The sixteenth ranked Warhawks travelled to UW-Oshkosh Wednesday afternoon for a doubleheader at Tiedemann Field, with the Titans prevailing twice, 10-0 and 17-5 as the teams opened Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
box score - game 1
box score - game 2
Whitewater's Aaron Dott (Green Lake/Green Lake) and Jeremy Rubens of Oshkosh kept the game scoreless through the first three innings of game one. The Titans broke the ice with two runs, on a walk and two hits, in the bottom of the fourth. UW-O added single runs in the fifth and sixth to lead 4-0 after six.
Rubens continued to stymie the Warhawks on three hits through seven innings, and his teammates plated six runs in the bottom of the seventh to end the game. Three Warhawk errors and a wild pitch, combined with four hits, combined for the Titan rally. A three-run homer by Brad Demmin was the big blow of the inning.
Oshkosh scored once in the first and shortstop Justin Jirschele doubled in two in the second for the Titans. UW-O went up 5-0 with a pair of runs in the fifth.
Whitewater finally broke through, in a big way, with five runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game, 5-5. Kevin Zalnis (Woodstock, IL/Woodstock) brought in the first two with a single. Designated hitter Tom Zimmerman (Pewaukee/Pewaukee) brought in the third run with a single, and Nick Rechlitz (Milwaukee/Marquette) singled in two more as UW-W made the most of five hits in the inning.
It didn't take Oshkosh long to respond, scoring nine times in the bottom of the inning on eight hits, two Warhawk errors, a balk, a stolen base and one walk. Blake Berger hit a two-run homer and Mickey Fadness brought in two with a double for the big hits in the frame.
Up 14-5 going in to the bottom of the eighth, Fadness ended the game with a three-run homer for UW-O.
Rechlitz, Zalnis and Zimmerman had two hits apiece for UW-W, and Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill) singled and walked. Williams Lovera (Tinaquillo, Venezuela/Tinaquillo) pitched one and a third innings of one hit, scoreless relief for the Warhawks.
The Warhawks fall to 6-5 overall, while 0-2 in the WIAC. Oshkosh improves to 7-5 and 2-0 in the WIAC. The next matchup for the Warhawks will be Saturday-Sunday, April 4-5 for doubleheaders at UW-Stevens Point beginning at noon each day. The first home game for UW-W will be April 7th with Carroll University visiting Prucha Field for a 2:00 start.
For Additional Information: John Vodenlich, UW-W coach
