Titans, Pointers Repeat Exchange Of Victories
Noah Polcyn provided the game-winning hit in the ninth inning of the opener as UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point split a baseball doubleheader for the second straight day on Sunday (May 1) at Tiedemann Field.
UW-Oshkosh (15-17-1, 7-9 WIAC) won the first game, 7-6, while UW-Stevens Point (18-16, 9-7 WIAC) defeated the Titans, 16-2, in seven innings during the nightcap. The Titans and Pointers split their four-game regular-season series after trading victories on Saturday (April 30) in Oshkosh.
UW-Stevens Point moves into a tie for second place in the league standings with UW-Whitewater (22-9, 9-7 WIAC) while UW-Oshkosh remains in fourth place with four conference games remaining.
Dylan Ott led the Titans by going a combined 5-for-7 at the plate with one double, two runs, two runs batted in, and two stolen bases. Polcyn added four hits and two runs batted in on the day, and Trent Whitcomb homered.
In the first contest, UW-Stevens Point rallied to tie the score 2 in the third inning, at 4 in the seventh and at 6 in the eighth before Polcyn delivered a single with the bases loaded in the ninth.
The Pointers opened the scoring on a two-out double by Clint Rose in the second inning off of UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Colan Treml, but the Titans took a 2-1 lead with a pair of unearned runs in the home half of the second frame.
UW-Stevens Point starting pitcher Cole Erickson hit Robbie Kleman with a pitch to lead off the Titan second inning. Tyler Kozlowski bunted to Pointers third baseman William Iloncaie, whose errant throw allowed Kleman to score and Kozlowski to reach third base. Ott followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Kozlowski with the go-ahead run.
The Pointers knotted the score at 2 on Cody Hanke's double in the third inning, but Whitcomb launched his third home run of the season – a two-out, two-run shot in the fourth frame - to put the Titans back on top at 4-2.
UW-Stevens Point cut its deficit to 4-3 on a double by Ryan Stanicek in the fifth inning and tied the game again with a run-scoring single by Ben Gerber in the seventh.
Chris Hetzel relieved Erickson on the mound for the Pointers to start the seventh inning. Andy Brahier reached first base on an infield error before exiting for pinch runner Chris Atwood. Kleman scored Atwood with a triple to center field, and Kozlowski followed with a sacrifice fly to give UW-Oshkosh a 6-4 advantage.
Peter Strommen doubled off of Treml to start the Pointers' eighth inning. Lucas Gregory, who entered for Treml, then allowed a one-out single to Iloncaie and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rose. A wild pitch by Gregory allowed Iloncaie to score the tying run with two outs.
UW-Stevens Point relief pitcher Henrich Walder hit Kleman with a pitch to begin the bottom of the ninth inning. Kozlowski and Ott greeted new Pointers pitcher Drew Spaeth with consecutive bunt singles to load the bases with no outs. After UW-Stevens Point got a force out at the plate for the first out, Polcyn laced a single to left field to secure the victory.
Gregory (1-2) picked up the win in relief, allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout in two innings pitched. Treml did not factor in the decision after giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits in seven-plus innings pitched. He walked one and struck out six.
Ott and Polcyn both collected three of the Titans' 12 hits, while Taylor Grimm added a pair of doubles.
Walder was charged with the loss, surrendering one run in one inning pitched. Erickson pitched the first six innings for the Pointers, yielding four runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
Gerber, Hanke and Rose each collected two of UW-Stevens Point's 10 hits.
In the second game, UW-Stevens Point scored eight runs on just two hits in the third inning for an 11-1 lead.
The Pointers' Turner Doornink went 4-for-5 with three doubles, three runs and six runs batted in. Parker Sadowski also collected four of UW-Stevens Point's 17 hits.
Doornink and Iloncaie both provided run-scoring singles in the first inning, and Tyler Thomka had a run-scoring single in the second frame against UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Peter Jewell.
Ott singled home Alex Koch to trim the Titans deficit to 3-1 in the home half of the second inning before the Pointers' decisive eight-run third frame.
UW-Oshkosh used three pitchers in the third inning as UW-Stevens Point sent 12 batters to the plate. Iloncaie reached third base on an infield throwing error with one out. Jewell was relieved by Matt Sabel after hitting the next two batters to load the bases.
Sabel hit the first batter he faced and walked his second batter to score two runs. A wild pitch scored another run before Sabel was relieved by Scott Gorsuch, who walked Hanke intentionally to load the bases. Doornink then hit a bases-loaded double and came in to score the Pointers' eighth and final run of the inning on a wild pitch.
Polcyn hit a run-scoring single in the fourth inning to make the score 11-2, but UW-Stevens Point added two runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth, including two on Doornink's third double of the game.
Alex Thompson earned the victory for the Pointers, yielding two runs (one earned) in five innings pitched. He struck out two without issuing a walk.
Jewell (1-3) took the loss for UW-Oshkosh, ceding seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in 2.1 innings pitched.
Ott paced the Titans with two hits.
UW-Oshkosh, which concluded its home schedule with Sunday's games, will play one game at Carroll University on Wednesday (May 4).