Titans Slug Their Way Past Falcons

Andy Brahier hit a home run and drove in five runs, Johnny Eagan and Trent Whitcomb collected four hits apiece, and the UW-Oshkosh baseball team defeated Concordia University Wisconsin, 17-5, in seven innings on Thursday (April 7) in Mequon.

UW-Oshkosh (4-8), playing its first game in 14 days, scored multiple runs in each of the first five innings and registered 22 hits. The Titans tallied four runs in the first, second and third innings before tacking on three in the fourth frame and two in the fifth for a 17-1 lead.

Every UW-Oshkosh starter recorded at least one run, one hit and one RBI as the Titans used 18 position players and eight pitchers before the game ended by the 10-run rule.

Brahier went 3-for-5 at the plate and tied his career high with five RBIs, while Eagan reached base in all six of his plate appearances by going 4-for-4 and walking twice. Whitcomb went 4-for-5 and scored a career-best four runs.

Taylor Grimm had three hits in four at-bats for the Titans, who also received two hits apiece from Conner Funnell and Noah Polcyn. Funnell reached base safely in all four trips to the plate by adding two walks.

Scott Gorsuch (1-0) was credited with the win after pitching a perfect fifth inning in his first action of the season.

Ben Messenger started on the mound for UW-Oshkosh, going two scoreless innings and setting down the final six batters he faced, including three on strikeouts.

Jesse Sustachek pitched a scoreless third frame, while Aaron Kiewig – the seventh Titan pitcher of the game – worked one full inning without surrendering a run in his UW-Oshkosh debut.

UW-Oshkosh sent nine batters to the plate in the first and third innings, and eight batters in the second, fourth and fifth.

The Titans' four-run first inning featured run-scoring singles by Brahier, Alex Koch, Funnell and Grimm.

Eagan highlighted UW-Oshkosh's second innng with a two-run single, while Tyler Kozlowski contributed an RBI double and Funnell added a two-out, RBI single.

Whitcomb scored Jack Paulson with a double in the third inning before Brahier launched a three-run home run, the Titans' first of the season.

UW-Oshkosh scored three more runs on five hits in the fourth inning, including run-scoring singles by Whitcomb and Brahier.

Concordia University Wisconsin (7-10), playing its fifth game in five days, broke up the shutout with an unearned run on a sacrifice fly by Isaac Tewes in the bottom of the fourth inning.

An RBI single by Polcyn and a bases-loaded walk by Eagan gave UW-Oshkosh a 17-1 lead in the fifth inning before the Falcons tallied four runs on two hits, three walks and two hit batters against three Titan pitchers in the sixth.

Falcons starting pitcher Joey Schuman suffered the loss after yielding four runs on six hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Concordia University Wisconsin sent seven pitchers to the mound. Tanner Seitzinger did not allow a run after entering in the fifth inning, while Mike Magdiarz and Matt Schubert worked scoreless sixth and seventh frames, respectively.

Kyle Hilliard had two of the Falcons' seven hits.

UW-Oshkosh has won all three meetings with Concordia University Wisconsin. The Titans eked past the Falcons, 6-5, last season in Mequon and secured a 7-5 victory in 11 innings during the 2007 season opener in Oshkosh.

The Titans are scheduled to host UW-Stout for doubleheaders on Saturday (April 9) and Sunday (April 10) at Tiedemann Field.