04/22/2013 Panthers Guaranteed A Home Game During Busy WeekPoor spring weather still wreaking havoc on schedule 04/20/2013 Remainder Of Wright State Series CancelledBaseball put on hold again 04/18/2013 Schedule For Weekend Series ChangedNo game will be played Friday 04/17/2013 Panthers Hope To Open Home Portion Of 2013 This WeekPoor spring weather still wreaking havoc on schedule 04/16/2013 Schedule Woes Continue For Milwaukee BaseballTwo more games will not be played this week Scott Doffek begins his seventh year as the head coach of the Milwaukee Panthers. A mainstay in the UWM baseball program, Doffek enters his 19th season with the Milwaukee coaching staff after spending the first 12 of those years as the assistant head coach.
Following the season, Doffek saw three of his players chosen in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft - the first time in program history that more than one Panther was selected - with Jordan Guth (Philadelphia Phillies; ninth round), Eric Semmelhack (Milwaukee Brewers; 12th round) and Paul Hoenecke (Los Angeles Dodgers; 24th round) all hearing their names called on draft day. The Panthers battled injuries and adversity in 2011, losing several starters and a handful of pitchers to injury. Despite that, they won 21 of their final 31 games of the regular season, finished second in the league in ERA and had just one fewer victory in league play than the first-place finisher. Three players earned All-Horizon League First-Team honors, including league pitcher of the year Chad Pierce, who was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2011 MLB Draft. Doug Dekoning and Cole Kraft were both named ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Region Second-Team members, with Dekoning finishing his career as the program's all-time leader in games played (222) and at bats (793), second in runs (160) and hits (267), and third in total bases (374) and steals (41). Kraft signed professionally with the Rockland Boulders of the Can-Am League after placing third in program history in games (204), hits (250) and doubles (52), and fourth in at bats (734) and runs (142). The 2010 season was a memorable one, as the team won the Horizon League Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time, winning 25-plus games for the 13th time in the past 14 years. The squad had a memorable run to the crown, going 4-1 while riding strong pitching to the championship. The team recorded a 2.66 ERA in the five games, limiting opponents to just a .247 batting average. Eight players earned all-league honors, with Chad Pierce earning the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year award and Cameron Amsrud the Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year honor. The team led the league in earned run average and was second in batting, while also setting a school record with 21 wins in a row at home. Doffek was named Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2009 after leading the Panthers to a second-place finish in the league standings. His team had a league-high four first team all-league selections and set a school record by going 14-1 at home. He won 78 games in his first three seasons, a school record, after already establishing marks for most victories by a first-year head coach (25) and most after his first two seasons (50). He was rewarded with a new three-year contract following the season. The 2008 campaign ended just one victory away from the Panthers making their first trip to the NCAA Regionals since 2002, with UWM falling to UIC in a one-game, winner-take-all, title contest. Milwaukee rode three upsets and a potent offense to the title game, batting .347 in the six games, averaging almost nine runs and 14 hits per contest. Eight players earned postseason honors from the Horizon League and the offense ended the season ranked 73rd in the NCAA with its .309 batting average. Its 412 runs scored led the Horizon League and ranked 67th in the country. Its 672 hits were second all-time in program history, led the league and ranked 16th in the country. The Panthers were a doubles machine, recording 156 two-baggers to smash the old school record of 143 and end the season ranked No. 2 in the NCAA. Six regulars batted over .300 in 2007, including two finishing in the top 10 in the league. His team also reeled off the longest winning streak since the 2001 season (eight games) and set a program record when it scored more than 10 runs in seven consecutive games in May, breaking the old standard of five-straight 10-plus run outings. After a slow start where the team played series against nationally-ranked Arkansas and Kentucky and also against eventual NCAA-Tournament participant Austin Peay, the Panthers righted the ship to go 23-15 the rest of the regular season. After posting two postseason victories, they had their season come to a heartbreaking close in extra innings of the semifinals at the Horizon League Tournament.
Doffek was named the seventh head coach in the history of the Milwaukee baseball program on Sept. 25, 2006. As the assistant head coach in the past, he worked primarily with the team's hitting and defensive units while also serving as the lead recruiter and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the program. The 2006 season - his last as the assistant - will go down as a memorable one, as the Panthers won 30+ games for the sixth time since UWM moved to the NCAA Division I level in 1991, going 32-25 overall. Doffek led the offense to great heights, with seven regulars batting over .300, paced by All-American outfielder Mike Goetz. Doffek helped guide Goetz to a .493 average on the season - the highest in the nation - in addition to hitting streaks of 32 and 27 games and team records in seven categories. Goetz went on to be drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. As a team, the Panthers batted .324, the 16th-best average in the nation. His squad also ranked in the national leaders in doubles (third at 2.51 per game), slugging percentage (18th at .488), triples (35th), and runs (48th). UWM set a team record in doubles (143) and ended in the top five in the record book in numerous categories: average (third), runs (third), hits (second), triples (second), runs batted in (third), total bases (third) and home runs (fifth). During Doffek's time at UWM, he has been instrumental in the Panthers' rise to a league and regional power. Since his first season in 1995, the Panthers have reset every offensive record and set school marks for wins and winning percentage multiple times. He has also coached a list of players nearing 30 that have been either drafted or signed by professional teams. Doffek's influence reached a national level in 1999 when Milwaukee upset No. 1 Rice University during the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Doffek, along with Jerry Augustine, was named the 1999 Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) Co-Coach of the Year. In 2001, the Panthers' offense ranked second in the nation after hitting a school-record .352 as a team. Together, Milwaukee saw all 10 regulars bat above .300 and five hit over .350. The team was led by a pair of players that hit over .420, including Scott Gillitzer's then school-record average of .424. Gillitzer is one of nine drafted players through Doffek's instruction. Before joining the coaching staff, Doffek spent five seasons (1989-93) in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system, making it to the Triple-A level with the Albuquerque Dukes. Collegiately, Doffek played baseball at Waukesha County Community College, where he won the NJCAA batting title after hitting .539 as a sophomore. He was honored as an all-region and all-conference selection. Doffek attended Hartland Arrowhead High School, where he was selected to all-state and all-conference teams. He also played football for three years. Doffek lives in Menomonee Falls with his wife, Kara, and two children, daughter Kori and son Ty.
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