The No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team posted a comeback victory Wednesday in the second game of a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at UW-Oshkosh to take three of four games in the season series.
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The Warhawks (19-4 overall, 9-3 WIAC) dropped the first game by a 10-6 score before winning 5-4 in the nightcap. UW-Whitewater is currently in second place in the conference behind UW-Platteville, which is 8-0 in the league.
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In Game 2, freshman right-hander
Lake Bachar (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) pitched five shutout innings in relief of senior lefty
Colin Grove (Beloit/Memorial). Bachar (4-0) allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out six.
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The Warhawks took the lead for good in the top of the sixth. Senior left fielder
Kyle Haen (Madison/Edgewood) plated the tying run with a sacrifice fly, and freshman designated hitter
Kyle Jones (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) knocked in the go-ahead run with a two-out infield single.
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Bachar left runners in scoring position in the seventh and ninth innings, striking out the final batter of the game with the game-tying run at third base.
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The Warhawks manufactured a run in the first inning to take the early lead. Freshman centerfielder
Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) drew a leadoff walk, stole second, was moved to third on a groundout by sophomore third baseman
Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, IL/Guilford) and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior shortstop
Mikole Pierce (DePere/DePere).
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UW-Whitewater added two more in the third as Bryden scored on a wild pitch and senior first baseman
Casey Power (Ontario, Canada/Belle River) hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate Chamberlain.
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The Titans (11-13, 3-9) tallied three times in the third and once in the fourth to take the lead until the sixth.
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In the opener, UW-Oshkosh tallied 16 hits and plated seven unanswered runs over its final two at-bats.
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Senior right-handed pitcher
Andrew Lowe (Whiting, IN/Whiting) was dealt the loss, falling to 0-1 on the year. Junior righty
Curtis Morgan (Green Lake/Green Lake) started and went two innings before being relieved by sophomore left-hander
John Olejniczak (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso), who tossed 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
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Power led the UW-Whitewater offense with three hits.
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After the Titans took a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first, the Warhawks tied the affair in the third. With two outs and nobody on, Chamberlain doubled to left, stole third and, after a walk by Pierce, scored on a base hit by Power.
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UW-Oshkosh regained the lead in the bottom of the third, but UW-Whitewater tied the game again in the top of the sixth thanks to a two-run double to center by senior catcher
Mike Mierow (Brookfield/Central).
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The Warhawks took the lead in the top of the seventh as Power delivered again with an RBI single to break the tie, and senior third baseman
Adam Gregory (Edgerton/Edgerton) doubled the team's advantage with a bases-loaded walk.
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The Titans took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame with four unearned runs, and added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth.
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Power recorded his third RBI of the contest in the ninth, plating Chamberlain on a single to right.
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UW-Whitewater hosts St. Norbert this Saturday in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m. at Miller Stadium.