September 17, 2020
UW senior Leah Vanevenhoven will look to pitch the Badgers to a win against Big Ten opponent Iowa.[/media-credit]With the regular season wrapping up, the University of Wisconsin softball team will travel to Iowa City to take on Iowa in what will be its final away series of the season.The Badgers are on a relative hot streak, winning two of their last three games, and were it not for a walk off homerun from Michigan State, the Badgers would have won their last three Big Ten games. The three-game winning streak over Big Ten opponents would have matched their current number of wins within the conference as they sit at 3-13. Nonetheless, recent success gives them reason to be optimistic.The Hawkeyes (38-14, 9-7 Big Ten) will provide a formidable challenge for Wisconsin. Iowa has developed a strange trend throughout their season, as they tend to win and lose games in bunches. Following a winning streak of four in early April, they lost two in a row to Big Ten power Northwestern, then went on to win five more in a row over Michigan State and Indiana, and are currently riding a three game losing streak. Wisconsin will seek to maintain the Hawkeyes’ losing streak and extend it to five.Senior Leah Vanevenhoven’s 2-7 record within Big Ten play during the second half of the season doesn’t allude to the resurgence she has experienced in the circle. The number of wins doesn’t tell the whole story about how strong Vanevenhoven has played lately especially with the absence of the other Badger starter Letty Olivarez due to illness. Within conference play the senior has a 3.61 ERA, 50 strikeouts in 62 innings and has held opponents to a meager .231 batting average.“I only have a couple games left, and I’m just trying to make the best of them,” Vanevenhoven said.It is no coincidence that since April 22, when the Badgers defeated rival Minnesota to curtail their 11-game losing streak, UW has allowed four hits or fewer an impressive five times in seven games. Of those five games, Vanevenhoven started every single one. It is also no coincidence that this is Vanevenhoven’s senior year, and there’s nothing she wants more than to leave her program with a strong finish.“We play some tough teams now, so I really need to be at the top of my game and I think you know I realize that [it’s my last year]. I’m excited — bring on the challenge,” Vanevenhoven said.“I think it’s just determination — she wants to leave here feeling like she gave everything she has to give,” head coach Chandelle Schulte added. “I’ve seen Leah work harder this year than I ever have, and it’s paid off.”Also coming on strong of late has been the play of freshman Karla Powell. In the April 22 game versus Minnesota, she effectively yanked the monkey off the team’s back by driving in the game-winning run to beat Minnesota 2-1. Her headfirst dive into first gave the Badgers the victory and also propelled their recent late-season charge. After not playing the first game of last weekend’s series against Michigan State due to a shoulder injury, Powell proved her bat is a necessary force within the Badger lineup. She responded by going 3-3 with two RBI’s and scored a run of her own, though the Badgers still lost on a walk off two-run home run by the Spartan’s Kara Weigle.“That kid just loves softball, and she’s a ballplayer,” Schulte said of Powell. “She’s huge for our future I think.”The potent Hawkeye offense boasts six hitters with averages of .323 or higher, all of whom have on base percentages near .400. Their best hitter, Colleen McGlaughlin, is hitting .368 on the year with nine home runs and 48 RBI’s. In the circle the Hawkeyes have a tandem of two pitchers, Brittany Well and Amanda Zust, who each have 16 or more wins, and have ERA’s under 1.81.“If we can lay off their rise ball, depending on what the zone is, we’ll have some success,” Schulte said.
Facebook Twitter Google+ When Shane Wallen got word of his mother’s terminal cancer in 2011, his world stopped. Hours of offseason workouts going into his freshman year were nullified. Dreams of starting on Butte Junior College’s football team dissolved.His immediate future was unclear, but he knew football wasn’t in it.“Overall, it was a difficult decision,” Wallen said. “But what made it easier was knowing that I was going to spend my mom’s last few months with her by her bed side and making memories that can never be taken away.”Wallen picked up two jobs — working as a restaurant waiter and personal trainer — to support himself and ensure he was available to take care of his mother, Vickie Wallen, for the 11 months she lived after diagnosis. He never played a down for Butte football, but kept the sport in his life by assisting the strength and conditioning coaches.Combining his passion for fitness with the memory of his late mother, Wallen parlayed his two years as an assistant to Butte’s strength and conditioning coaches into a transfer to Oregon State to intern with its football team. After assisting the team in workouts last season, the senior’s now listed on the Beaver’s roster as a running back — achieving both his and his mom’s dream.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text“When things get hard and I’m having a tough day, it makes it a lot easier to look up and know that she’s watching,” Wallen said. “It keeps me going and brought me to where I am now.”Without any offers out of high school, Wallen enrolled in junior college powerhouse Butte with the hopes of playing football and gaining strength and conditioning experience. His mother’s illness temporarily derailed his plans, and a bulk of caretaking fell on him as his twin brother was enlisted in the Marines and his stepdad worked.Wallen needed to be on call to run errands like going to the grocery store or taking his mom to appointments. He juggled caring for his mother with classes at Butte and working two jobs —still finding the time to volunteer in the weight room for the football team.Nearly a year after receiving her terminal diagnosis, Vickie Wallen passed away in August 2012.