Titans Sweep Nationally Ranked Tommies
Taylor Grimm hit a pair of home runs and drove in five runs to lead the UW-Oshkosh baseball team to a doubleheader sweep over nationally ranked University of St. Thomas (Minn.) on Saturday (March 10) in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
UW-Oshkosh (3-2) defeated the Tommies in seven-inning contests by scores of 4-3 in the opener and 6-3 during the nightcap.
Grimm went 2-for-3 with a double, home run and four RBIs in the first game. He added a pair of hits during the second contest, including a home run in the second inning.
University of St. Thomas (0-3), ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, outhit the Titans in both games, but the Tommies left a total of nine runners on base while UW-Oshkosh stranded just five.
In the first game, UW-Oshkosh opened the scoring on Grimm's solo home run with two outs in the top of the fourth inning.
Grimm added a three-run double with one out in the sixth frame before University of St. Thomas rallied for three runs on three hits during the home half of the seventh inning.
The Tommies, the 2001 and 2009 Division III champion, brought the potential tying run to the plate with two outs in the last inning, but Titans relief pitcher Scott Gorsuch induced a fly ball off the bat of Sam Cobbs to preserve the victory.
Jack Paulson registered two of the Titans' seven hits while Cobbs and Zach Gottfredsen both had two of the Tommies' eight hits.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Colan Treml (2-0) picked up the victory, yielding just one run on five hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Gorsuch earned his first save of the year and the second in his career after retiring both batters he faced in the seventh inning.
Henry DeCaster (0-1) was charged with the loss for University of St. Thomas, surrendering four runs in six innings pitched while walking one and striking out seven.
In the nightcap, UW-Oshkosh took the lead for good at 4-3 on a suicide squeeze from Logan Reckert in the bottom of the fourth inning.
University of St. Thomas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first frame as Gottfredsen hit a leadoff triple, Jake Smith followed with a run-scoring double and Josh Thorp added a two-out RBI single.
Grimm launched a home run – his second of the year and fifth in his career – to lead off the Titan second inning before Reckert tied the score at 2 with a one-out, run-scoring single. Jonathan Selchow lifted a sacrifice fly that plated Reckert for a 3-2 advantage.
University of St. Thomas tied the game at 3 in the top of the third inning as Gottfredsen tripled to lead off the frame and scored on an error on the play.
UW-Oshkosh's Jensen Hinton doubled with one out in the fourth inning and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Reckert then laid down a suicide squeeze bunt off new Tommies pitcher Shaun Falbo as Hinton came in to score the eventual winning run.
Titans relief pitcher Nick McLees made the lead hold up as he limited the Tommies to just one run on four hits after entering for starter Jesse Sustachek with no outs in the top of the first inning.
McLees (1-1) recorded six strikeouts and retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced as the Tommies had four baserunners over the last six innings.
Hinton knocked in a run for a 5-3 advantage with an infield single in the bottom of the sixth inning, and UW-Oshkosh capped the scoring on Reckert's sacrifice fly.
Gottfredsen and Smith produced two hits apiece as University of St. Thomas outhit the Titans, 7-5, in the second contest. Grimm and Hinton had a pair of hits for UW-Oshkosh.
Tommies starting pitcher Grant Gunderson (0-1) suffered the loss, ceding four runs (two earned) in 3.1 innings. He allowed three hits and issued two walks while striking out four.
U.S. Bank Stadium is the home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and the venue for Super Bowl LII.
UW-Oshkosh heads to Florida for seven games in eight days from March 16-23. The Titans open their trip to the Sunshine State against Ripon College on Friday (March 16) in Auburndale.