Second-Ranked Warhawks Overpower Titans
Nationally ranked UW-Whitewater swung its bats to the tune of 35 runs while also turning a triple play as it cruised to two victories over the UW-Oshkosh baseball team on Wednesday (April 28) in Whitewater.
The Warhawks (29-4/17-3 WIAC), ranked second in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, compiled 21 hits and nine walks in winning the opener, 22-6. A trio of two-run homers helped UW-Whitewater bash its way to a 13-6 decision in game two.
It didn't take long for UW-Whitewater to take control, amassing seven runs in the first frame of the day. The Warhawks tallied a pair on each of three straight hits – a Rob Coe double, a Matt Beyer triple and Jordan Stine's single. Beyer tacked on a two-run single during the second inning to earn a 10-1 lead.
The Titans (12-18/5-11 WIAC) also were able to get on the board with two runs in the third and single tallies during the second and fourth innings. Derek Layton (Fr. • Cross Plains) accounted for the first one on an RBI double before Blake Berger (Jr. • Star Prairie) smoked a two-run dinger to center field.
In the fifth frame, the Warhawks turned a Kyle Kannenberg (Sr. • Oshkosh) line drive into an unassisted triple play. During the bottom half, UW-Whitewater used Ryan Leavitt's run-scoring double and Jeff Donovan's two-run homer to go ahead, 17-4.
Beyer drilled an RBI triple to highlight a four-run sixth frame for the Warhawks. UW-Oshkosh got its final two scores on a seventh-inning single by Berger, who topped the Titans with four hits and six RBI on the day.
Kannenberg surrendered seven runs while recording three outs to take the loss, while Sean Grabig (Fr. • Howard) yielded five runs in two frames and Andrew Murphy (Fr. • Suamico) allowed nine runs over three innings for the Titans.
The Warhawk bats gave Riley Tincher an easy win after he gave up four runs in the first five innings. Beyer, Donovan, Leavitt and Stine each had a three-hit game to lead the attack.
Two batters into the nightcap, UW-Whitewater gained a 2-0 lead on Daniel Putnam's round-tripper. The Titans got one back in the second frame on a fly out, but Stine connected for a two-run blast in the third to make it an 8-1 game.
UW-Oshkosh marked on Derek Hiroskey's (Jr. • Kimberly) single during the fifth and Berger's hit in the seventh. The Warhawks got both those runs back when Beyer crushed a two-run blast to left field in the bottom of the seventh.
Both squads tallied twice in the eighth, with a Nolan Fadness (Jr. • Eau Claire) triple plating the two Titan runs. UW-Whitewater's damage came on Ben Kuhlmann's single and a base knock by Leavitt.
Jason Hooper tossed 6.2 innings, allowing four runs and striking out seven, to take the win. Pitching in defeat was Luke Westphal (So. • Clintonville), who gave up five earned runs and recorded five outs before Troy Mrkvicka (So. • Greendale) let in four earned runs during the next 5.1 innings.
The day's top batter was Stine after he posted six hits. Not to be outdone was Beyer, who accounted for eight RBI. UW-Oshkosh's nightcap performance featured three hits apiece by Fadness and Hiroskey.
The Titans return home to take on UW-Stout on Saturday (May 1) at Tiedemann Field.