Pointer baseball opens WIAC play on weekend UW-SP opens WIAC play this weekend as the Pointers take on predicted WIAC favorite UW-Oshkosh in a doubleheader Saturday in Oshkosh. The Pointers were picked for second in a preseason poll and the Titans were the predicted champions. UW-SP went 3-3 last week, splitting with Division II Winona State before dropping two games to Augsburg and sweeping St. Norbert. They are now 15-6 overall this season. Sam Molski (Stevens Point) had a big week, hitting .550 (11-for-20) with two home runs. Troy Bielmeier (Wautoma) pitched a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over Winona State, which went on to beat Division I Iowa State later in the week. The Pointers lost the second game to Winona State 5-3. The Pointers lost a pair of tough games to Augsburg, 8-7 in eight innings and 11-10. The Pointers hit a total of five home runs in the two games, but left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh in both games. Sunday, the Pointers hit four more homers in a sweep of St. Norbert, 12-5 and 7-5. Jon Jagler (Wausau) had two homers in the first game and Paul Molitor (Reedsburg) hit a solo shot in the second game to increase his hitting streak to 11 games. Softball The Pointers dropped a pair Tuesday to East Division favorite UW-Whitewater, 3-0 and 4-2, after battling the weather all week and having eight games cancelled over the weekend. UW-SP dropped the first game even though Karen Guckenberger (South Milwaukee) failed to give up an earned run. The Pointers managed only three hits and were victimized by 11 strikeouts. Guckenberger has not given up an earned run in three losses. In the second game, the Pointers came back to take a 2-1 lead in the first inning but that was the end of their scoring as Whitewater scored two runs in the second on no hits, three walks and an error. UW-SP left the bases loaded in the first, second and fourth innings, and Pointer batters were 0-for-4 with runners on third and less than two outs. The Pointers left 14 runners on base. UW-SP had only two games last week, splitting with UW-Platteville in a WIAC doubleheader on Tuesday. The Pointers lost the opening game, 1-0, as the Pioneers scored an unearned run to beat Guckenberger, who finished with a three-hitter. Nicki Bertram (Marion) didn't allow any earned runs in the second game either and Sarah Berg (Stillwater, Minn.) had a home run with three RBIs in a 4-1 Pointer win. Going into the Whitewater games, UW-SP had a 0.89 team earned run average and has held opponents to a .182 batting average and just five extra base hits in 13 games. The Pointers hope to get back to action this week with a challenging week, hosting 18th-ranked Chicago Saturday at 2 p.m. The Pointers also play at Division II Winona State Thursday. Saturday's game features two of the top pitchers in the country as Guckenberger has a 0.50 ERA and Chicago's Kelly Ostler carries a 0.51 ERA. The Pointers are now 11-4 overall and 1-3 in the WIAC. Track And Field The Pointers competed in brutal weather conditions Saturday in Oshkosh as the women's team was second of three teams and the men were third of four teams at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational. Leah Juno (Brillion) won the 1,500 meters in 4:54.86 and Becky Lebak (Burlington) won the 3,000 meters in 10:29.34 for the women's team. Jenny Todd (Wisconsin Rapids) captured the long jump at 16 feet, 10 inches and was also second in the 100 meters. Megan Lundahl (Sturgeon Bay) was second in the discus with a personal best throw of 121 feet, 1 inch. The men's team was led by Noah Eschenbauch (Rosholt), who won the hammer throw at 181 feet, 1 inch and the shot put at 49 feet, 7 3/4 inches. Jeremiah Rolfs (Wild Rose) won the discus at 152 feet, 7 inches and Scott Dreger (Cambria) won the javelin at 165 feet, 9 inches. The Pointers dominated the 1,500 meters with nine of the top 10 finishers, led by Jesse Drake (Rhinelander) at 4:16.01. Eric Miller (Green Bay) captured the 200 meters at 21.53 seconds and Ben Treptow (Viroqua) won the 400 meters at 51.82 seconds. The Pointers compete Saturday at the North Central Invitational in Naperville, Ill.