Titans Hold Off Blue Devils' Late Charges
A pair of ninth-inning scoring threats came up short for UW-Stout as the UW-Oshkosh baseball team held on to defeat the Blue Devils by scores of 5-2 and 16-13 on Monday (April 15) at Tiedemann Field.
In the opener, UW-Stout (7-12, 1-3 WIAC) was held scoreless until Kasey Kruse's one-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning. Following a groundout by Matt Guida, Joe Pavlovich (So. • Denmark) struck out pinch-hitter Charlie Pelzer to end the game.
Pavlovich pitched the final two innings to record his first save of the season. He allowed three hits and two earned runs while striking out two batters.
Peter Jewell (Fr. • Muskego) was stellar in his first career start for the Titans. He struck out five batters and allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings. Jewell faced 25 batters, four over the minimum.
Carter Vogt took the pitching loss for UW-Stout after yielding three runs and eight hits in 7.1 innings. Adam Widder allowed two runs over the final 1.2 frames.
UW-Oshkosh (15-4, 4-3 WIAC), which entered the doubleheader ranked 21st by D3baseball.com, took a 1-0 lead on Zac Peterson's (Jr. • Suamico) fourth-inning sacrifice fly.
The Titans then added to their scoring on two-run home runs by Robbie Kleman (Fr. • Oshkosh) in the eighth inning and Tyler Kamps (Sr. • Appleton) in the ninth.
UW-Oshkosh totaled nine hits, including three by Bobby Kachel (Sr. • La Crosse) and two by Doug Beattie (Sr. • Escanaba, Mich.). Kruse had two of UW-Stout's eight hits.
The extremely offensive nightcap featured 29 runs, 36 hits and 26 runners left on base. Six errors by the Titans and three by the Blue Devils aided the scoring.
UW-Oshkosh built a 10-4 lead after three innings, but UW-Stout pulled to within 13-11 after six. The Titans owned a 15-12 advantage through eight innings and took a 16-12 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
UW-Stout created an exciting ninth inning when it loaded the bases with one out. Kruse then singled home a run before Ian Zahn (So. • Fond du Lac) retired Brett Vavra on a groundout and Chris Sill on a strikeout.
Zahn hurled the final 3.1 innings to register his second save of the season. He allowed two runs while scattering six hits. Andrew Buss (So. • Randolph) replaced starter Taylor Ditter (Fr. • Sheboygan) in the first inning and tossed four frames to earn the victory. He allowed seven hits and four runs.
UW-Stout had seven pitchers see action, including starter Andrew Driessen who allowed four hits and five runs in just one inning of work. Jackson Hallahan hurled the eighth and ninth innings for the longest service by a Blue Devil.
UW-Oshkosh scored five runs in the first inning and three in the second. Kleman had a bases-clearing double in the first inning, while Kamps smashed a two-run homer in the second. Kamps also marked a two-run single in the sixth.
The Blue Devils counted four runs in the sixth inning and three in the first. Charlie Meyer contributed to the scoring with a two-run homer in the first and a run-scoring single during the sixth.
UW-Oshkosh's 18-hit attack included four by both Kamps and Michael Polcyn (So. • Ripon). Kamps drove in six runs, while Polcyn reached safely in all seven plate appearances.
UW-Stout also totaled 18 hits. The Blue Devils were led by three hits apiece from Kruse, Mitch Lavelle and Colin Pechacek.
UW-Oshkosh welcomes 15th-ranked UW-Whitewater to Tiedemann Field on Wednesday (April 17).