UW-Whitewater, ranked first and second in the two national Division III polls, swept a doubleheader from UW-Oshkosh Wednesday, winning 2-1 and 8-5 at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

photo gallery (courtesy of Tim Gumz)

UW-Whitewater 2, UW-Oshkosh 1
game one box score

UW-Whitewater took advantage of a lack of control by UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Aaron Dressnandt, a sophomore making his first start of the season, to score single runs in the first and second inning for the win.

With two outs in the first, UW-W pitcher Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/East) singled.  He then advanced to second on a pickoff attempt that went over the first baseman's head, moved to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on a wild pitch to give UW-W a 1-0 lead.

In the second shortstop Mike Kenseth (Milwaukee/West Allis Hale) was hit by a pitch with one out and moved up to second on a passed ball.  That was followed by a walk, and then third baseman Nick Rechlitz (Milwaukee/Marquette) was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  The next batter struck out, but rightfielder Daniel Putnam (Ashland /Ashland) singled in what proved to be the winning run.

Donovan, meanwhile, had things in control on the hill for UW-W.  He kept the Titans off the board through six innings.  UW-O cut the margin in half in the seventh with a one out double off the bat of catcher Mickey Fadness.  Fadness advanced to third on a ground out, and leftfielder Lucas Wirth singled him in.  

Donovan went seven innings, giving up the one run on three hits and three walks, striking out four to raise his record to 2-0.  Lefthander Riley Tincher (Oregon/Oregon) and righty Ben Versnik (West Allis/Hale) each went one scoreless inning in relief, with Versnik earning his fourth save of the season.  

Whitewater and Oshkosh both had just four hits in the game, with Fadness going 3x3 to account for most of the offense.  

UW-Whitewater 8, UW-Oshkosh 5
game two box score

Oshkosh got on the board first with a leadoff single by Lucas Wirth, a sacrifice and an RBI single by Blake Berger.   

Sophomore lefthander Luke Westphal went the first five innings and kept UW-W off the scoreboard.  With a change of pitchers in the sixth, the Warhawks took the lead with three runs.  Ben Kuhlmann (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) singled in the first tally, the second came in on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Stine (Merrill/Merrill ), and the third scored on a Titan error.

UW-O tied the game in the top of the seventh.  Leadoff batter Troy Mrkvicka hit his sixth homer of the season, and a walk and a single later, Kyle Kannenburg singled in the run to knot the game at 3-3.

Whitewater came right back with five runs in the bottom of the seventh.  Daniel Putnam (Ashland /Ashland), Kuhlmann, Jordan Stine (Merrill/Merrill ), Rob Coe (Appleton/North), and Mike Kenseth (Milwaukee/West Allis Hale) accounted for the RBI's.  UW-W had just four hits in the inning, but benefitted from two Titan errors and a walk.

Oshkosh came right back with two more in the eighth, the first coming on a RBI single by Derek Layton and the second on a walk issued to Nolan Fadness.  Layton's single was the only hit of the inning, to which Whitewater contributed a hit batter and a walk.  

Ben Versnik (West Allis/Hale) came on in relief to get the final out of the eighth, stranding two Titan runners.  He also pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, including two strkeouts, to earn his second save of the day and fifth of the season.

UW-W used five pitchers in the game, with Riley Tincher (Oregon/Oregon) earning the win with his inning of work in the seventh to up his mark to 8-0.  Kyle Kannenberg, 4-4, took the loss for the Titans.

Putnam, Coe, Stine and Kenseth had two hits apiece for UW-W in a twelve hit attack.  Layton had two hits to lead Titan batters.

Miscellaneous
UW-Whitewater is 24-2 overall and 13-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The Warhawks have won six in a row.  UW-Oshkosh is 12-16, and 5-9 in league play.  

Whitewater's next games will be Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders against UW-Stevens Point.  Both twinbills will be played at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium, with the first pitch at 12:00.

For additional information:  John Vodenlich, UW-W coach