The UW Oshkosh baseball team dropped three of four games in a series on the road against UW-Whitewater on April 6 and 8.
After winning four straight against UW-Eau Claire, the Titans faced UW-Whitewater who entered the matchup on a 12-game winning streak themselves. With a record of 14-3 entering the series, the Warhawks proved to be a tough task for the Titans as the Titans lost 5-2, 6-5 and 12 -2 while picking up a 6-3 victory.
In game one of the series Connor Brinkman took the mound for the Titans for his sixth start of the season.
Through three innings, both pitchers only gave up one hit and zero runs. The Warhawks forced another three-up three-down inning out of UWO in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth the Warkhawks followed up a single with an RBI double by Danny Hopper to the left center gap to grab a 1-0 lead.
The Titans struck back in the top of the sixth inning when Zach Taylor hit a sacrifice fly to score Jake Surane and tie the game at 1-1. In the following at-bat, Mason Kirchberg hit his fourth home run of the year, this time a solo shot, to give the Titans a 2-1 lead. The Warhawks tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning when Hopper hit his second RBI double of the game.
The bottom of the seventh inning spelled the end for the Titans when the Warhawks loaded the bases and got a base-clearing three-RBI double from Matt Scolan and took a 5-2 lead. This ended up being the final score of the game.
Brinkman suffered his first loss of the season for the Titans, dropping his record to 3-1. Brinkman threw 6.1 innings giving up five hits to five runs while striking out two batters and walking three.
Connor Walters took the mound for UWO in game two versus the Warhawks, making his fourth start of the season.
The Titans jumped out to an early lead in the first inning of game two when Kirchberg hit an RBI single. Nick Shiu stepped to the plate in the following at-bat and hit an RBI double to score Kirchberg from second base, giving the Titans a 2-0 lead.
The game did not see another score until the bottom of the third inning when the Warhawks’ Eli Frank hit a game-tying two-run home run. The momentum continued for the Warhawks in the fourth inning as they manufactured a run to take a 3-2 lead.
Jack McNamara responded for the Titans in the top of the fifth by hitting an RBI single to knot the game up at 3-3. However, the Warhawks took the lead right back in the bottom of the fifth inning after scoring a run off an error.
The sixth inning saw the Titans take the lead once again, this time through RBIs from both Carter Stebane and Braydon Skenandore to give the Titans a 5-4 lead. The Warhawks were able to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly.
The game remained tied at 5-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Dominik McVay hit a walk-off home run off Walters to clinch a 6-5 victory for the Warhawks.
Walters pitched the entire game for the Titans giving up six runs on 11 hits, striking out one batter and walking zero in 8.1 innings of work.
LJ Waco made his fifth start for the Titans in the first game of the April 8 doubleheader. Waco headed into his outing with a 3-0 record and a 2.86 ERA, the team leader in both categories.
Kirchberg got the Titans on the scoreboard in the first inning with an RBI single scoring Surane. After that, the game would become a pitchers’ duel until the sixth inning.
The sixth inning was one to remember for the Titans. Kirchberg hit his second RBI on the day with a single that scored Surane. Two at-bats later Shiu hit a three-run home run, his third of the season, and gave the Titans a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Titans extended their lead to 6-0 in the seventh inning when Jack McKellips hit a solo home run, his third home run of the season.
The 6-0 lead carried into the bottom of the ninth inning for the Titans. However, the Warhawks gave the Titans a scare as a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run cut the Titans’ lead to 6-3. Brett Gaynor came in after the home run and recorded the last out of the game for his second save of the season.
Waco recorded the win for the Titans, improving his record to 4-0 and his ERA to 2.29 after throwing seven scoreless innings allowing only two hits and striking out eight batters.
Aidan Trusky made his fourth start of the season for the Titans in the final game of the series. However, the outing was short for Trusky as the Warhawks jumped on him early with six runs in the first inning. The Titans put Aaron Huibregtse in for Trusky during the first inning.
Huibregtse succeeded in his outing by throwing 3.2 scoreless innings while only allowing three hits.
Surane put the Titans on the board in the sixth inning by hitting a solo home run to right center to cut the lead to 6-1.
The Warhawks immediately responded with a four run inning that included an RBI single, a two-RBI triple and a run off a stolen base, pushing the Warhawks lead to 10-1
After a run of an RBI double by Skenandore in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 10-2 the Warhawks ended the game with a two run inning of their own off an RBI single and RBI double. The game ended with a score of 12-2 in the seventh inning due to the ten run rule.
Trusky recorded the loss for the Titans, dropping his record to 1-3. Along with Huibregtse, the Titans had Parker Thompson, Hoyt Keller and Cole Lambert all make appearances on the mound.
The Titans record now stands at 11-9 overall and 5-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, currently placing themselves in fourth place in the conference.
The Titans played two games against UW-Stevens Point at Alumni Stadium on Wednesday. Visit the UWO athletics website for results.
The season will roll on for the Titans with a four-game series over the weekend on the road against UW-La Crosse on April 13 and 14 with the games taking place at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. both days.
