Nick McLees held Thomas College hitless until there were two outs in the sixth inning.
Nick McLees held Thomas College hitless until there were two outs in the sixth inning.

Titans' Hitting, Pitching Overwhelms Terriers

UW-Oshkosh erupted for a pair of six-run innings and had five pitchers combine for a one-hit shutout during its 20-0 baseball victory over Thomas College (Maine) on Friday (March 23) in Auburndale, Fla.

Friday's contest ended UW-Oshkosh's seven-game schedule in Florida. The Titans (10-2) won all seven contests and now own a nine-game winning streak for the first time since the 2012 season.

UW-Oshkosh's win over the Terriers also marked the Titans' highest run total since a 20-3 victory over Salve Regina University (R.I.) on March 22, 2016 and the largest margin of victory since a 24-3 triumph over Springfield College (Mass.) on March 20, 2015.

UW-Oshkosh jumped out to very quick lead over Thomas College (2-6) as it scored four runs on three hits and one Terrier error in the top half of the first inning. Taylor Grimm drove in two runs and Dylan Ott one with a single while another score occurred with the help of an infield error.

The Titans added two more runs in the second inning on a Grimm double and another infield error by the Terriers.

The score remained 6-0 in UW-Oshkosh's favor until the sixth inning when the Titans counted six runs on six hits and one Thomas College error. Jensen Hinton had a run-scoring triple, Ott a run-scoring double and Sam Schwenn, Grimm and Logan Reckert all run-scoring singles. The Titans also scored on a throwing error by the Thomas College error.

UW-Oshkosh scored six more runs during its next at-bat in the seventh inning. The Titans produced their runs with four hits and help of one Terrier error. UW-Oshkosh scored two runs on a double by Zack Radde and one run each on singles by Connor Palmby and Tripp Paris. The Titans also scored two runs on an outfield error.

The Titans closed their scoring with two runs in the ninth inning. UW-Oshkosh got both runs on a Hunter Staniske double.

UW-Oshkosh finished the game with 15 hits, including three apiece by Grimm and Schwenn and two by Ott. The Titans' Jack Paulson scored four runs while walking four times. Grimm and Schwenn both cross home plate three times for UW-Oshkosh.

A total of 20 UW-Oshkosh players had an official plate appearance while three others had walks for all of their at-bats. The Titans concluded the game with five doubles, one triple and 10 runners left on base.

While UW-Oshkosh was overwhelming Thomas College offensively, Titan starting pitcher Nick McLees (3-1) was hurling a gem for six innings. McLees held the Terriers hitless until Connor Rittenhouse singled through the left side with two outs in the sixth inning. McLees faced 21 batters, just three over the minimum, and recorded five strikeouts with one walk before leaving the game after the sixth frame.

McLees was followed on the mound by Scott Gorsuch for the seventh inning and Jake Homan for the eighth. Will Michalski recorded two outs and Trevor Niedzwiecki one in the ninth.

The five UW-Oshkosh pitchers faced just 33 batters, six over the minimum.

Thomas College had seven pitchers see action, including starter Dominic Esposito (0-2) who hurled two innings and allowed four hits and six runs (four earned) with three strikeouts for the loss.

Cody Cousins held the Titans hitless for the next three innings, but the five remaining Thomas College pitchers yielded 11 hits, six walks and 14 runs (10 earned).

Weather permitting, UW-Oshkosh is scheduled to play Wisconsin Lutheran College on Wednesday (March 28) in Milwaukee.

Photo by Jennifer Zuberbier