Titans Split With Warhawks
WHITEWATER, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh baseball team won the first game over UW-Whitewater on Monday (April 8) at Prucha Field and fell in the second, finishing the season series with a win over its conference rival.
The Titans (11-9, 5-3 WIAC) jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Warhawks (17-4, 7-1 WIAC) scored three late runs in game one while Whitewater won 12-2 over Oshkosh in game two.
LJ Waco (Sr. • Cary, Ill.) tossed 7.0 innings of scoreless work to open the day. He improved his record to 4-0 with eight strikeouts, allowing just two hits and three walks.
Leading off the top of the first inning, Jake Surane (Sr. • Lincolnshire, Ill.) hit a double to right center and scored two batters later on a Mason Kirchberg (Jr. • DeForest) single to left center.
Neither team added a run through the fifth inning and Waco faced five or less batters in each.
The Titans scored four runs in the top of the sixth after Surane and Jack McNamara (So. • La Grange, Ill.) reached on back-to-back singles. Kirchberg singled to the pitcher to score Surane and Nick Shiu (Jr. • Gurnee, Ill.) knocked a three-run shot over the left field fence, sending both Kirchberg and McNamara home.
Jack McKellips added the seventh run for Oshkosh, hitting a solo home run of his own to right center.
Josh Jansen (So. • DeForest) relieved Waco at the beginning of the eighth inning and got through the inning without a run allowed. He allowed three runs in the ninth on an RBI sacrifice fly to center and a two-run home run to right and got two outs before being relieved by Brett Gaynor (Fr. • Long Grove, Ill.). Gaynor hit a batter, loading up the bases and ended the game with a looking strikeout for his second save of the season.
Whitewater scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning for an early lead. After the second through fourth innings went scoreless, Surane homered to right center to put Oshkosh on the board, but the Warhawks added three more runs for a 10-1 lead by the end of the sixth.
Braydon Skenandore (So. • De Pere) doubled in the top of the seventh, scoring Riley Pfeiffer (So. • Lockport, Ill.) for a 10-2 score. Pfeiffer pinch ran for Logan Schill (Fr. • Pewaukee) who reached on a fielder's choice.
The Warhawks closed out the game and series on an RBI single and an RBI double for the 10-run rule.
Aidan Trusky (So. • Antioch, Ill.) started on the mound for the Titans in the series finale. He allowed six runs on four hits and four walks in 0.1 innings before Aaron Huibregtse (Jr. • Oostburg) came in as relief for 3.2 innings of 3-hit no run work. Parker Thompson (So. • Wauwatosa), Hoyt Keller (So. • Wautoma), and Cole Lannert (Jr. • Mount Prospect, Ill.) pitched the rest of the way, each allowing two runs.
The Titans will return home to face UW-Stevens Point for a doubleheader on Wednesday (April 10) at Tiedemann Field at Alumni Stadium. The first pitch is set for noon.