils will face two more righties on Doubleheader Saturday, Andy Hetebrueg will take on Josh Spence (in the Aussie’s first start in M&G) in the early game while Jeff Gordon will take on ASU’s most reliable pitcher in history, TBA.

There you go. You’re up to speed. See you at Packard tomorrow night!

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