Scheelk, Staniske Collect Two All-Region Awards Apiece
UW-Oshkosh seniors Jarrett Scheelk and Hunter Staniske received 2021 NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region baseball honors from a pair of national organizations.
The American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com both named Staniske, a second baseman, to the All-Midwest Region First Team while Scheelk, an outfielder/pitcher, garnered First Team regional honors from the ABCA and D3baseball.com Third Team laurels. Both players earned regional recognition for the first time after being selected to the 2021 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team.
UW-Oshkosh last had two ABCA All-Midwest Region First Team players in 2018. The Titans were also most recently represented by multiple players on the D3baseball.com All-Midwest Region Team in 2018.
Staniske finished the 2021 season as the team leader with a .429 batting average, 66 hits, two triples, 51 runs batted in, 107 total bases, a .695 slugging percentage and a .480 on-base percentage. He also collected 40 runs scored, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 16 stolen bases while producing a .956 fielding percentage.
Staniske, who had a hit in 37 of the Titans' 39 games this season, ranked second in the conference in batting average and RBIs; third in hits and slugging percentage; fourth in on-base percentage; fifth in total bases and stolen bases; and eighth in home runs.
Staniske had a 28-game hitting streak – the second longest by a Titan and tied for fifth in WIAC history – and 16 multiple-hit performances this season. He went 4-for-4 on two occasions and 4-for-5 twice on the year. After seeing his hitting streak end, Staniske responded by going a combined 7-for-8 over the next two contests against UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point with a home run and three RBIs in both games.
In seven games versus conference foe Finlandia University (Mich.), Staniske was 13-for-25 with 14 runs scored, a pair of homers and 17 RBIs. He finished a triple shy of the cycle against the Lions in the doubleheader nightcap on April 23, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run and a season high six runs batted in.
Scheelk, an All-WIAC selection as an outfielder, hit .329 this season with 49 hits, 38 runs scored, 10 doubles, a WIAC-leading 13 home runs, 45 RBIs, 98 total bases, 14 stolen bases, a .658 slugging percentage and a .410 on-base percentage. Scheelk's home run total tied for 10th in school history.
As a key member of the Titans pitching staff, Scheelk went 5-2 on the mound with a 3.77 earned run average, a .205 opponent batting average and 58 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched across 10 appearances that included nine starts. Scheelk led the team in victories, pitching starts, strikeouts and innings pitched.
Scheelk hit seven home runs in the span of seven games this season, starting the binge with a pair of homers April 23 against Finlandia University before launching longballs during five straight contests from April 24 through May 1 against Finlandia University and UW-Platteville. Scheelk had 14 multiple-hit games, including five three-hit efforts. During the seven-game series with Finlandia University, Scheelk went 14-for-27 with 15 runs scored, five home runs and 21 RBIs. During his five pitching victories, Scheelk supported his own cause by hitting a combined 11-for-21 with nine runs scored, five home runs and 18 RBIs in those five games.
Scheelk and Staniske helped UW-Oshkosh to a 20-19 record in 2021 against conference rivals exclusively, including a 16-12 mark in WIAC play. The Titans, who tied for fourth in the WIAC standings, concluded the season with a 2-0 setback to UW-Stout during the first round of the league tournament. UW-Oshkosh's 47 home runs this year were the program's most since 2004.
2021 ABCA NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region Baseball Team
2021 D3baseball.com NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region Baseball Team