Titans Keep WIAC Postseason Hopes Alive
The UW-Oshkosh baseball team kept its conference postseason hopes alive with a pair of convincing victories over UW-Platteville on Saturday (May 2) at Tiedemann Field.
UW-Oshkosh won the opener, 16-1, in seven innings, and the nightcap, 11-1, in eight innings. The Titans outhit the Pioneers, 29-13, on the day.
The Titans (23-15, 12-10 WIAC) and Pioneers (21-17, 12-10 WIAC) are battling for the fourth and final berth to the double-elimination WIAC Championship. UW-Oshkosh needs to win at least one game against visiting UW-Platteville in Sunday's (May 3) season-ending doubleheader to secure the fourth seed.
UW-Oshkosh designated hitter Luke Gajewski went a combined 7-for-8 in the two contests with three doubles, one home run, two walks, three stolen bases, seven runs and four runs batted in.
The Titans received complete-game wins from Peter Jewell in the first game and Ben Messenger in the second.
In the opener, UW-Platteville scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning, but UW-Oshkosh answered with four runs on five hits in the home half of the frame. The Titans added two runs in the second inning, three in the fourth, six in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Gajewski started his productive day with a run-scoring double that knotted the score at 1. He hit a two-run home run to give the Titans a 6-0 lead in the second inning before capping his 4-for-4 opener by doubling in both the fourth and sixth frames. Gajewski's three doubles tied the WIAC record. He's the 10th Titan to accomplish the feat and first since Bryan Schwebke in 2004.
Titan first baseman Andy Brahier had two hits and a team-high four runs batted in. He drove in the eventual game-winning run with a groundout in the first inning, knocked in two runs with a double in the fifth, and plated the final run of the game with a single in the sixth.
Robbie Kleman went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run that gave UW-Oshkosh a 9-1 lead in the fourth inning, while Logan Reckert added three of the Titans' 16 hits and two RBIs.
Jewell, who allowed just two Pioneers to reach second base over the last six innings, improved his record to 4-4 and registered his fifth complete game of the season. He gave up six hits, struck out three and walked three.
UW-Platteville starting pitcher Nathan Fay (4-4) took the loss, yielding 14 runs on 14 hits and three walks in 4.2 innings.
In the nightcap, Messenger won his third straight WIAC game as the Titans pulled away late.
The Titans struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning on Reckert's single.
The Pioneers started the second inning with consecutive singles, but Messenger limited the damage to one run. With the bases loaded and two outs, Collin Deboer singled to score one run, but Zach Iverson was thrown out at the plate after trying to score from second base.
UW-Oshkosh took a 3-1 lead on John Eagan's sacrifice fly in the home half of the second inning, and Messenger gave up just three hits the rest of the way.
The Titans erupted for five runs in the in the sixth inning and ended the game early with three runs in the eighth.
Eagan and Gajewski had consecutive run-scoring singles in the sixth inning, and Reckert put the Titans up, 8-1, with a double to the alley in left field.
Kleman hit a two-run triple in the eighth inning before Noah Polcyn invoked the 10-run rule with a one-out single.
Eagan and Gajewski both went 3-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base atop the UW-Oshkosh batting order. Eagan added two RBIs while Gajewski had one.
Reckert ended the contest with two hits and four runs batted in, while Jack Paulson contributed two doubles.
Messenger (4-4) earned his second straight complete-game victory, allowing one run on seven hits. He recorded four strikeouts and walked three.
Pioneer starter Austin Daniels (5-4) suffered the loss, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits and eight walks in 5.2 innings pitched.
UW-Oshkosh heads into the final doubleheader of the season having won 12 of its last 14 games. UW-Platteville has lost five straight WIAC contests and eight of its last nine.