Warhawks Register Two Wins Against Titans
UW-Oshkosh's four home runs in the nightcap were not enough as nationally ranked UW-Whitewater came back to win the second game of the day and sweep a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Friday (April 9) in Whitewater.
UW-Whitewater (13-2, 7-1 WIAC), ranked 16th in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the second game, 8-5, after defeating the Titans by a 15-0 score in seven innings during the first contest.
UW-Oshkosh (6-8, 4-4 WIAC), the league leader with 20 home runs on the year, were limited to seven total hits Friday. Five of the Titans' hits went for extra bases as Hunter Staniske, who extended his hitting streak to 17 games, doubled in the opener and homered during the nightcap. Jackson Broom, Griffith Lukes and Jarrett Scheelk also hit home runs for UW-Oshkosh in the second game.
UW-Whitewater has won each of its six meetings with UW-Oshkosh this season, sweeping a nonconference doubleheader at home March 24 and a WIAC twin bill Tuesday (April 6) in Oshkosh. The Titans and Warhawks conclude their eight-game regular season series Saturday (April 10) with a pair of nonconference contests at Tiedemann Field in Oshkosh.
In Friday's nightcap Scheelk provided the Titans their first lead of the day with a booming home run to left field to lead off the second inning against UW-Whitewater starting pitcher Connor Spear, who had not allowed an earned run all season in 18 innings across six appearances until Scheelk's team high-tying fourth homer.
UW-Whitewater claimed a 2-1 lead with single runs in the second and third innings, but Lukes knotted the score at 2 with a home run off of Spear during the fifth frame. Following Lukes' second homer of the year, Jake Andersen drew a walk ahead of Broom, whose first collegiate hit went well beyond the left-center field wall to give UW-Oshkosh the lead again at 4-2.
The Titans later extended their cushion to 5-2 in the sixth inning on Staniske's solo home run – his third of the year – that marked the end of Spear's outing.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Matt Scherrman retired the Warhawks in order during the sixth inning but was lifted after allowing a pair of singles to lead off the home half of the decisive seventh frame. Scherrman did not factor in the decision after scattering 10 hits and allowing four runs in six-plus innings. He walked one and struck out three.
With one out and UW-Whitewater baserunners at second and third bases, Donovan Brandl delivered a two-run single to pull the Warhawks within one run. Then with two outs and Brandl at third base, Jacob DeMeyer tied the score at 5 with another single before Nick Santoro walked and Sam Vomhof hit a two-run triple that turned out to be the difference. The Warhawks capped their six-run seventh inning with Matt Korman's single that plated Vomhof.
UW-Oshkosh went on to strand a runner in scoring position in the eighth inning and two more during the ninth frame. The Titans brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the final inning via a pair of walks, but Warhawks relief pitcher Connor Moroder finished off his four scoreless innings by getting two groundball outs to end the game.
Moroder (3-0) earned the win for UW-Whitewater, holding the Titans to one hit and two walks with one strikeout after Spear struck out 10 during the first five innings.
Titans relief pitcher Trevor Niedzwiecki (1-2) suffered the loss, yielding four runs on three hits and one walk in two-thirds of an inning.
Bryan Sturdevant went 3-for-3 for the Warhawks, who received two hits each from Brandl, DeMeyer, Santoro, Vomhof and Ryan Norton as part of their 14-hit performance.
During the first game of the day, UW-Whitewater never looked back after racing out to a 5-0 lead after one inning. The Warhawks outhit the Titans, 18-2, during Friday's opener in support of Brandl's dominant pitching effort.
Brandl (2-1) tossed all seven innings, limiting UW-Oshkosh to six total baserunners on two hits, three walks and one hit batter while striking out eight. After hitting Eric Modaff with a pitch to lead off the game, Brandl allowed a two-out single in the third inning, a one-out double in the sixth frame to go along with walks in the second, fourth and seventh as the Titans did not have more than one runner aboard in any inning.
Eight different Warhawks collected two hits each, including DeMeyer and Taylor White, who both doubled twice and drove in three runs.
Staniske and Ethan Schreier accounted for the two Titan hits.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Will Michalski (1-2) was charged with the loss after ceding 11 runs (10 earned) in 4.1 innings.
Photo courtesy of UW-Whitewater Sports Information