Titans Face Warhawks In WIAC Postseason Opener
UW-Oshkosh will battle three nationally ranked rivals, including the defending national champion, at the WIAC Baseball Championship on Friday and Saturday (May 8-9) at Prucha Field in Whitewater.
Top-seeded UW-Whitewater (30-7) is ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com while second-seeded UW-La Crosse (28-10) is ranked 17th and third-seeded UW-Stevens Point (28-11) 13th.
Fourth-seeded UW-Oshkosh (25-15) and UW-Whitewater open the tournament at 10 a.m. on Friday, followed by UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point at 1 p.m. The losers of the first two contests meet in an elimination game at 4 p.m. on Friday, while the opening-round winners play at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to Saturday's title game.
The winner of the double-elimination WIAC Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the 56-team NCAA Division III Championship.
The Titans enter the postseason winners of four straight games and eight of their last nine. UW-Oshkosh needed to win three of four games against visiting UW-Platteville on the last weekend of the regular season to secure the fourth and final berth into the WIAC Championship. The Titans clinched the fourth seed with a thrilling 8-7, 10-inning comeback victory over the Pioneers in the first of two games on Sunday (May 3) and went on to sweep the four-game series with a 9-6 win.
UW-Oshkosh ranks fourth in the WIAC with a .318 batting average and a 4.24 earned run average. The Titans lead the league in runs (303), hits (451), doubles (93), walks (177) and stolen bases (93). UW-Oshkosh's stolen base total eclipsed the program record while its doubles total ranks 11th in the NCAA Division III. The Titans also list 13th nationally in hits, 16th in walks, 17th in stolen bases and 19th in runs.
The Titans recorded 10 or more hits 23 times this season, including a season-best 26 against Springfield College (Mass.) on March 20.
UW-Oshkosh is led by a trio of freshmen hitting .382 or better. First baseman Andy Brahier leads the team with a .406 batting average, 67 hits, 15 doubles and 43 runs batted in, and a .515 slugging percentage. Brahier's hit total ranks seventh in the country.
Center fielder John Eagan follows with a .395 batting average, a WIAC-best 48 runs and a team-high 23 stolen bases. Left fielder Logan Reckert rounds out the trio, batting .382 with 35 runs and 29 RBIs.
Sophomore third baseman Tyler Kozlowski has added a .312 batting average and paces the Titans with 28 walks. Junior right fielder Robbie Kleman has contributed 31 runs, 14 doubles, 32 RBIs and 15 steals, while freshman shortstop Jack Paulson is batting .309 with 17 steals.
The UW-Oshkosh pitching staff is led by junior starters Peter Jewell and Ben Messenger, who are both 4-4 this season. Jewell, who has completed five of his nine starts, leads the Titans with 65.1 innings pitched and a 2.62 earned run average. Messenger has a team-leading 42 strikeouts in 62 innings. Freshman Jesse Sustachek owns a 5-0 record and a 3.44 earned run average.
UW-Whitewater leads the WIAC with a 3.32 earned run average and ranks third with a .327 batting average.
Five Warhawks are hitting .348 or better. Sophomore third baseman Steve Chamberlain is batting a conference-leading .427. Junior first baseman Casey Power is hitting .408, followed by senior shortstop Mikole Pierce at .390 and senior second baseman Nick Kuhlmann at .356.
Pierce paces the Warhawks in runs (38), doubles (13), triples (3), home runs (8), RBIs (42), total bases (96), stolen bases (14), slugging percentage (.706). Power has contributed a team-leading 58 hits.
Senior Colin Grove leads the UW-Whitewater pitching staff, boasting a conference-best 8-1 record and a 1.81 earned run average in 69.2 innings over 10 starts. Junior Curtis Morgan owns a 7-0 mark this season with a 4.47 ERA in 54.1 innings, while freshman Lake Bachar is 5-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 44.1 innings.
UW-La Crosse, which enters the tournament on a 10-game winning streak, lists second in the league with a .329 batting average and a 3.36 earned run average.
Junior shortstop Alex Cordova leads the Eagles with a .408 batting average, 62 hits, 36 RBIs, 95 total bases and a WIAC-best seven triples. Junior outfielder Taylor Kohlwey is batting .393 while pacing the squad with 39 runs, a .648 slugging percentage and a league-high 16 doubles. Junior first baseman Justin Anderson has added a .388 batting average and a team-high six homers.
On the mound, UW-La Crosse is led by seniors Ben Cejka and Jameson Sadowske. Cejka owns a 6-1 record, a 2.25 earned run average and 54 strikeouts in 64 innings spanning 10 starts. Sadowske has recorded a WIAC-leading nine saves while sporting a 0.64 ERA in 28 innings over 18 appearances.
UW-Stevens Point, winner of nine straight games, has a league-leading .332 batting average while ranking third with a 3.62 earned run average.
Pointers senior left fielder Cody Hanke leads the conference in home runs (12), RBIs (53), total bases (108) and slugging percentage (.720). He also paces the team with a .387 batting average and 14 stolen bases. Senior shortstop Riley Spetz has a team-high 46 runs to go along with a .368 batting average, while senior third baseman Taylor Carlson and senior center fielder Bobby Gregorich, who also ranks second on the squad with a .372 batting average, are tied for the team lead with 13 doubles.
Senior Mitch Beau leads UW-Stevens Point's pitching staff. He has compiled a 6-2 record with a 2.70 earned run average and 51 strikeouts in 10 starts and 70 innings.
UW-Stevens Point is the only program to qualify for each of the WIAC's 18 postseason tournaments. UW-Whitewater will play in its 17th WIAC Championship while UW-Oshkosh is making its 16th appearance and UW-La Crosse its 14th.
This year's field has combined to win each of the league's postseason titles. UW-Stevens Point has won 10 of the 18 WIAC Championships, including seven of nine from 2005-13. Defending champion UW-Whitewater is next with four tournament titles followed by UW-La Crosse with two (2000, 2012). UW-Oshkosh won the inaugural event in 1998.
UW-Oshkosh had a 1-3 record against all three WIAC Championship participants during the regular season.