Eagles Claim Two Victories Over Titans
UW-La Crosse claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season series against the UW-Oshkosh baseball team with a pair of home victories Monday (May 2).
UW-La Crosse (20-14, 14-10 WIAC) defeated UW-Oshkosh by scores of 7-6 in the opener and 5-0 during the second contest. The Eagles, who split a doubleheader with UW-Oshkosh on Sunday (May 1) in La Crosse, won three of four games in the series.
UW-Oshkosh (20-13, 14-8 WIAC) remains alone in third place in the league standings despite the two Monday setbacks. UW-La Crosse moves up one spot from fifth to fourth as both the Eagles and Titans are vying to qualify for the four-team WIAC Tournament that commences May 12.
During Monday's opener, UW-Oshkosh reclaimed a 5-3 lead following a three-run home run by Nicholas Shiu in the top of the fifth inning and owned a 6-4 advantage heading into the home half of the eighth frame. However, UW-La Crosse answered with three runs on four hits in the eighth inning to pull out the victory.
Matt Scherrman and Ethan Schreier both drove in runs to give the Titans a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Eagles put up three runs of their own to take a 3-2 advantage.
Shiu's three-run homer – his second this season – scored both Scherrman and Zach Taylor. Shiu, who finished the game 2-for-5 with a pair of runs, entered the day leading the conference with a .519 on-base percentage.
UW-Oshkosh later tacked on a unearned run in the top of the six inning as Jackson Broom crossed the plate for a 6-4 lead following a throwing error on a bunt off the bat of Mason Kirchberg.
UW-La Crosse's comeback in the eighth inning featured consecutive run-scoring doubles from George Seaman and Zach Carney ahead of a Tommy Nelsen game-winning single.
Broom and Taylor both had three of UW-Oshkosh's 12 hits while Carney and Seaman accounted for three of UW-La Crosse's 13 hits. Jack Olver, the WIAC's leading hitter, belted a home run among his two hits for the Eagles. Olver headed into the day batting .450.
Alex Redman (4-3) picked up the win in relief for the Eagles, tossing two scoreless innings on two hits. Redman struck out two batters across the eighth and ninth frames in relief of Jacob Bryant, who allowed six runs (four earned) in the first seven innings.
Connor Brinkman (5-3) suffered the loss after ceding seven runs (four earned) on 12 hits in 7.2 innings. Brinkman, who entered Monday with a WIAC-best 1.40 earned run average, had three strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
During the second contest, UW-La Crosse scored single runs in both the second and fourth innings before adding three insurance tallies during the sixth frame.
UW-Oshkosh left 13 runners on base.
Olver was 3-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Eagles. Connor Roesler collected two RBIs for UW-La Crosse.
Scherrman had two of the Titans' eight hits that also included doubles from Connor Giusti and Eric Modaff.
Brady Schmitt pitched 7.1 strong innings to earn the win for the Eagles. Schmitt (3-2) gave up seven hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 10. Caleb Matl came on in relief of Schmitt to pick up the save, holding the Titans to one hit and one walk with three strikeouts to secure the shutout.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Logan King (3-1) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs across the first six innings. Titans relief pitcher LJ Waco kept the Eagles scoreless and hitless over the last two innings, striking out four and walking two.
The Titans return home to host WIAC doubleheaders against UW-Stevens Point on Friday and Saturday (May 6-7) at Tiedemann Field. UW-Stevens Point is ranked 15th in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com.
Photo by Jim Lund