EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.

Blake Noel, Platteville summer baseball

     Blake Noel’s sizzling bat has led the Platteville Merchants summer baseball team to a 9–1 record this season. In the Merchants’ past three games the right-handed first baseman/pitcher has gone 6-for-11 with four RBIs to led Platteville to three consecutive victories. Noel is this week’s Mast Water Technology Athlete of the Week.

    Wednesday night Noel went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and scored a pair of runs in an 8–7 comeback victory over Barneveld. Noel walked to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh setting up Cam Brant’s walk-off game-winning walk. Noel also had an RBI single in the third to plate Platteville’s first run and trim the lead to 5–1.

     Last Friday, Noel went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored in a 7–3 win over visiting Highland. He had an RBI single in the second and a two-run base hit in the fourth to five Platteville a 5–2 lead. He also pitched the third and fourth innings, allowing just one unearned run while striking out two.

     On Friday, July 1, Noel went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in a 5–4 win at Darlington. He also pitched a scoreless seventh inning to record the save. 

     In games this summer Noel leads the Merchants (9–1) with a .533 batting average, 16 hits, four doubles, 11 RBIs, seven walks and a .667 slugging percentage. He also has nine runs scored. On the mound he has compiled a 2–1 record with a 1.75 ERA, one save and 22 strikeouts in 16 innings of work.

     Noel and the Merchants travel to Potosi today (Thursday) for a pair of non-league five-inning games, before closing out the summer season Friday at home against Lancaster. 

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):

Madison Albert-Nelson, Platteville summer swim team

     Albert-Nelson, 14, won four individual events — two in new team record time — and was on a pair of winning relays at last Wednesday’s dual meet at New Glaurs. Albert-Nelson won the girls 13–14 100 individual medley relay in a team record time of 1:15.42 and the 50 backstroke in a new record time of 42.64 seconds. She also won the 50 freestyle (30.32) and the 50 breaststroke (42.64) and helped Platteville win the girls 13–14 200 medley relay and the girls 13–14 200 freestyle relay.

Jared McGranahan, former Darlington football player

     McGranahan, a 2003 Darlington graduate and former All-SWAL quarterback was recently named the next head football coach at Division 1 Kenosha Tremper, a school of more than 2,000 students and a member of the Southeast Conference. Tremper went 2–7 last season and last made the playoffs in 2010.

WFCA All-Stars

     Seven area football stars and a pair of local coaches will participate in Saturday’s Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Division 4–7 All-Star Game at UW–Oshkosh’s Titan Stadium. This year’s all-stars include:

     Teagan Friederick, DB, Potosi

     Jason Withrow, LB, Platteville

     Cole Eastlick, WR, River Valley

     Taylor Evenstad, DL, Darlington

     Chirs Moor II, DL, Cuba City

     Dylan MacGilvra, OL, Mineral Point

     Scott Pittz, QB, Mineral Point

     Jason Weittenhiller, Asst. Coach, Belmont

     Justin Leonard, Asst. Coach, Mineral Point