Titans Suffer A Pair Of Defeats To Blue Devils

UW-Stout moved into a tie for fourth in the WIAC baseball standings with a pair of victories over UW-Oshkosh on Saturday (April 20) at Tiedemann Field.

The Blue Devils defeated the Titans by scores of 10-3 in the opener and 6-1 during the second contest. UW-Stout evened the season series with UW-Oshkosh after the Titans swept a doubleheader from the Blue Devils on Friday (April 19) in Mauston.

UW-Stout (13-12, 8-10 WIAC) and UW-Oshkosh (15-16, 8-10) are now tied for the fourth and final spot in the league tournament with six conference games remaining.

In Saturday's first contest, the Blue Devils never looked back after scoring in the top of the first inning. UW-Stout extended its lead to 10-0 after a six-run sixth frame.

UW-Stout's Danny Deis went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in. Jack Hemsath added three hits for the Blue Devils, who also received two hits each from Reid Akerman, Hunter Merrill and Jordan Wilson.

Seven players registered hits for UW-Oshkosh, including Dylan Ott with a run-scoring single that broke up Blue Devils starting pitcher Casey Ryan's shutout bid during the bottom of the sixth inning. Kade Bohlman added an RBI double for the Titans in the seventh frame.

Ryan (2-0) pitched a complete game for UW-Stout, holding the Titans to three runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Ryan Wilkening (3-4) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on 10 hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out one.

UW-Stout took a 3-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second inning and provided Ryan with all the support he needed with Deis' RBI single during the fifth frame for a 4-0 advantage.

During the nightcap, Blue Devil starting pitcher Jack Donahue and reliever Jace Baumann combined to limit the Titans to one run on eight hits.

Donahue improved his record to 3-3 on the year after surrendering just one run and scattering eight singles. Baumann then pitched a perfect ninth inning.

The Blue Devils scored in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Hemsath, but the Titans answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame on a two-out RBI single by Hunter Staniske.

UW-Stout reclaimed a 2-1 edge in the second inning on Joel Thimsen's solo home run to left field before adding single runs in the fourth and seventh frames and two runs during the sixth.

Thimsen, Wilson and Ben Vanhove all collected three of the Blue Devils' 16 hits. Wilson drove in a pair of runs while Merrill and Kasey Bass chipped in two hits apiece.

Bohlman and Zack Radde both accounted for two of the Titans' eight singles.

UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Will Michalski suffered the loss, yielding three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk with one strikeout.

The Titans remain at home to host a doubleheader against UW-Stevens Point on Tuesday (April 23) at Tiedemann Field.