The UW Oshkosh baseball team remains in third place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a record of 4-4 and an overall record of 13-13 after winning two of their last five games.
In the Titans first four-game home series of the season on April 13-14, they split shutouts with the defending WIAC champions, the UW-La Crosse Eagles.
The Titans lost the first game of the series on Thursday by a score of 0-5 while winning the second game by a score of 7-0.
On Friday, the Titans won the first game by a score of 6-0 while losing the second game 0-3.
Following the series split with the Eagles, the Titans had a road game in Illinois on April 18, taking on Benedictine University in a 2-5 loss.
Titans head coach Kevin Tomasiewicz said he is pleased with the pitching so far this season, but is still frustrated with the record of the team.
“We’re pitching better than expected going into the year, which is a positive,” Tomasiewicz said. “But it’s frustrating when we’re hovering around .500.”
Tomasiewicz said taking the good things he sees from his players on a daily basis at practices and applying them to in-game situations is still something the team is trying to figure out.
“When one phase is working, the other phase is not working, or when two phases are working the third is catastrophically failing,” Tomasiewicz said. “It is a matter of just trying to put all three phases together, and I think when we do that we should be on the right path.”
In the Titans’ first win of the four-game series against La Crosse, sophomore pitcher Colan Treml pitched his second shutout of the season in a game where no Eagles player got past second base.
After allowing two hits and no runs in the top of the first, the Titans got things started in the bottom of the first, scoring one run via an RBI single from junior first baseman Andy Brahier with the bases loaded that brought in sophomore outfielder Sam Schwenn.
After getting three fast outs while the Eagles were up to bat in the top of the second, the Titans tallied three runs in the bottom of the second.
The first run of the inning came from sophomore outfielder Dylan Ott via an RBI bunt that brought in junior shortstop Jack Paulson, who got on base after hitting a single to right field to begin the inning.
The second run came from an RBI single from senior shortstop Tyler Kozlowski that brought in sophomore outfielder Nate Given, who got on base after hitting a single into left field.
The third and final run of the bottom of the second was from an RBI single from Brahier that brought in Ott.
By the end of the second inning the Titans were ahead 4-0.
After two at-bats for the Eagles in the top of the third and fourth that resulted in no hits, the Titans extended their lead by another run in the bottom of the fourth via a sacrifice fly that brought in Ott.
At the end of the fourth, the score was 5-0.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the eighth that the Titans scored the final two runs of the game.
The first run came from an RBI from Ott that brought in Given, who got on base after a single up the middle and then a steal to second base.
The second and final run of the game came via single RBI from Eagan that brought in Ott.
The game ended with the Titans on top with the final score of 7-0.
In the Titans second win of the La Crosse series, junior pitcher Jesse Sustachek allowed a mere three hits, only two Eagles hitters to advance past first base in his first career shutout.
Sustachek said although he is pleased with the results of his first shutout, he realizes there is more work to be done when looking at the bigger picture, and the team needs to win more games.
“Hovering around .500 is tough because we know we are better than what our record shows,” Sustachek said. “We know that when we play to our ability, we can beat anyone. We are constantly working hard everyday to improve what we need to improve on to play at a more consistent level.”
In the 6-0 shutout on Friday, the Titans got things started in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs after holding the Eagles to a quick three outs to start the first inning.
The first run came from a single from junior catcher Taylor Grimm after hitting a single RBI that brought in Kozlowski, who reached on a single.
The second run came from sophomore infielder Zach Radde, who reached first base on a fielding error that brought in Eagan, who was on base after hitting a single to left field.
The Titans’ final run of the bottom of the first came via a sacrifice bunt from Paulson that brought in Brahier, who walked during his at-bat.
The second inning went scoreless for both teams. In the bottom of the third, the Titans brought in three more runs.
The first run for the Titans came on a sac fly from Grimm that brought in Kozlowski and after a throwing error by the Eagles, Eagan scored as well.
Eagan was on base from a single, and Kozlowski walked.
The third run of the inning came via a Paulson single to right center that scored Brahier, who made it on base from a single to center field.
After scoring three runs in the bottom of the third, the Titans now led 6-0, which would be the final score.
Treml said the team is capable of beating anyone, but they just need to focus on every aspect of the game and face every opponent with the same focused mindset.
“This team and this group of guys have been together long enough that we know we have what it takes to beat just about anybody, it’s just whether we can fit it all together when we’re out on the field,” Treml said. “We just need to focus every game on doing the little things and taking advantage of every opportunity we have.”
The Titans continue WIAC play this weekend in their second home series of the season, as they take on the fifth-place UW-Platteville Pioneers at Tiedemann Field on April 22 and 23.