“It was pretty hard for him,” said his brother, Mitch Wallen. “She’d always been his biggest fan and one of biggest reasons he loved sports and was going to college.”Wallen continued to work two jobs and advance his work with Butte’s strength and conditioning program. He needed to support himself and with his second and final year in junior college approaching, he wanted to transfer to a bigger school.Marcus Dorin, now the head strength and conditioning coach at Butte, saw Wallen’s passion and drive for the coaching field. Through all the adversity, Dorin said, Wallen had the two attributes of a great strength coach — passion and presence — and wanted to help his assistant out.Dorin referred Wallen to a contact in Oregon State’s athletic department and Wallen drove over eight hours from his hometown of Chico, California to drop off his resume on campus. With Dorin opening the door, Wallen received the opportunity he coveted — acceptance to OSU in the 2014 school year paired with an internship in the athletic department’s strength and conditioning program.After a season of working primarily with the football players, coaches were impressed enough by Wallen’s fitness and work ethic to offer him a tryout to walk-on. Four years removed from the last down he played, Wallen excelled in the tryout and joined the Beavers officially as a player in March.“When he’d run sprints with the guys, he was beating these scholarship players every day,” Dorin said. “In the weight room, he was out-lifting these guys that are supposedly going to the league every day. Hell, why not give that guy shot to walk-on?”While he hasn’t seen the field this season, Wallen making the Beaver’s roster has big implications for his future. Having “walked the walk” and participated in the highest level of college football, Doris said Wallen’s legitimacy is bolstered as an aspiring strength and conditioning coach.But for this season, the senior running back’s thrilled to play the sport he loves in honor of his late mother.“There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about her and the time we spent together,” Wallen said. “Every time I step on this field, it’s just as much for me as it is for her.” Comments Published on October 22, 2015 at 9:07 pm Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu
Related Articles Yorkshire appoints Richard Flint as a ‘Welcome Advisor’ March 9, 2020 Share Share StumbleUpon Submit William Hill closes Stockholm Gametek office July 1, 2020 UK drives Stars Group growth despite international ‘disruptions’ February 27, 2020 Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) has selected Leeds based cancer support organisation Candlelighters as its official charity partner for 2018.Candlelighters supports families coping with children’s cancer within the Yorkshire area, providing counselling, clinics, group therapy and financial support.The cancer support charity had been selected by SB&G employees following the successful pitch put forward by Receptionist Chloe Cross, on behalf of her friend whose 18-month old son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer affecting mostly children under 5.“Candleighters provided support for my friend and her family when they needed it most and it is truly amazing to be able to bring the charity this gift in return – a partnership worth thousands of pounds. I’m so grateful to everyone who voted for this special cause and looks forward to our year of fundraising.” Chloe Cross detailed.Candlelighters was one of six charities shortlisted by SB&G employees, with runners-up; The Leeds Rhinos Foundation, Macmillan UK, Retired Greyhound Trust, Mind and SSAFA – The armed forces charity, each securing a £500 donation.Fiona Barker, Sky Betting & Gaming’s Community Partnership Manager, said, “This is the third year of competitive employee pitches on behalf of some of our favourite charities and I think what has captured people’s hearts – and votes – with Candlelighters, is the opportunity to give back to a local charity that has been providing both emotional and practical support to Yorkshire families for over forty years.”In 2017, SB&G employees raised over £65,000 for The Give a Duck Foundation, the grassroots children’s cancer therapy programme.A delighted Brian Curran, Corporate Fundraiser at Candelighters commented on SB&G’s initiatives: “ Everyone at Candlelighters is thrilled to be have been chosen as Sky Betting & Gaming’s charity partner in 2018. It is particularly poignant that we were nominated by someone whose friend is receiving our support. Our role is to make life a little easier for children with cancer and their families who are going through the most challenging of times.”
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0Submitted by City of LaceyLacey Parks and Recreation has cancelled their 2020 Lacey In Tune Summer Entertainment Series, due to COVID-19 related issues. However, they plan to provide other recreation and entertainment opportunities, if circumstances allow.The cancellations include the Tuesday Children’s Entertainment series, Wednesday concerts at noon in Huntamer Park, and the new Friday concerts. However, the Parks and Recreation staff is working on a Thursday Family Entertainment Series to be held at various neighborhood parks this summer. In addition, they plan to offer Movies in the Park in August. All events will take place with appropriate Health Department guidelines in place and only if allowed under the Governor’s orders. Specific details are still in the works and will be posted at ci.lacey.wa.us/Events and the City of Lacey Facebook page, when available. As with other programs, these events are subject to change.For more information, contact Jeannette Sieler, Parks & Recreation Supervisor at JSieler@ci.lacey.wa.us or (360) 491-0857.
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