Titans Sweep WIAC-Leading Blue Devils
Jake Andersen, Jackson Broom, Matt Scherrman and Zach Taylor each hit home runs as the UW-Oshkosh baseball team slugged its way to a home-opening Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep against UW-Stout on Saturday (April 9) at Tiedemann Field.
UW-Oshkosh (9-9, 4-4 WIAC) evened its season record after defeating league-leading UW-Stout, 11-2, in the opener and 13-4 during the second contest. The Titans overcame a sixth-inning 2-0 deficit during the first game before breaking a 4-4 tie in the nightcap with nine unanswered runs from the sixth through eighth frames.
UW-Stout (13-7, 8-2 WIAC), which won three of its five meetings with UW-Oshkosh last season, entered the day atop of the conference standings and leading the league in scoring, batting average, and on-base and slugging percentages. The Blue Devils, who went into Saturday averaging 9.4 runs per contest, had their winning streaks of nine games this season and 16 straight WIAC contests snapped.
UW-Oshkosh outhit UW-Stout, 25-14, in the doubleheader while the Titans pitching staff registered 21 strikeouts and held the potent Blue Devils offense to a .212 batting average on the day. UW-Oshkosh, which committed one error and issued three walks Saturday, headed into the day ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III with a 1.20 ratio of hits and walks per inning pitched, seventh nationally with a 3.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio, ninth with a .974 fielding percentage and 13th with 2.79 walks allowed per nine innings.
Broom, Scherrman and Eric Modaff all produced a pair of multiple-hit performances for the Titans, who received five runs batted in from Andersen, four RBIs from Scherrman, and three runs batted in from Taylor. The home runs were Taylor's team-leading fourth of the season, Scherrman's third, Broom's second and Andersen's first.
In the first game of the day, UW-Stout was cruising along with a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning until Andersen hit a go-ahead grand slam with one out for a 5-2 UW-Oshkosh advantage. Nicholas Shiu, who drove in Scherrman with a single to break up the Blue Devils' shutout bid, scored along with Broom and pinch-runner Mason Schultz on Andersen's grand slam.
The Titans tacked on three more insurance runs in both the seventh and eighth innings in support of starting pitcher Harry Orth, who went the distance and collected 10 strikeouts to earn the victory.
Orth improved his season record to 4-2 after allowing just six hits and a walk in nine innings. Orth, who recorded double-digit strikeouts for the second time this season, extended his WIAC-leading punchout total to 58.
UW-Oshkosh's three-run seventh inning featured a Scherrman solo home run and a run-scoring grounder off the bat of Andersen. Taylor launched a three-run homer during the eighth inning that plated Scherrman and Connor Giusti to account for the final score.
Andersen finished the opener with a career-high five runs batted in. Andersen's previous career best of four RBIs was established during the Titans' 9-0 victory at UW-Whitewater on April 4.
Scherrman, who walked and scored three times, along with Modaff, Broom and Taylor each collected two hits for UW-Oshkosh.
Charlie Szykowny went 2-for-4 with a solo home run to pace the Blue Devils. Szykowny, whose homer upped the UW-Stout lead to 2-0 in the top of the sixth inning, went into Saturday's doubleheader as the WIAC leader in hits, runs scored, RBIs, doubles, triples, total bases and slugging percentage.
UW-Stout starting pitcher Jace Baumann (1-2) suffered the loss, yielding five runs on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.
During the nightcap, UW-Stout claimed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning and tied the score at 4 during the sixth. UW-Oshkosh then reclaimed the lead for good at 5-4 on Broom's solo home run to left-center field in the home half of the sixth.
The Titans took their first lead of the contest at 3-2 on Modaff's two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning that scored both Broom and Andersen.
After a Drew Ries solo home run pulled UW-Stout even at 4 in the top of the sixth inning, UW-Oshkosh put the game away with three runs during the home half as Broom homered to put the Titans back in front and Chase Marsh delivered a two-run single that allowed Andersen and Jake Surane to cross the plate for a 7-4 advantage.
Surane drove in Broom for an 8-4 UW-Oshkosh lead in the seventh inning before the Titans added five runs on just three hits during the eighth. Scherrman hit a two-run single and scored on a passed ball in the five-run onslaught that also included a Surane walk with the bases loaded and a March sacrifice fly.
The Titans pounded out 14 hits to make a winner out of starting pitcher Logan King, who allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings. King (1-0), making his first career start, struck out four batters without issuing a walk.
Matt Sorrells then struck out four batters in two scoreless innings in relief of King, and LJ Waco struck out the side in the ninth frame to secure the victory.
Broom was 3-for-4 with four runs scored for the Titans, who also received three RBIs apiece from Scherrman and Marsh, and two hits each from Scherrman, Modaff, Giusti and Surane. Modaff stole a career-high three bases.
Szykowny and Riley Boushack contributed two of UW-Stout's eight hits during the nightcap. Reis and Colin Hageman both homered for the Blue Devils.
UW-Stout starting pitcher Drew Buss (1-2) was charged with the loss, ceding seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in five innings.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout conclude their regular season series with another doubleheader Sunday (April 10) at Tiedemann Field.
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics