Baraboo's Williams makes his pitch in Northwoods League
Travis Houslet / Capital Newspapers
Baraboo's Scott Williams talks about his time on the mound in the Northwoods League.
Travis Houslet / Capital Newspapers
Former Baraboo High School prep standout Scott Williams was a three-sport star at BHS before moving on to play college baseball at UW-Stevens Point after graduation in 2007.
At UWSP, Williams has put together two solid seasons as a member of the Pointers’ pitching staff, including his recently completed sophomore season where he led the WIAC champions in opposing batting average and was second in innings pitched.
This summer, Williams has been pitching in the Northwoods League as a member of the Waterloo Bucks. In five starts for the Bucks, Williams has established himself as one of the team’s top pitchers, despite being one of just a few Division 3 college hurlers on the roster. Entering Monday, Williams has a 1-2 record with a 3.55 earned run average and opposing hitters are batting just .230 against him.
On June 16, Williams got his first Northwoods League victory, pitching seven innings and giving up just one first-inning run on five hits, while striking out six in a 6-3 victory over the Madison Mallards at Warner Park in Madison.
Less than two weeks earlier, Williams was roughed up four eight runs on eight hits in 3 2-3 innings of work by the same Mallards team.
After beating the Mallards last week, Williams took time to talk with Capital Newspapers sportswriter Travis Houslet about his summer experience so far with the Bucks.
TH: How did you get hooked up with Waterloo?
SW: “We actually had a kid (Garrett Nix) that plays for Point, he graduated this year, but he was a pitcher for Point that played down here last year. The coach called him to see if they had anyone from Stevens Point that was good enough to play, I guess. So the he gave him my name, which was really nice.”
TH: When did you have to report to Waterloo?
SW: “I think we reported May 24th. Our first game was May 28th.”
TH: When you started playing in Waterloo, did you notice a difference in the level of play between Division 3 ball and the Northwoods League?
SW: “Its a big difference between pitching. If you leave the ball up over the plate, or if you are able to work the knees. Even though the velocity is the same, the hitters at this level are going to hit it if it’s up, so it’s important to keep the ball down.”
TH: You learned that quickly?
SW: “Yeah, my second start.”
TH: Do you have a host family you stay with in Waterloo? How does that work?
SW: “Every year they ask for host families and you just get put with one, so I’m living with a mother and a father and then there is another kid that I’m living with, too.”
TH: You guys do a lot of traveling. What’s life like on the road?
SW: “We take buses everywhere and we get to the place of the game. Then we usually go eat someplace that has food waiting for us, or we go to a restaurant. Then we usually go right to the field that day. Then after the game, the team has food waiting for us too again. Then the next day, we usually get up, and if we have to check out, we check out of the hotel at either 11:00, or 1:00, or noon and then we usually go to a workout place that they have blocked off for us. Then after that, we go eat again and then to the ball field.
TH: You got your first Northwoods League win the other night in Madison. What was it like to get that win against a team that kind of hit you pretty good the first time you faced them?
SW: “It was pretty sweet. After that first inning, I was like, ‘uh oh, here we go again.’ But then we were able to come back and score two runs which was big in just getting my confidence back up. I knew that I could keep it close and the guys were going to score runs for me. Then the next inning I was able to go one-two-three and I was able to get into a good rhythm.”
TH: Did you have a different kind of gameplan seeing the Mallards the second time through?
SW: “Yeah, the first time I threw a lot of breaking balls and a couple of times I hung them up and they got hit pretty hard. I went with the changeup a lot more and the slider, which is a little harder of a breaking ball. For the most part it was just changeups and locating my fastball. That’s mainly what I did the whole night.”
TH: It looked like you had quite a fan club in Madison. Your family was there and then some of the guys from Baraboo were there, and some of the Stevens Point guys were there. Was it nice to do well in front of a lot of the people that you know?
SW: “It was fun seeing them before the game. I talked to them a little bit. But then knowing they were there and getting to watch, kind of made it easier to relax after a little while. Then it was fun after the game going down and seeing them and being able to talk about the game.”
TH: What would you be doing this summer if you weren’t with Waterloo?
SW: “I think I would have been playing in Reedsburg for their home talent team. (Portage alumnus and UWSP teammate) Steve Considine plays over there. That, and probably just mowing lawns for (former Baraboo High School baseball coach) Paul (Kujak) probably.”
TH: Is this summer job better than working for Paul?
SW: “Yeah. Without a doubt.”
TH: Have you found it to be a confidence boost, knowing you can do well in the Northwoods League?
SW: “Yeah, definitely. Being able to go up against kids of this caliber. They face Division 1 pitching every game. Knowing that I can get out a hitter that’s been playing at that school for a couple years now, and knowing that I have good enough stuff to win ballgames is very exciting.”
TH: Do you take any pride in being a Division 3 athlete facing pretty much Division 1 guys and doing well at that level?
SW: “Yeah, definitely. It’s awesome for not only our program, but for our conference, and kind of the state of Wisconsin, because we only have the one Division 1 program, so this shows how good of athletes and baseball players Wisconsin really does have.”
TH: What is Waterloo, Iowa like?
SW: “It’s a nice area. It’s right by a River and Cedar Falls is right kind of connected to it, which is the home of Northern Iowa. I have been able to go out and just hang out a couple of times with the guys. It’s kind of weird, because we had a parade right at the beginning of the year and we had to walk in it and the fans were just crazy about it. They really enjoy their baseball. They’re here every night. You get the same fans every night and on other nights, you get other fans, too. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a good atmosphere.”