Titans Sweep Pioneers In Illinois
UW-Oshkosh pitchers Colan Treml and Scott Gorsuch combined for a shutout in the opener, and Alex Koch homered and drove in three runs in the nightcap as the nationally ranked Titans won a pair of WIAC baseball games against UW-Platteville on Saturday (April 21) at Sunnyside Park in Decatur, Ill.
The Titans defeated the Pioneers by scores of 9-0 in the first game and 9-5 during the second contest as UW-Oshkosh head coach Kevin Tomasiewicz picked up his 100th career win. Tomasiewicz, the 20th WIAC coach to reach 100 wins, sports a 100-81-1 record in five seasons at the helm at UW-Oshkosh.
UW-Oshkosh (16-4, 3-2 WIAC), ranked 16th in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, has won its last eight meetings with UW-Platteville and 19 of the last 21 since 2012.
In the first game, Treml and Gorsuch made the Titans' first-inning run hold up, combining to hold UW-Platteville to just six hits.
UW-Oshkosh tacked on three runs in the fourth inning before adding single runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth frames. The Titans then capped the scoring with two runs in the ninth inning.
Treml (6-0) pitched the first seven innings to pick up the win, allowing four hits while striking out six and issuing three walks. Gorsuch preserved UW-Oshkosh's third shutout of the by tossing two scoreless frames, yielding two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Andy Brahier and Logan Reckert both collected two hits, two runs and two runs batted in for UW-Oshkosh. Taylor Grimm added two of the Titans' nine hits.
Grimm gave UW-Oshkosh a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish with a run-scoring single in the top of the first inning. Brahier hit an RBI double in the fourth frame before Reckert added a run-scoring single and Jack Paulson lifted a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 advantage.
Brahier provided a sacrifice fly to extend the Titan lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning. UW-Oshkosh upped its advantage to 6-0 in the sixth frame, when Koch scored on a passed ball.
UW-Oshkosh created the final score on a sacrifice flies from Zack Radde and Jensen Hinton in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, and an RBI double by Reckert in the ninth.
Ross Krist collected two of the Pioneers' six hits.
UW-Platteville starting pitcher Caleb Kaufmann (1-3) suffered the loss, yielding five runs on five hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out five.
In the nightcap, Koch hit a three-run homer in the top of the first inning, but UW-Platteville answered with four runs on four hits in the home half of the frame.
Facing its only deficit of the day, UW-Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 5-4 with a pair of unearned runs in the second inning. The Titans also scored single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and eighth frames.
UW-Platteville's four-run first inning featured two-RBI doubles from both Brooks Chandler and Jonny Kelso.
UW-Oshkosh tied the score at 4 in the second inning on a two-out error by Pioneers third baseman Brendon Reifsteck and scored the go-ahead run on a single from Dylan Ott that plated Grimm.
A sacrifice fly from Noah Polcyn increased the UW-Oshkosh advantage to 6-4 in the third inning, and a passed ball in the fourth frame allowed Grimm to score the Titans' seventh run. Grimm, who went into Saturday second in the nation with 1.94 runs batted in per game, scored a career-high four runs in the nightcap and five times during the doubleheader.
UW-Platteville (6-18, 0-8 WIAC) pulled within 7-5 on Reifsteck's run-scoring triple in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Titans capped the scoring with a Grimm sacrifice fly in the fifth inning and an RBI single from Reckert in the eighth.
Titans starting pitcher Nick McLees (5-1) earned the win after scattering nine hits across seven innings. He issued two walks and recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts.
UW-Oshkosh's Lucas Gregory pitched the final two innings, holding the Pioneers scoreless on one hit and two walks while notching five strikeouts. The 16 strikeouts combined by McLees and Gregory are second-most in one game in program history. The Titans also collected 16 strikeouts during a 6-1 victory over UW-Stout on April 22, 2011. The UW-Oshkosh record is 18 strikeouts in one game, established against Illinois Wesleyan University on March 15, 1999.
The Titans outhit the Pioneers, 12-10. UW-Oshkosh left 13 runners on base while UW-Platteville stranded 10 baserunners.
Grimm, Koch and Reckert each has two hits for the Titans. Reifsteck and Connor Crotty recorded two hits apiece for the Pioneers.
UW-Platteville starting pitcher Shane Nolan was charged with the loss after giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks in two innings.
Each of UW-Platteville's six pitchers on the day each allowed at least one run.
The Titans lowered their earned run average to 2.77 on the year. UW-Oshkosh entered the day ranked 12th in the country in earned run average. The Titans, who gave up 16 hits and collected six doubles Saturday, also listed fifth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.15) and 11th in doubles per contest (2.61).
UW-Oshkosh plays UW-Platteville in another doubleheader on Sunday (April 22) in Decatur as the Pioneers' home field remains unplayable due to a recent winter storm.