Titans Split Two Games In Kentucky
UW-Oshkosh's Colan Treml recorded 12 strikeouts in a complete-game win during the first game of the day as the Titans split a pair of baseball games Saturday (March 16) in Lexington, Ky.
Treml and the Titans won the opener, 7-4, over Otterbein University (Ohio) before suffering an 11-10 setback to John Carroll University (Ohio).
UW-Oshkosh outhit its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opponents, 27-19, on the day, including 19-11 against John Carroll University. However, the Titans stranded 15 runners during the second game Saturday, including two in scoring position in the ninth inning.
Dylan Ott went a combined 5-for-7 at the plate Saturday to lead the Titans, who also received three hits each in the nightcap from Kade Bohlman, Jensen Hinton, Alex Koch and Zack Radde.
In the win over Otterbein University, Treml (2-1) held the Cardinals to three earned runs on eight hits and three walks while notching the 12th complete game and third double-digit strikeout performance of his career. Treml moved into fifth place in program history with 242 innings pitched and into a tie for 10th with 21 wins during his four seasons with the Titans.
UW-Oshkosh (2-6) supported Treml's outing with single runs in the third, fourth and seventh innings, and two runs in both the sixth and eighth frames. UW-Oshkosh pinch-runner Joey Petryniec scored the eventual game-winning run on a wild pitch that provided the Titans a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Staniske went 3-for-3 with a triple. Ott doubled and had two of the Titans' eight hits.
Otterbein University (7-5) struck first with a leadoff home run by Luke Barber in the top of the second inning. The home run was the first allowed by Treml this year and just the sixth allowed during his career.
UW-Oshkosh tied the score at 1 in the bottom of the third inning on Ott's double that plated Sean Cummins. The Titans knotted the score again at 2 during the fourth frame on a two-out balk by Cardinals starting pitcher Ethan Doty that allowed Hinton to reach home plate.
The Titans' two-run sixth inning was highlighted by a run-scoring triple by Staniske and a sacrifice fly from Jonathan Selchow that brought home Staniske for a 4-2 lead.
After Petryniec's two-out run via a wild pitch by Cardinals relief pitcher Killian Brewer in the seventh inning increased the Titans' lead to 5-3, Otterbein University's Patrick McFarland scored from second base on a dropped flyball in the outfield to pull the Cardinals within 5-4 in the eighth frame.
UW-Oshkosh then tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the home half of the eighth inning on a squeeze bunt from Eric Modaff that scored Staniske and a sacrifice fly by Bohlman.
Doty suffered the loss after yielding four runs (three earned) on six hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Barber and Sam Edgell both had two hits for Otterbein University.
In the loss to John Carroll University, the Titans cut their deficit to 9-8 with a run in the top of the seventh inning, but the Blue Streaks answered with two runs in the eighth frame and withstood a UW-Oshkosh rally in the ninth.
UW-Oshkosh pulled within 11-9 and had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth inning. However, Blue Streaks relief pitcher Duncan Cappar preserved the win by allowing a sacrifice fly off the bat of Staniske for the second out before striking out Selchow to end the game.
John Carroll University (9-3) held on to win despite allowing 19 hits, issuing six walks and committing five errors.
UW-Oshkosh held leads at 1-0 on a Koch sacrifice fly in the first inning and again at 3-2 following a sacrifice fly from Ott and a run-scoring single by Koch in the second.
The Blue Streaks reclaimed the lead for good at 4-3 in the home half of the second inning on a one-out, two-run single by Sam Heaton. John Carroll University extended its lead to 7-3 on David Ferguson's two-run home run in the third inning.
UW-Oshkosh pulled within 9-8 after seven innings as Bohlman delivered a two-run double in the sixth frame, and Radde hit an RBI single in the seventh.
John Carroll University's Justin Hanley hit a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning for an 11-8 advantage before UW-Oshkosh trimmed its deficit to 11-9 on a Koch ground-rule double that scored Ott.
John Merrill picked up the win in relief for the Blue Streaks after entering with two outs in the third inning. Merrill surrendered four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a pair of walks across 3.1 innings pitched.
Cappar notched his second save of the year after giving up two runs on four hits over the final two innings. He recorded five strikeouts without issuing a walk.
Hanley, Derek Penman and Aaron Zawadzki each had two hits for the Blue Streaks.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Ryan Wilkening (0-2) was charged with the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk in 1.1 innings.
Otterbein University is the reigning OAC champion while John Carroll University finished seventh in the league a year ago.
UW-Oshkosh finishes its trip to Kentucky with a single game Sunday (March 17) against host Transylvania University.