Titans Split Two Games With Defending National Champion
The UW-Oshkosh baseball team pounded out a total of 25 hits and split two games with defending national champion UW-Whitewater on Wednesday (April 15) at Tiedemann Field.
The Titans (11-13, 3-9 WIAC) never trailed in winning the first game, 10-6. The Warhawks (19-4, 9-3 WIAC), ranked second in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, reclaimed the lead with two runs in the sixth inning of the second contest and hung on for a 5-4 victory.
UW-Whitewater won three of the four games in the regular-season series, including decisions of 8-0 and 4-0 on April 7 at Tiedemann Field.
Six Titans had at least three hits on the day. Logan Reckert went a combined 5-for-8 with three runs and two runs batted in, while Luke Gajewski and Jack Paulson contributed four total hits apiece.
In Wednesday's first contest, UW-Oshkosh John Eagan opened the first inning with a single and came in to score on a single by Andy Brahier.
UW-Whitewater answered with a run in the third inning, but the Titans took a 3-1 advantage in the home half of the third frame on an RBI double by Tyler Kozlowski and a sacrifice fly by Reckert.
The Warhawks evened the score at 3 in the sixth inning on Mike Mierow's two-run double. UW-Whitewater took a 5-3 lead in the seventh frame on Casey Power's RBI single and a bases-loaded walk, but the Warhawks stranded the bases loaded as UW-Oshkosh relief pitcher Lucas Gregory got the last two outs via a lineout and a strikeout.
UW-Oshkosh rallied for four unearned runs in the seventh inning on three hits and two errors to retake a 7-5 lead. Andrew Lowe, the third Warhawk pitcher of the game, gave up singles to Reckert and Robbie Kleman to load the bases with no outs before uncorking a wild pitch to score one run. Paulson lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 5, Gajewski's double gave the Titans the lead and a fielding error by UW-Whitewater shortstop Mikole Pierce on Eagan's grounder provided UW-Oshkosh with a 7-5 advantage.
The Titans tacked on three insurance runs in the eighth inning. UW-Whitewater closer Mike Nompleggi, the fifth Warhawk pitcher of the game, allowed two to score on a wild pitch and one came in on a balk.
UW-Whitewater capped the scoring on Power's run-scoring single in the ninth inning.
Reckert paced UW-Oshkosh's 16-hit attack by going 4-for-4 with two runs and one run batted in. Gajewski added three hits while Brahier, Eagan and Kozlowski had two hits apiece.
Gregory (2-1) earned the win for the Titans, allowing one run on two hits in the last three innings after relieving starting pitcher Matt Sabel with two runners aboard and no outs in the seventh frame. Gregory recorded three strikeouts and four walks while Sabel yielded five runs on four hits and seven walks in six innings pitched.
Lowe (0-1) was saddled with loss for the Warhawks, ceding four unearned runs on four hits in one inning pitched.
Curtis Morgan started on the mound for UW-Whitewater, going two innings and allowing three runs on seven hits.
Power led UW-Whitewater with three hits and three RBIs.
In the second game, UW-Whitewater jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but the Titans came back to tie the score in the home half of the third on run-scoring hits by Eagan and Reckert and a fielding error by Warhawk centerfielder Daytona Bryden.
UW-Oshkosh took a 4-3 advantage in the fourth inning on an RBI groundout by Paulson, but UW-Whitewater held on after plating two runs in the sixth inning for a 5-4 lead. After a balk by Titan starting pitcher Ben Messenger moved runners to second and third with one out, UW-Whitewater's Kyle Haen hit a sacrifice fly to knot the score and Kyle Jones followed with an infield single that plated Mierow with the eventual winning run.
Paulson singled and stole second base with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, but UW-Whitewater relief pitcher Lake Bachar stranded the potential tying run at third base by recording a groundout and a strikeout to close the game.
UW-Oshkosh outhit UW-Whitewater, 9-5, with no Warhawk recording more than one hit. Paulson went 3-for-4 for the Titans, and Kleman was 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Bachar (4-0) was credited with the win, tossing five innings of scoreless relief. He allowed just two hits and walked one while striking out six batters.
Warhawk starting pitcher Colin Grove went the first four frames, yielding four runs (three earned) on seven hits.
Messenger (1-4) was charged with the loss after giving up all five runs in seven innings pitched. He recorded four strikeouts while allowing five hits and two walks.
UW-Oshkosh begins a four-game series at UW-Superior with a doubleheader on Saturday (April 18).