Titans, Blue Devils Take One Game Each
UW-Oshkosh scored 15 runs in the opener before falling one run short in the nightcap against the UW-Stout baseball team on Saturday (April 13) at Tiedemann Field. The Titans (13-4/2-3 WIAC) entered the doubleheader ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com.
In the first contest, UW-Oshkosh got a hit from everyone in the lineup for a 15-1 victory. The Blue Devils then fought off a rally and captured game two by a 7-6 result.
Bobby Kachel (Sr. • La Crosse) drobe in four runs during the opener. He hit a run-scoring single in the first inning, a two-run home run in the sixth and a run-scoring double in the seventh.
The other big blows were a three-run homer from Doug Beattie (Sr. • Escanaba, Mich.) in the fifth inning and a two-run double off the bat of Michael Swift during the fourth.
Swift concluded the day with six hits and four runs scored.
UW-Stout's lone production was a solo homer by Santiago Morales in the opening inning. Travis Sindles (Jr. • Twin Lakes) was outstanding for the complete game, striking out eight batters with four hits allowed. He allowed just four UW-Stout (7-10/1-1 WIAC) runners to reach third base.
Brad Kohn surrendered 10 earned runs over 4.2 innings for the loss, while Dylan McCormick pitched 1.1 frames with five earned runs.
The Blue Devils got their bats going after the break, posting a 6-0 lead. Kasey Kruse smacked a third-inning single to put his team up, 3-0. During the fifth inning, Morales popped a two-run homer and Matt Guida followed with a run-scoring double.
In the top of the sixth, UW-Oshkosh stormed back with five runs on four hits and two UW-Stout errors. Robbie Kleman (Fr. • Oshkosh) and Zac Peterson (Jr. • Suamico) each tallied a run-scoring single. The Titans cut their deficit to 6-5, as two men scored while the Blue Devils committed two throwing errors on one play.
Mitch LaVelle hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, and that would prove to be the winning run for the Blue Devils.
The Titans scored on a wild pitch during their final chance in the ninth inning. They couldn't finish the rally, as Nick Lamers tossed the final three innings to earn a save.
Dan Britts got the victory for UW-Stou after striking out five batters in six innings of work. The Titans' Brock Guetzke (Sr. • Hartford) took the loss after allowing four hits and two earned runs over 2.2 innings.
Matt Guida led the UW-Stout offense with a three-hit, two-RBI game. UW-Oshkosh was led by the four hits from Swift.
These two teams will play another doubleheader on Sunday (April 14) at Tiedemann Field.
By Jon Feyen