Titans Suffer Narrow Defeat To 20th-Ranked Tommies
University of St. Thomas pitchers Ryan Zimmerman and Eric Veglahn held the UW-Oshkosh baseball team without a hit over the final 5.2 innings as the nationally ranked Tommies defeated the Titans, 5-4, on Wednesday (March 23) in Auburndale, Fla.
Zimmerman, who relieved starter J.J. Jeronimus with one out in the fourth inning, pitched to only 17 UW-Oshkosh batters, three over the minimum, during his 4.2 scoreless innings of work. He earned the victory with the help of six strikeouts.
Veglahn captured the save for the Tommies (5-1) by striking out two of the three UW-Oshkosh batters he faced in the ninth inning.
University of St. Thomas, ranked 20th in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, totaled 14 hits at the plate. The Tommies received four hits and two runs batted in from leadoff batter Jake Smith and three hits and one run batted in from Waylon Bemboom, the ninth batter in the lineup.
UW-Oshkosh (3-7) obtained two of its six hits from leadoff batter Jack Paulson. The Titans' Taylor Grimm had one hit and two runs batted in.
With the aid of an infield error to start the game, University of St. Thomas scored twice in the top half of the first inning. The Tommies counted their runs on singles by Cory Quinlan and Anthony Winters.
UW-Oshkosh got both runs back in the bottom half of the inaugural inning with the assistance of three hits. Paulson, who led off the frame with a single, advanced to third base on a double by Johnny Eagan and scored on a wild pitch. Eagan later scored on a single by Grimm.
UW-Oshkosh took a 3-2 lead on Grimm's sacrifice fly in the third inning. His deep fly to center field scored Noah Polcyn who led off the frame by being hit by a pitch.
University of St. Thomas tied the score on Smith's fourth-inning single. The Tommies had three hits in the inning, including two on balls that were unplayable in the infield.
The Titans pulled in front 4-3 in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Robbie Kleman led off the frame with a single and scored on Tyler Kozlowski's double.
University of St. Thomas acquired its tying and winning runs in the sixth inning. The Tommies had three hits in inning, including Bemboom's double that tied the score and Smith's single that put the University of St. Thomas ahead for good.
UW-Oshkosh had the tying run on first base in the seventh inning and third base in the eighth.
Peter Jewell (0-1) took the pitching loss for UW-Oshkosh. He hurled the first 8.1 innings and allowed 14 hits and three earned runs while striking out six batters. Nick Poretto closed out the ninth inning by retiring two of the three batters he faced.
Jeronimus pitched one out into the fourth inning for the Tommies and recorded the no-decision after allowing UW-Oshkosh all of its runs and all six of its hits.
UW-Oshkosh closes out its trip to Florida by playing fifth-ranked University of Southern Maine on Thursday (March 24).