Titans, Yellowjackets Each Post Comfortable Wins
Blake Berger (Jr. • Star Prairie) and Mitch Loegering each had a four-hit game to lead their teams to one victory as UW-Oshkosh and UW-Superior traded baseball wins on Sunday (April 11) at Tiedemann Field.
Berger homered during each of the first two innings to guide the Titans (10-9/3-2 WIAC) to a 13-5 triumph in the opener. The Yellowjackets (9-8/2-2 WIAC) owned the second contest, amassing 19 runs over a three-inning stretch to earn a 21-5 rout.
It was all Titans to open game one, as Nolan Fadness (Jr. • Eau Claire) got hit by a pitch and stole second base. Next up was Berger, who connected for a two-run shot. Kyle Kannenberg (Sr. • Oshkosh) then stepped up and drilled a home run to right.
During the second inning, UW-Oshkosh made it 8-0 with a two-run single by Fadness and a three-run blast from Berger.
The third inning featured five runs, including three from UW-Superior. The Yellowjackets got an RBI on Shaun Marshall's single, Brett Olson's double and a Mike Labelle groundout. The Titans got a pair back in the bottom half when Fadness tripled in one and Derek Hiroskey (Jr. • Kimberly) singled home another for a 10-3 cushion.
Berger and Hiroskey each drove in a run during the fifth, while Fadness tacked on a sacrifice fly in the seventh. UW-Superior concluded the scoring on Olson's double and a Sean Cummings fly out.
Nick Bursik (one inning) and Travis Warren (3.1 innings) each allowed six runs, with Bursik taking the loss. Andy Cordier (So. • Sturgeon Bay) yielded just one run in 3.2 frames for the win, as starter Matt Wells (Fr. • Little Chute) fired the opening 2.2 innings and Aaron Dressnandt (So. • Mukwonago) was efficient over the last eight outs.
UW-Superior posted seven runs on six hits and a trio of Titan errors to decide the nightcap in the second frame. The first tally came on a Joe Ahrens single before Rhett Williamson plated one with his bunt single. Mike Labelle tacked on a two-run single and Robbie Veith also got an RBI with his bunt base hit.
The second inning saw the Yellowjackets score on an error and a wild pitch as they put seven more on the scoreboard. A run also came in when UW-Oshkosh committed a fielding error before Schlangen and Olson each drove in two with a single, making it 14-1.
Marshall's two-run base knock and Loegering's run-scoring single highlighted the UW-Superior fourth, when it tallied five additional times. The Titans, who got their initial run on a balk, marked twice in the fifth inning to pull within 19-3, while Berger's single in the sixth plated their fourth run.
Loegering had five hits on the day to pace the visitors, who outhit the Titans, 17-9, in game two. UW-Superior got single runs in the sixth and seventh frames on an Olson single and Schlangen's solo home run.
UW-Oshkosh's doubleheader featured five hits apiece from Berger and Kannenberg, with Berger also notching three runs scored and seven RBI. Sean Grabig (Fr. • Howard) took the loss after 1.1 frames, even though five of his seven runs were unearned. Evan Matson (Jr. • Thunder Bay, Ontario) surrendered five earned runs in his one frame before Dressnandt yielded seven earned runs during the last 4.2 innings.
The win belonged to Alex Lagadin, who allowed three earned runs on four hits in 4.1 frames. Mike Swanson (1.2 innings) and Bobby Tyndall (one frame) closed out the contest for UW-Superior.
The Titans are back at Tiedemann Field on Wednesday (April 14) when they host UW-Stevens Point.