The UW Oshkosh baseball team combined for 22 hits as the Titans split their April 28 doubleheader against UW-La Crosse, falling to the Eagles 8-2 in the first game before winning the second game 13-3 at Tiedemann Field.

First baseman Zach Taylor paced the Titans with four hits on the day, and shortstop Matt Scherrman drove in a total of three runs in the doubleheader with a home run and two doubles.

UWO, ranked No. 15 in the nation by d3baseball.com, remained tied for first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with UW-La Crosse after splitting the first doubleheader of the season series.

In the first game, UWO (23-7, 14-4 WIAC) took a lead in the first inning, but UWL (23-7, 14-4 WIAC) scored eight runs in the final eight frames to secure the comeback victory.

UWO’s Connor Brinkman pitched eight innings as the starter, allowing five runs on nine hits and striking out five batters to record his first loss of the season. Logan King pitched 0.2 innings of relief, allowing three runs on two hits and walking one batter. Aaron Huibregtse came in for 0.1 innings, giving up two hits and not allowing a run.

Scherrman drove in both of Oshkosh’s runs, going 1-for-4 in the game with a home run and a run scored.

In the first inning, Scherrman knocked in the first run of the game when he grounded out to the UWL shortstop, scoring Jake Surane from third base to give UWO a 1-0 lead.

La Crosse’s George Seaman responded with a two RBI double in the second inning and in the next frame, Anthony Vivian smoked a solo homer to right field to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, Oshkosh narrowed the deficit to a run after Scherrman smashed a solo shot to left field for his sixth home run of the season. The next two innings remained scoreless for both teams until Mac Born hit a solo homer to left field in the sixth inning to extend UWL’s lead to 4-2.

La Crosse added a run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly from Logan Pye and in the ninth inning, the Eagles put up three more runs to cruise to the win.

In the second game, the Titans took the lead in the first inning and never looked back on route to a 13-3 victory in eight innings.

Connor Walters picked up his second win of the season, going 7.2 innings on the mound and allowing three runs on 10 hits while striking out three batters. King came in for 0.1 innings, not allowing a hit or run.

Offensively, Taylor led the team with three hits, finishing the contest 3-for-5 with three singles, three RBIs and three runs scored. UWO left fielder Mason Kirchberg had a three RBI game, going 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and two runs scored.

The Titans jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Scherrman doubled to left field, driving in a run. The Eagles tied the game in the top of the second inning with a sacrifice fly from Tim Urlaub, but UWO retook the lead when Ethan Schreier grounded out to the second baseman, driving in a run.

In the top of the third inning, UWL tied the game at two runs apiece after Jack Moran scored on a wild pitch. The Titans took the lead for good in the next frame when Nicholas Shiu tripled down the right field line and came around to score on a throwing error from the La Crosse second baseman.

UWO extended its lead to 6-2 behind a three-run shot from Kirchberg in the fifth inning, and The Titans added two more runs in the seventh inning after RBI singles from Taylor and Jake Andersen.

La Crosse narrowed its deficit to 8-3 after designated hitter Ty Hamilton hit an RBI single down the right field line in the top of the eighth inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Oshkosh exploded for five runs behind a pair of two RBI singles from Taylor and Marsh to give the Titans a 10-run advantage. The game ended after the inning due to the NCAA’s 10-run rule.

The UW Oshkosh baseball team split the season series with UW-La Crosse, defeating the Eagles 9-2 in the first game of UWO’s doubleheader April 29 before falling in the second game 13-2 at Tiedemann Field.

Oshkosh, ranked No.15 in the nation in the recent d3baseball.com Top 25 poll, remains tied with UWL, ranked No.16 in the nation, for first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings.

In the first game of the doubleheader, UWO shortstop Matt Scherrman finished the contest with a game-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and two runs scored.

Oshkosh pitcher LJ Waco secured his sixth victory of the season, pitching seven innings on the mound and allowing no runs on three hits while striking out nine batters to remain undefeated on the season. Aaron Huibregtse pitched an inning of relief, giving up two runs on three hits and striking out two batters. Logan King pitched the final inning of the game, allowing no runs and one hit.

Scherrman kicked off the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run to left field to give UWO a 1-0 lead. Neither team scored another run until the fifth inning when Mason Kirchberg smoked a solo shot to left field and Jake Surane hit an RBI single to center field, giving the Titans a three-run advantage.

Oshkosh erupted for five runs in the sixth inning behind a two RBI double from Kirchberg, an RBI single from Nicholas Shiu and a two-run home run from Connor Giusti, extending UWO’s lead to 8-0. Zach Taylor added another homer, this time a solo shot to left field, and the Titans found themselves leading by nine runs after the seventh inning.

La Crosse scored two runs after a pair of RBI singles from Jack Olver and Ty Hamilton in the eighth inning, but it was not enough as Oshkosh cruised to its 24th win of the year.

In the second game, the Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back en route to the 13-2 victory.

UWO’s Cameron Mulvihill earned his second loss of the season, allowing seven runs on eight hits and striking out four batters. Trey Tennessen pitched 1.1 innings of relief, allowing four runs on three hits and walking one batter. Josh Jansen pitched the final 2.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out two batters.

Offensively, Surane paced the Titans with two hits, both doubles, and finished the game 2-for-4 with a run scored.

UWL scored three runs in the first inning after Anthony Vivian doubled to right-center field, driving in two runs, and Hamilton hit an RBI single up the middle. In the bottom of the first inning, Scherrman singled to center field, scoring Surane from third base and cutting the deficit to 3-1.

La Crosse extended its lead to six runs in the top of the second inning when second baseman Mac Born smoked a grand slam to left-center field. The Eagles exploded for six runs in the fifth inning behind a two RBI single from Eli Roberts and a Logan Pye RBI single to the shortstop. Later in the inning, Jack Moran drove in a run after he grounded out to the shortstop and Born smoked a two-run homer to left-center field to extend the UWL lead to 12 runs.

Kirchberg singled to right-center field in the sixth inning, driving in Scherrman from third base, but it was not enough, and the game ended after the seventh inning due to the NCAA’s 10-run rule.

The Titans took on the Milwaukee School of Engineering May 2. Check the UWO athletics website for more information.

UWO will hit the road to take on UW-Stevens Point in a doubleheader May 5 at Zimmermann Field starting at noon.