Cummins, Titans Slug Past Raiders
Sean Cummins homered twice, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the third inning, and drove in six runs to lead the UW-Oshkosh baseball team to a 14-9 victory over Milwaukee School of Engineering on Tuesday (March 26) in Kenosha.
UW-Oshkosh (7-6), which extended its winning streak to five games, took the lead for good at 8-6 following a three-run third inning.
Cummins hit a two-run home run in the first inning, a three-run home run in the third and a run-scoring single in the eighth. Cummins is the first Titan to produce a multiple home run game since Alex Koch accomplished the feat against UW-La Crosse on May 5, 2018.
UW-Oshkosh's Hunter Staniske added a home run and a double among his three hits as the teams combined for 23 hits, 11 walks and nine errors in a game that was moved to Carthage College's Augie Schmidt Field due to unplayable field conditions at Milwaukee School of Engineering's home park. The Titans' last three-home run game was against Clarkson University on March 19, 2017.
The Titans outhit the Raiders, 14-9, as UW-Oshkosh's Jensen Hinton and Dylan Ott added two hits apiece. Hinton scored four runs and stole two bases.
UW-Oshkosh raced out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning behind run-scoring singles from Hinton and Staniske ahead of Cummins' two-run blast to left field.
Milwaukee School of Engineering (3-11) answered with six runs in the home half of the first inning, but Cummins gave the Titans an 8-6 lead they would not relinquish on his three-run homer in the third inning.
UW-Oshkosh extended its lead to 9-7 on a run-scoring single from Kade Bohlman in the fifth inning and to 11-7 an inning later after RBIs from Ott and Koch.
Staniske lifted a solo home run and Eric Modaff had an RBI infield single in the seventh inning to increase the Titans' lead to 13-8.
Ryan Willkening (2-2) picked up the win in relief for the Titans after holding the Raiders to two runs (one earned) on five hits in 5.1 innings. He entered to get the last out in the first inning before going on to record four strikeouts.
Raiders starting pitcher Brad Demkovich (0-2) was charged with the loss, yielding eight runs (seven earned) on five hits and three walks across 2.1 innings.
Brandon Beauchamp went 3-for-4 to lead Milwaukee School of Engineering, which has lost each of its last nine meetings with UW-Oshkosh since 1999.
UW-Oshkosh conducts its home and conference opener when its hosts Finlandia University (Mich.) for a doubleheader Saturday (March 30) at Tiedemann Field. The Titans have played each of their 39 previous games away from home since hosting UW-Stevens Point on April 12, 2018.
Photo by Jennifer Zuberbier