Panthers Shut Out Titans In Season Opener
Jake Cook pitched seven strong innings to lead Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) to a 4-0 home win over the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh baseball team Friday (March 1) in Birmingham, Ala.
Cook allowed just four hits and struck out eight batters without issuing a walk on the way to improving his record to 2-1 on the season.
Birmingham-Southern College (6-4) supported Cook's outing with a run in the fifth inning, two more in the sixth and an insurance run in the eighth.
Cole Steadman went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and one run batted in for Birmingham-Southern College as the Panthers collected nine hits.
UW-Oshkosh (0-1), ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, did not advance a runner past second base after the first inning of its season opener.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Colan Treml suffered the loss, giving up three runs on seven hits across six innings. Treml, who compiled a 10-0 record last season, walked three batters and struck out one Friday.
Titan Dylan Ott hit a one-out triple off of Cook in top of the first inning, but a pair of groundouts thwarted what turned out to be UW-Oshkosh's best scoring opportunity of the game.
Cook and Treml were locked in a scoreless duel until the home half of the fifth inning, when Cory Price singled with one out and the bases loaded to provide the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers' two-run sixth inning was highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Brian Williams and a two-out, run-scoring single from Tyler Wise. Birmingham-Southern College later capped the scoring on Steadman's RBI single in the eighth inning.
Cook pitched around a pair of one-out singles in the seventh inning by UW-Oshkosh's Zack Radde and Jensen Hinton by registering a pair of strikeouts to end his outing.
Panthers relief pitchers Robbie Lively and Paul Williamson preserved the shutout with hitless innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
UW-Oshkosh remains in Birmingham to play Adrian College (Mich.) and Birmingham-Southern College on Saturday (March 2).
Photo courtesy of Peggy Modaff