The UW Oshkosh baseball team is advancing to the Super Regionals in the NCAA Division III Championship after going 3-1 in its regional bracket hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota.
In their first of four games this past weekend, 34 Titans crossed home plate as they defeated the University of Chicago 34-8. UWO’s 34 runs were the most since the school set the Division III championship record with 36 runs against UW-Whitewater in the Oshkosh Regional in 1989.
Jake Surane hit his first career cycle in the opening game against the Maroons, going 4-for-5 with a career-best nine RBIs and a grand slam in the first inning. Carter Stebane led the Titans in hits, going 5-for-7 at the plate and scoring each time, with two extra-base hits, five RBIs and a stolen base.
Chicago got off to an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning, but the Titans responded quickly by batting around the lineup. RBI doubles from Nick Shiu, Stebane and Owen Housinger, an RBI single by Jack McKellips, a two-run home run by Mason Kirchberg and the grand slam by Surane put the Titans up 10-1 after only two outs.
Each starter for the Titans reached base at least three times, and the offense capitalized on those opportunities, leaving only six total runners on base.
UWO’s Connor Brinkman (7-2) was on the mound for Game one, throwing seven innings of five-run ball with a season-high 10 strikeouts, while giving up two walks and 10 hits in the win. Aaron Huibregtse took over for Brinkman in the top of the eighth and gave up four earned runs along with four hits. Michael Hughes replaced Huibregtse in the ninth and held the Maroons to one run.
The second game of the week was against host Gustavus Adolphus, and the Titans’ offense stayed hot as they posted double-digit runs again in a 15-10 win on May 17.
Titan Logan Schill set the tone with a leadoff solo home run to center field, and the offense went on to drive in seven more runs by the end of the third inning. Stebane’s three RBIs came in the first two innings, with an RBI single in the first and a two-run homer in the second.
Gustavus Adolphus responded with a three-run homer in the fourth inning and an RBI double in the fifth, but in the midst of that, Surane hit a groundout that scored Jack McNamara, making the score 9-4 through five innings.
Starting pitcher Josh Jansen (8-2) was pulled after 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven, walking three and giving up five earned runs. Ryan Ritcher picked up from there and went on to pitch 2 2/3 innings of two-run ball with one strikeout and two walks.
UWO’s offense added three insurance runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to hold off a late comeback attempt by Gustavus Adolphus in the final two frames.
In the first of two games May 18, the Titans lost to the University of Chicago 7-3 after a late comeback by the Maroons, who scored three unanswered runs in the top of the eighth. Starting pitcher Brett Gaynor (6-3) allowed five of the six batters he faced in the inning to reach base before being pulled.
Parker Thompson came in with one out in the eighth and walked in the last run of the game before retiring five straight batters to finish it.
Surane knocked in the Titans’ first run of the contest in the third inning with a fielder’s choice to second base that scored Schill. McNamara followed with an RBI double to left field in the fourth that brought in Kirchberg and Housinger.
With their backs against the wall in a win-or-go-home situation, the Titans mounted a late rally and captured the program’s 18th regional title with a 10-2 victory over the University of Chicago.
The game was a pitchers’ duel until the seventh inning, when UWO blew it open with three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings and four more in the ninth.
Connor Walters (6-4), the starter for UWO, went the distance in what was the most important game of the season. Walters fanned five and allowed only five total baserunners.
Offense came from the middle of the lineup, as the No. 4-6 hitters combined for eight of UWO’s 10 runs and went 6-for-11 collectively.
Stebane’s bat stayed hot, as he went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, a walk and a three-run homer in the ninth. Kirchberg went 2-for-4 and also recorded four RBIs.
With the victory, UWO advances to the Super Regionals, where they’ll get a chance at revenge against UW-Whitewater, who recently defeated them in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and leads the season series 5-1.
The Super Regionals will be a best-of-three series, with each game taking place at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium in Whitewater. First pitch of Game one is scheduled for noon May 23. Game two is set for 11 a.m., and if necessary, Game three will begin at 2 p.m.
