FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 20, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside baseball and softball squads begin their 2014 campaigns this weekend. The baseball team flees to Miami Shores, Fla., where they will face Barry University in a four-game set beginning on Friday while the softball squad heads to the indoor comforts of the Rosemont Dome in suburban Chicago where they will play four games against four teams beginning on Saturday.

The UW-Parkside baseball squad opens its 2014 season on Friday at 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) against Barry at Feinbloom Field. The Rangers and Buccaneers play a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. (Eastern Time) before closing the trip on Sunday with a 12 p.m. (Eastern Time) showdown. Live stats and video will be available for all four games.

The Ranger softball team begins the season on Saturday against Upper Iowa University at the Rosemont Dome Tournament. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m. with UW-Parkside remaining on the diamond for a 2 p.m. showdown with Winona State University. The Rangers begin Sunday at 11 a.m. against Wayne State University before closing the tournament at 1 p.m. against Grand Valley State University.

About UW-Parkside Baseball: The Rangers head into head coach Daniel Esposito's second year at the helm having brought in a bumper recruiting class over the summer, with 23 players signing with the Green and White. Included among the 23 is seven junior college transfers and three transfers from other four-year institutions.

In 2013, the Rangers compiled a 4-30 overall record and a 4-28 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. Inclement weather forced UW-Parkside to play its opening 30 games on the road before the home opener on May 4 at Oberbrunner Field. Parkside returns its top three hitters from a year ago.

Back for the Rangers is Eric DuCharme who led the team in batting average (.306), doubles (eight), runs batted in (12) and was the only player last year to start in all 34 games. Derek Tuttle is back, finishing second on the team in batting average (.304) while leading the Rangers in slugging percentage (.380) and on-base percentage (.380). Also back is Zach Cunningham who hit .267 last season.

Scouting the Opponents (Baseball): Barry heads into Friday with an 8-2 overall record, with seven of those games contested at Feinbloom Field in Miami Shores, Fla. The Buccaneers opened the year with a three-game sweep of Shorter College on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 before splitting a pair of doubleheaders against the University of Alabama-Huntsville the following weekend. Barry took its first road trip last weekend, heading to Montgomery, Ala., where the stole three wins from host Tuskegee University.

About UW-Parkside Softball: Head coach Laura Fillipp begins her 13th year at the helm for the Rangers in 2014, having amassed 270 wins for the Rangers. UW-Parkside was 11-35 overall last season, compiling an 8-24 mark in GLVC action. The Rangers return 10 players from a year ago and are joined by eight freshman and one junior college transfer.

Leading hitter Alexis Simone returns after leading the team in hitting with a .292 batting average, 31 RBIs and 20 extra base hits. In the circle, Kristin Kleinmeyer and Hayley Schneider both return. Kleinmeyer made 19 starts last season and logged a team-high 110 1/3 innings in the circle, tossing a team-best seven complete games. Veteran leadership will be in abundance as the squad features seven seniors and nine upperclassmen.

Scouting the Opponents (Softball): Upper Iowa heads into the Dome Tournament with a 1-7 record. The Peacocks split with Grand View University on Feb. 8 in a doubleheader in Rochester, Minn., before dropping seven games in Bentonville, Ark., at the UAM Division II Softball Classic. Defending NCAA Central Region Champion Winona State heads into the weekend undefeated, having swept Grand View by scores of 5-1 and 10-1 in the Warriors only action this season. Wayne State owns a 5-1 record after spending three days in Huntsville, Ala., in early February at the Charger Chillout hosted by Alabama-Huntsville. Grand Valley State joins the Rangers as the only team without a game under their belt in 2014. The Lakers compiled a 46-9 record last season, advancing all the way to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament.