Titans Begin WIAC Tournament Against Regular Season Champion Warhawks
UW-Oshkosh opens the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament (presented by Culver's) against host and nationally ranked UW-Whitewater on Thursday (May 12). The first-round matchup is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. from UW-Whitewater's Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
UW-Oshkosh (22-17), making its second straight WIAC Tournament appearance, is seeded fourth in this year's league postseason event. The Titans are seeking their second WIAC Tournament title and first since winning the inaugural event in 1998.
UW-Whitewater (33-6), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, earned the top seed and hosting rights by winning the WIAC regular season title. The Warhawks, who won three of four games against UW-Oshkosh during this season, have clinched each of the past three conference tournament crowns.
Second-seeded UW-Stevens Point (31-7) battles third-seeded UW-La Crosse (23-16) to commence the WIAC Tournament at 10 a.m. Thursday. UW-Stevens Point is ranked 17th in the latest D3baseball.com poll. UW-La Crosse, which tied UW-Oshkosh for third place in the WIAC standings, claimed the tiebreaker between the teams for the third seed by virtue of winning three of four meetings with the Titans this year.
The four-team, double-elimination WIAC Tournament continues Friday (May 13) and concludes, if necessary, with one final championship game Saturday (May 14) in Whitewater. The winner of the WIAC Tournament earns the league's automatic berth into the 60-team NCAA Division III Championship that begins with regionals May 19-22.
The four programs vying for the 2022 title are the only teams to ever secure WIAC Tournament championships as UW-Stevens Point owns a conference-leading 11 postseason crowns, while UW-Whitewater has won it seven times, UW-La Crosse on three occasions and UW-Oshkosh once. UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point won their most recent conference tournament titles in 2016 and 2015, respectively.
UW-Oshkosh enters the WIAC postseason with a .303 batting average, a 4.95 earned run average and a .965 fielding percentage. The Titans, who sport a 17-31 record in the WIAC Tournament, have not won a league postseason game since eliminating UW-Stevens Point in 2016. The WIAC Tournament was not held in 2018 or 2020.
UW-Oshkosh is pacing the conference in triples this season while ranking second in the league in both doubles and fielding percentage.
Eight Titans are hitting .290 or better on the year, including Nicholas Shiu with a team-best .386 batting average and a .489 on-base percentage. Shiu currently ranks second in the conference in on-base percentage and fifth in batting average.
Jackson Broom is batting .381 for UW-Oshkosh this season, followed by Matt Scherrman at .377, Chase Marsh .373, Jake Surane .352, Zach Taylor .317, Ethan Schreier .304 and Eric Modaff .290.
Scherrman leads the conference with 17 doubles and five triples while his team-best 48 runs batted in and .688 slugging percentage rank fourth in the league, his 58 hits are fifth-most and his 41 runs scored are good for seventh. Scherrman's seven home runs also rank sixth in the WIAC.
Other UW-Oshkosh offensive team leaders include Taylor with eight home runs and Surane with 26 stolen bases. Surane is second in the league in steals, Taylor ranks fifth in home runs and Modaff follows Surane in third with 23 stolen bases.
Connor Brinkman and Harry Orth spearhead the UW-Oshkosh pitching staff, ranking first and second in the WIAC, respectively, in innings pitched and winning six games apiece.
Brinkman has a 2.40 earned run average that ranks third in the WIAC to go along with 69 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched. Orth owns a 3.76 earned run average with a conference-high 84 strikeouts in 69.1 innings while ranking third in the league with a .223 opponent batting average.
UW-Oshkosh's Will Michalski boasts a 5-0 record in seven starts on the mound.
UW-Whitewater paces the WIAC with 8.4 runs per game, a .315 batting average, 111 stolen bases, a 3.08 earned run average and a .969 fielding percentage en route to winning at least a share of its fifth consecutive league regular season championship. The Warhawks, winners of 10 straight games at Prucha Field, have not lost at home since a 9-0 setback to UW-Oshkosh on April 4.
UW-Whitewater offensive team leaders include Sam Vomhof with a .377 batting average and 57 hits, Bennett Frazer's .469 on-base percentage and 15 stolen bases, Zach Campbell's seven home runs, and Jacob DeMeyer's 43 RBIs.
Seven different Warhawks have stolen at least 10 bases on the year.
Westin Muir and Kade Lancour helm the UW-Whitewater pitching staff, combining for a 17-1 record and one save in 22 total appearances. Muir, a 2021 D3baseball.com Second Team All-American, is 9-1 this season with a league-leading 2.08 earned run average and 80 strikeouts in 69.1 innings pitched. Lancour has an 8-0 record with a 2.17 earned average and 77 strikeouts in 66.1 innings.
UW-Stevens Point is batting .307 this season while compiling a 4.17 earned run average and a .960 fielding percentage. The Pointers lead the conference with a .410 on-base percentage.
Aaron Simmons leads the Pointers with a .385 batting average, 53 runs scored, 16 home runs, 50 RBIs, 34 walks, 12 stolen bases, an .804 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.
Sidney Ferry, a 2021 D3baseball.com Fourth Team All-American, paces the UW-Stevens Point pitching staff this season with a 5-0 record, 2.19 earned run average and six saves in 13 appearances out of the bullpen.
UW-La Crosse enters the tournament with a .314 batting average, 5.10 earned run average and a .947 fielding percentage. The Eagles have hit a WIAC-best 49 home runs and lead the league with a .487 slugging percentage.
The Eagles' Jack Olver leads the conference with a .442 batting average, 72 hits and 60 runs batted in. Mac Born ranks third in the WIAC with 14 home runs for UW-La Crosse.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater last met in the WIAC Tournament in 2017. The Titans, who have lost their past seven matchups with the Warhawks in the league postseason, are seeking their first conference tournament win over UW-Whitewater since a 2-1 decision during a 2011 elimination contest.