Defeats To Warhawks, Pointers Ends Titans' Season
UW-Oshkosh was eliminated from the WIAC Baseball Championship after suffering a pair of losses on Friday (May 12) in Whitewater.
The fourth-seeded Titans lost their opening game at the league tournament, 8-4, against top seed and host UW-Whitewater. Third-seeded UW-Stevens Point then ousted UW-Oshkosh from the championship by a 7-4 score on the strength of a six-run eighth inning.
UW-Oshkosh's Johnny Eagan and Alex Koch produced three hits apiece on the day as the Titans concluded the season with a 22-20 record.
In the loss to UW-Whitewater, the Titans opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning, but the Warhawks tied the game at 1 in the second frame and tallied three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.
UW-Whitewater, ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, held an 8-1 advantage after innings before the Titans rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth frame.
Titans shortstop Jack Paulson led off the game with a triple off Warhawks starting pitcher Heath Renz and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Kozlowski.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Colan Treml pitched around a single and a walk in the first inning, but UW-Whitewater knotted the score at 1 an inning later as Cal Aldridge delivered a run-scoring single.
Aldridge gave the Warhawks the lead in the home half of the fourth inning on an RBI single. Jeff Szubert added a run-scoring bunt single, and Blake Fleischman hit a two-out infield single to plate another run, extending UW-Whitewater's lead to 4-1 after four innings.
UW-Whitewater tacked on three insurance runs in the fifth inning as Mike Aiello lifted a sacrifice fly and Szubert hit a two-out, two-run double for a 7-1 advantage.
Brett Krause's RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth inning increased the Warhawk cushion to 8-1, and UW-Oshkosh plated three runs on five hits in the final inning.
The Titans began the ninth inning with three straight singles to chase Renz from the game. Koch, who had two of the Titans' nine hits, greeted new Warhawks pitcher Mike Nompleggi with a single that scored one run.
Following a flyout, Zack Radde drove in a run with a groundout before Dylan Ott capped the scoring with a single. With Titans at first and third bases and two outs, Nompleggi got a groundout to conclude the game.
Renz (8-0) remained unbeaten on the year after allowing four runs on seven hits in eight-plus innings pitched. He struck out 10 and walked one.
Aldridge went 3-for-3 with two runs batted in to pace the Warhawks while Fleischman, Szubert and Matt Wary each contributed two of UW-Whitewater's 13 hits.
Treml (5-3) was charged with the loss, yielding seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits in 5.1 innings pitched.
During the loss to UW-Stevens Point, the Titans jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in both the first and second innings. However, the Pointers erupted for six runs on five hits in the bottom of the eighth inning. The first eight UW-Stevens Point batters reached base during the fateful frame.
Ben Gerber led off the UW-Stevens Point ninth innings with a single against UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Jesse Sustachek.
Nick McLees, who relieved Sustachek, hit the first two batters he faced to load the bases. Ryan Stanicek hit a two-run double to trim UW-Stevens Point's deficit to 4-3, and McLees hit the next batter to reload the bases and conclude his outing.
New Titans pitcher Alex Larson then gave up back-to-back singles to Clint Rose and Tommy Duddleston that drove home the tying and go-ahead runs, respectively.
Lucas Gregory entered the game for Larson and ceded a two-run single to Ben Faga that concluded the Pointers' string of eight consecutive batters reaching base.
UW-Stevens Point relief pitcher Alex Stodola then preserved the comeback victory by retiring the Titans in order, including the first two via strikeouts, during the ninth inning. The save was Stodola's fourth of the year.
UW-Oshkosh struck for a pair of runs in the top of the first inning as Koch connected on a two-out, two run single off Pointers starting pitcher Cole Erickson, who was lifted after giving up four runs on five hits and three walks in 1.2 innings of work.
The Titans upped their lead to 4-0 on a two-out, two-run homer by Eagan in the second inning. The home run was Eagan's fourth of the season and seventh of his career.
UW-Stevens Point trimmed its deficit to 4-1 on a run-scoring single from William Iloncaie in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Rose collected three hits to lead UW-Stevens Point, which also received two hits apiece from Gerber and Stanicek.
The Pointers outhit the Titans, 11-6, as Eagan led UW-Oshkosh with two hits. Three UW-Stevens Point relief pitchers held the Titans scoreless on one hit over the final 7.1 innings.
UW-Stevens Point reliever Drew Spaeth (2-0) picked up the win after not allowing a hit in 1.2 innings.
The Pointers' Ben Miller, who relieved Erickson in the second frame, limited UW-Oshkosh to just one hit and four walks across 4.2 scoreless innings pitched.
McLees suffered the loss for the Titans, surrendering four runs on just one hit in the eighth frame.
Sustachek did not factor in the decision despite holding UW-Stevens Point to two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in seven-plus innings pitched.
Other results at the WIAC Championship on Friday included second-seeded UW-La Crosse blanking UW-Stevens Point, 3-0, and UW-Whitewater cruising to a 12-2, eight-inning win over UW-La Crosse.
UW-Whitewater (34-6) advances to the league tournament final, where the Warhawks await the winner of UW-La Crosse (26-16) and UW-Stevens Point on Saturday (May 13). The WIAC Tournament champion earns the league's automatic berth to the 56-team NCAA Division III Championship that begins on Thursday (May 18).