The UW Oshkosh baseball team won 11-9 against the Milwaukee School of Engineering in their opening game on Feb. 22.
The high scoring affair included a three-run comeback by the Titans who found themselves down 9-6 after only four innings of play. Outscoring MSOE 5-0 from the fifth inning and on.
UWO head coach, Kevin Tomasiewicz, thought his team played an all-around great game.
“The score doesn’t really indicate that,” Tomasiewicz said. “[MSOE] had a really good game plan against [Connor Brinkman] and he had one of his poorer outings, but he’ll get better after that.”
Brinkman, who was responsible for nine runs through four innings against MSOE is expected to be the co-ace of UWO’s pitching staff this season along with L.J. Waco. Waco came into the game in the ninth inning after UWO built a 11-9 lead for one inning of work and recorded the save.
Tomasiewicz expects the team to run a four-man starting rotation this season once they get closer to conference play that will include both Brinkman and Waco. Joining that duo is expected to be sophomore Connor Walters, who recorded four starts at the end of his freshman season. Tomasiewicz said he is still searching to see who will emerge as that fourth starter.
Sophomore catcher Jack McNamara was a key hitter for the Titans, going 4-for-5 with a double on the afternoon. McNamara is one of the players that has stood out to Tomasiewicz in the ramp up to the season, believing that he could be one of the team’s breakout players with his larger role.
“Last year he was someone we could count on a little bit,” Tomasiewicz said. “With [the previous catcher] graduating, McNamara has become our main catcher to start this season and he’s been doing really well.”
Another name to keep in mind for the Titans is sophomore outfielder Brenden Max who hit a home run in the ninth inning against MSOE to push the UWO lead to 11-9. Max is another player looking to find a more permanent role in the lineup according to Tomasiewicz.
“Those two guys have really performed well early in the practice season and we’re hoping that their success will continue.” Tomasiewicz said.
With the Titans picked to finish fourth in the preseason Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference poll, Tomasiewicz isn’t using it as bulletin board material because of the simplicity of that poll but still believes his squad can exceed those projections.
“I think it’s full of shit,” Tomasiewicz said. “We know we have a good team, we know we’re a top-25 team in the country based on our talent. We’re a top-four team (in the WIAC) often. We know we’re a top team not only in the region but also the country at this point, so its kinda a coin-flip on who’s going to end up winning the thing in the end.”
Tomasiewicz said that the cohesiveness and resilience of the group is what stands out and gives him the confidence that he has with his team.
“The cohesiveness with this group seems to be very high,” Tomasiewicz said. “The way they got behind each other, cheering for each other and the excitement that they had on Thursday’s game alone just shows what they’re capable of doing.”
The Titans will continue action with two games against Webster University (Missouri) on March 1 and 2, with two additional games against North Park University (Illinois) on March 2 and 3. All games will be played at Webster University’s home field in Sauget, Illinois.
