Eagles Take A Pair Of Games From Titans
UW-Oshkosh's Connor Giusti and Jarrett Scheelk both homered, and Eric Modaff and Jake Surane each collected five hits on the day, but UW-La Crosse won a pair of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball games over the Titans on Saturday (May 15) at Tiedemann Field.
UW-La Crosse (29-11, 19-9 WIAC) clinched the third seed at the conference tournament after defeating UW-Oshkosh by scores of 9-6 in the opener and 6-2 during the league finale.
With the two setbacks, UW-Oshkosh (20-17, 16-12 WIAC) fell into a tie for fourth with UW-Stout (21-17, 16-12) in the final conference standings. UW-Oshkosh will be the fifth seed at the six-team WIAC Championship and play at fourth-seeded UW-Stout in the first round Wednesday (May 19). UW-Stout won a runs-allowed tiebreaker over the Titans for the fourth seed and the resulting first round hosting rights.
UW-La Crosse, which split a doubleheader with the Titans on Wednesday (May 12), hosts sixth-seeded UW-Platteville (15-25, 8-20 WIAC) in the conference tournament May 19. UW-Stevens Point (30-9) and UW-Whitewater (33-5) tied with 24-4 records atop the WIAC standings to earn first round byes in the league tournament as the top two seeds.
In Saturday's first game, UW-La Crosse scored twice in the top of the first inning and reclaimed the lead for good at 7-5 following a three-run seventh frame.
Brennan Schmitt went 5-for-5 for the Eagles with four runs scored and two runs batted in. Ethan Gerstner and Jonathan Wizner both added two of UW-La Crosse's 13 hits while Mac Born had three RBIs. Gerstner's two-run single in the top of the seventh inning provided the Eagles their 7-5 lead.
The Titans tied the score at 2 in the bottom of the second inning following a Jake Andersen sacrifice fly and Modaff's RBI single. UW-Oshkosh later took a 5-4 advantage during a three-run sixth inning as Modaff delivered a two-run single and Surane's single plated Modaff with the go-ahead run.
Scheelk launched a solo home run – his WIAC-leading 13th of the year – to pull the Titans within 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Modaff and Surane both were 3-for-5 to pace the Titans. Modaff's three RBIs were one shy of a season high.
Alex Mach (4-1) picked up the win in relief for UW-La Crosse, holding UW-Oshkosh to one run on two hits across the final 3.1 innings. Mach struck out four batters without issuing a walk after relieving Eagles starting pitcher Zach Pronschinske, who yielded five runs (three earned) in 5.2 innings.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Harry Orth (2-3) was charged with the loss after surrendering six runs (four earned) on 10 hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 6.1 innings.
In the nightcap UW-La Crosse once again scored in the first inning and went on to build a 4-1 advantage after four frames. UW-Oshkosh cut its deficit to 4-2 on Giusti's solo home run during the sixth inning, but the Eagles tacked on a pair of insurance runs via a two-run homer from Jack Olver in the eighth frame.
Born and Spencer Hans both accounted for three of UW-La Crosse's 13 hits.
Eagles starting pitcher Charlie Dardis earned the win to improve his record to 3-0 this season. Dardis ceded two runs (one earned) on seven hits and four walks in 5.1 innings pitched.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Matt Scherrman (1-3) suffered the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and no walks with one strikeout in seven innings. Logan King tossed the final two innings in scoreless fashion for the Titans. King allowed three hits and struck out one batter without issuing a walk.
Modaff, Scheelk and Surane each had two of UW-Oshkosh's eight hits as the Titans left 10 runners on base during the second contest. Modaff recorded his team-leading 22nd stolen base on the year while Giusti's home run was his fourth this season.
UW-Oshkosh closes out the regular season with a nonconference home game against UW-Whitewater on Sunday (May 16) at Tiedemann Field. UW-Whitewater is ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com.
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics