Wisconsin

Rodriguez dominant on the mound in debut with Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Published

1 year ago

April 5, 2025

Rodriguez dominant on the mound in debut with Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

GRAND CHUTE − One couldn’t help but think a couple years down the road about what Manuel Rodriguez will look like in the Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation if he continues to pitch like he did in Friday night’s Midwest League season opener.

Rodriguez, who is just 19 years old, turned in a sparkling performance for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in a season-opening 4-1 loss to the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Neuroscience Group Field.

He struck out the side in the first inning on 13 pitches, struck out two more in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth and the one batter he faced in the fifth inning.

“The kid is pretty good,” Timber Rattlers manager Victor Estevez said. “The ball was cutting pretty good. He was getting a lot of swing-and-misses.

“He was able to strike out 11 guys in his Wisconsin debut. That was outstanding to see.”

Rodriguez did all that on 62 pitches.

“I want to thank God for helping me today,” Rodriguez said through an interpreter. “I felt a little nervous in the first inning but I got through it quick and settled in after that.”

Matt Wood, who was behind the plate catching Rodriguez, was impressed.

“It was unbelievable,” Wood said. “It’s like he placed the ball where he wanted it every single time. It’s really impressive for his age.

“He and I had a really good connection. We were on the same page, so it was a lot of fun.”

While those with scorebooks may have noticed Rodriguez’s strikeout total building, he didn’t.

“I was just trying to follow the game plan,” Rodriguez said. “I was trying not to pay attention to that.”

Rodriguez and Wood stuck to the game plan of staying away from the hot zones of the Cedar Rapids hitters and putting his pitches in areas where he would have success.

The lone run allowed by Rodriguez came in the fourth inning on a pair of walks and a single to right field by Billy Amick that scored Kyle DeBarge.

Rodriguez wasn’t the only pitcher adding to Wisconsin’s strikeout total.

Brian Fitzpatrick, who allowed three runs over two innings, struck out two, and Aiden Maldonado struck out three to bring the total to 17.

The only real rough patch for the Timber Rattlers pitchers was Fitzpatrick’s second inning of work where there were two singles, a walk, a double and a pair of errors.

Offensively, it wasn’t a great game for Wisconsin, which finished with five hits.

The Rattlers loaded the bases with one out in the first inning on singles by Yophery Rodriguez and Blake Burke and a walk to Wood but couldn’t score.

From then until the ninth inning, the Rattlers had only four base runners on three walks and an error.

In the ninth inning, they plated a run on singles by Wood, Juan Baez and Tayden Hall.

Cedar Rapids pitcher Charlee Soto, who is the Minnesota Twins’ eighth-ranked prospect, was in the upper 90s and hit triple digits with his fastball on a few occasions.

“He had some good velocity and his secondary stuff is pretty good, too,” Wood said. “You just had to get in the box and compete.”

Soto allowed two hits and three walks while striking out five over four innings.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin basketball signs Miami transfer Eian Elmer, who gives ‘scoring punch’

Published

2 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin basketball signs Miami transfer Eian Elmer, who gives ‘scoring punch’

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team has signed Miami (OH) transfer Eian Elmer.
Elmer, a 6-foot-7 wing, averaged 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds last season while shooting efficiently from 3-point range.
He is the third transfer portal addition for the Badgers this offseason.

Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.

Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.

Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.

“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”

Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.

The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin storms aftermath: Widespread damage, river flood warnings in effect

Published

15 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin storms aftermath: Widespread damage, river flood warnings in effect

MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.

However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.

Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.

FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.

On the scene in the morning

What we know:

Farmstead damage in Franklin

FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.

Storm damage in Caledonia

Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

FOX6 Storm Center app

FOX LOCAL Mobile app

FOX Weather app

Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

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School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.

FOX6 Weather Experts in social media

The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.

Severe WeatherNewsMilwaukee

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin transfer Aleksas Bieliauskas joins SEC team with ties to Badgers

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin transfer Aleksas Bieliauskas joins SEC team with ties to Badgers

Former Wisconsin forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina.
Bieliauskas averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 rebounds as a freshman for the Badgers.
South Carolina’s head coach, Lamont Paris, is a former Wisconsin assistant coach.

MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.

Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.

Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.

He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.

Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.

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