Seniors Riley Tincher (Oregon/Oregon) and Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/East) head seven Warhawks mentioned on the 2011 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team.  Tincher was named the league's Max Sparger Scholar Athlete Award winner, and Donovan was a first team pick at two positions.  They were joined by teammates Rob Coe (Appleton/North) and Daniel Putnam (Ashland /Ashland) on the first team, with Andrew Eichstaedt (Appleton/North) and Justin Lambert (Mt. Horeb/Mt. Horeb) named honorable mention all-conference and Dylan Friend (Burlington/Burlington) UW-W's representative on the All-Sportsmanship Team.

Tincher, a health, human performance and recreation major with a minor in coaching, has a 3.32 (out of 4.0) cumulative grade point average.  He has earned a spot on the WIAC's Scholastic Honor Roll, the UW-W Athletics' Academic Achievement Award, and the Dean's List at Whitewater.  The league's academic award is named for Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the WIAC from 1971-1993.

Tincher is the eighth Warhawk baseball player to earn the Sparger Award.  Jim Bathey won the award when it was initiated in 1986, and he was followed by Pat Tobias in 1998, Ryan Brookman in 1999, D.J. Cartledge in 2003, Brady Endl is 2004, Eric Baldwin in 2005, and Ben Prather in 2008. 

The lefthander added first team all-conference honors to the Sparger Award.  Tincher went 9-3 with a 2.84 earned run average.  He tossed five complete games, struck out 54 and walked 13.  He was also a First Team All-WIAC pitcher in 2010.

Donovan earned First Team All-WIAC recognition for the fourth time.  He was selected as an outfielder in 2007, at first base in 2008, and as both a pitcher and utility player last year --- just as he is this season.  Donovan leads the WIAC in runs batted in, and is among the top ten in a total of ten offensive categories.  He has compiled a .393 batting average with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in.  He also went 9-0 with a 3.63 ERA on the hill for the Warhawks, with 18 walks and 63 strikeouts while splitting his time between the mound and first base.

Coe has been on the other end of the Tincher and Donovan pitches, behind the plate.  A three-time First Team All-WIAC pick, Coe is second in the league in sacrifices and hit by pitch.  He is also among the top ten players in the league in hits, runs batted in, doubles, total bases, and runs.  Coe batted .351 with 44 RBI's and a perfect 7-7 on stolen base attempts.

Putnam gave UW-W four seniors on the first team.  An honorable mention choice last year, Putnam tops the WIAC in hits, walks, on base percentage, and stolen bases.  He has a .438 batting average, .535 on base percentage, and is 27-32 in stolen bases with 56 runs scored.

Eichstaedt is UW-W's shortstop and Lambert a right handed pitcher.  Eichstaedt started every game, batting .348 with 49 runs scored, 32 runs batted in and 25 walks.  Lambert made twelve appearances, including seven starts, compiling a 4-4 record and 4.10 ERA.  He walked 18 and struck out 35.

The WIAC Sportsmanship Team is chosen to recognize individuals that model the league's emphasis on sportsmanship.

UW-W, among the top twenty in both national polls all season, is 32-11.  The Warhawks have earned the school's fourteenth NCAA III national championship tournament berth, with play beginning Wednesday May 18 at 1:00 at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium on the UW-W campus. 

For additional information:  John Vodenlich, UW-W coach