Titans, Eagles Exchange One-Run Victories
UW-Oshkosh's Jake Surane reached base five times and drove in the winning run during the opener as the Titans split a pivotal Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Wednesday (May 12) at UW-La Crosse.
UW-Oshkosh (20-15, 16-10 WIAC) remains fourth in the league standings after winning the opener, 8-7, and falling by a 5-4 score during the nightcap. UW-La Crosse (27-11, 17-9 WIAC), which had its 10-game winning streak snapped in the opener, stays in third in the conference – one game ahead of UW-Oshkosh – with one league doubleheader remaining.
With seeding at next week's six-team WIAC Championship at stake, UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse will play the final conference doubleheader of the season Saturday (May 16) at Tiedemann Field in Oshkosh. UW-Oshkosh would clinch the third seed at the conference tournament with a pair of victories Saturday, while one win guarantees a home game in the first round of the WIAC Championship that commences May 19.
In Wednesday's first game, UW-Oshkosh raced out to a 5-0 lead during the second inning and owned an 8-4 advantage entering the home half of the ninth frame before fending off a prolific UW-La Crosse offense that entered the day ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III at 10.2 runs per contest.
Matt Scherrman gave the Titans a 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the top of the first inning and later added a solo home run – his seventh of the year – to extend the advantage to 6-2 during the fourth frame.
UW-La Crosse's Jack Olver hit a two-run homer to cut the Eagle deficit to 6-4 in the sixth inning, but the Titans answered with single runs during the eighth and ninth frames as Eric Modaff scored on a Jarrett Scheelk squeeze bunt before Surane delivered what turned out to be the winning run with a two-out, bases-loaded single to right field that plated Griffith Lukes for an 8-4 lead.
The Eagles pulled within one run in the bottom of the ninth inning following a Connor Roesler solo home run with one out and consecutive two-out RBI doubles from Brennan Schmitt and Mac Born. However, with the tying run in scoring position, Titans relief pitcher Harry Orth induced a flyout to end the game.
Orth notched his third save of the season, retiring the second of two batters he faced, to make a winner of Titans starting pitcher Grant Yakimisky, who improved to 2-2 on the year after allowing four runs (three earned) on just three hits and three walks with two strikeouts across 7.1 innings. The outing was the longest of Yakimisky's career.
Surane went 3-for-4 with a pair of walks, two runs scored and the game-winning RBI.
Modaff added three singles of his own for the Titans, who outhit the Eagles, 12-9, and drew nine walks. Modaff walked once, scored twice and drove in a run that upped the lead to 4-0 in the second inning.
Scherrman finished 2-for-4 at the plate for UW-Oshkosh with one walk, two runs scored and a team-leading three RBIs.
Born accounted for three of UW-La Crosse's hits and drove in three runs.
Eagles starting pitcher Jack Mizgalski (4-2) suffered the loss, surrendering five runs on nine hits and five walks with five strikeouts in four innings.
During the second game, UW-Oshkosh owned a 4-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning before the Eagles tied the score with two runs during the home half of the eighth and walked off with the win on a run in the ninth.
Shane Coker and Olver had run-scoring hits for UW-La Crosse in the eighth inning against Scheelk, the Titans starting pitcher, who had limited the Eagles to two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts through seven frames.
UW-Oshkosh relief pitcher Trevor Niedzwiecki inherited the bases loaded with no outs and the game tied at 4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Niedzwiecki got a groundout and a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam. The Eagles then loaded the bases with no outs once again in the ninth frame on three straight singles. Niedzwiecki struck out the next batter, but Olver followed with a single through the right side to end the game.
Olver was 4-for-5 with two runs batted in to pace the Eagles.
Zach Pronschinske (6-2) picked up the win in relief for UW-La Crosse, allowing one run on two hits and one walk with three strikeouts over the final three innings.
Scherrman went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two stolen bases for the Titans, who received two runs batted in from Lukes and one RBI apiece from Connor Giusti and Hunter Staniske.
Niedzwiecki (2-3) was charged with the loss after yielding one run on four hits in 1.1 innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk.
Photo by Jim Lund