Titans Open Season With Win Over Bulldogs
Logan Reckert drove in four runs as the UW-Oshkosh baseball team won its season opener, 8-4, over Adrian College (Mich.) on Friday (March 3) in Birmingham, Ala.
UW-Oshkosh (1-0) never trailed after Reckert lifted a sacrifice fly to give the Titans a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Reckert then blasted a three-run double to left-center field that gave UW-Oshkosh a 5-0 advantage in the fourth inning.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Colan Treml earned the win after allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings. He collected seven strikeouts, including the first four Adrian College batters of the game, and issued one walk.
Jacob Pohlman pitched the final four innings for UW-Oshkosh to earn a save. He yielded one run on four hits while recording three strikeouts.
The Titans scored one run in the first inning and five in the fourth before adding an insurance run in both the eighth and ninth frames.
Adrian College (1-3) outhit UW-Oshkosh, 10-6, but the Titans stole seven bases and walked nine times. Four Adrian College pitchers combined to hit six batters and throw three wild pitches.
UW-Oshkosh's Taylor Grimm drew four walks in five plate appearances, while Jack Paulson walked three times, stole three bases and scored twice.
Paulson walked to open the game and stole second base with one out. After Johnny Eagan was hit by a pitch, Paulson and Eagan pulled off a double-steal of second and third bases ahead of Reckert's sacrifice fly to center field.
The Titans then loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning, but Adrian College starting pitcher Nick Cecil escaped the threat by inducing a groundout.
Treml allowed consecutive singles to start the home half of the third inning. However, Reckert, the Titan catcher, picked off the runner at second base, and Treml recorded a strikeout. With runners at second and third base and two outs in the inning, Treml got a groundout to end the frame.
Grimm walked to start the Titans' five-run fourth inning. He went to second base on a wild pitch and came around to score on a single by Sam Schwenn, who also advanced to second base on a wild pitch before Paulson walked.
Schwenn and Paulson recorded a double-steal of second and third bases before Eagan walked to load the bases. Reckert then launched a bases-loaded double and came in to score on a two-out double by Andy Brahier that increased UW-Oshkosh's lead to 6-0.
Adrian College scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning. Ryan Dorow, Hunter Hayes and Brian Guck each singled off of Treml to begin the frame. Dorow came in to score on a one-out fielding error by Titan third baseman Tyler Kozlowski, and Hayes crossed the plate on a groundout to trim the Bulldog deficit to 6-2.
The Bulldogs pulled within 6-4 on a run-scoring single by Guck in the fifth inning and a triple by Brian Killinger that scored Ian Mikowski with two outs in the sixth frame.
Kozlowski atoned for his fourth-inning error by driving home Eagan with a single in the eighth inning, and the Titans capped the scoring on a sacrifice fly from Alex Koch in the ninth.
After pitching around a pair of singles in the bottom of the eighth inning, Pohlman pitched a perfect ninth frame with three groundouts to preserve UW-Oshkosh's victory in the first meeting between the teams.
Schwenn led UW-Oshkosh with two hits. Guck, Mikowski and Gunner Rainey each had a pair of hits for Adrian College.
Cecil was charged with the loss for the Bulldogs despite not allowing a hit in three innings pitched. He allowed two runs after issuing three walks and hitting four batters.
Each of the Bulldogs' three relief pitchers also allowed runs. Tyler Gnodtke yielded four runs on four hits and three walks in two innings pitched, while Brian Gubbini surrendered an unearned run in three innings of work, and Tanner Glass gave up one run in the ninth frame.
UW-Oshkosh plays at Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) on Saturday (March 4). The Panthers (9-3) are ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com.
Photo by Jennifer Zuberbier