The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team split a doubleheader series against Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Thursday night. The Warhawks (18-1, 9-1 WIAC) rallied hits together for a 9-2 victory in the first game, but saw their historic winning streak end as the Titans (14-8, 5-5 WIAC) managed the 6-3 victory in the second game. The Warhawks 18 game win streak to open the season ties the best start in program history (18 wins to start the 2005 season).
The first game started out defensively, as each team had a few hits, but were unable to rally anything together until UWW broke the scoreless tie with a four-run surge in the third.
Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) led off with a triple to left center and was brought home by
Matt Scolan's (Downers Grove, Ill./South) double in the next at bat.
Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) added another RBI with a single, and
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) walked to load the bases. A fielder's choice by Daryl Jackson allowed Frank to score, and
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) had an RBI double to cap off the four-run, four-hit inning.
UWW extended their lead in the fourth inning with a two-run homer by Cootway to left center field.
The Titans put up twice in the sixth inning to end the shutout, two doubles to start things off gave the Titans a short rally to close the gap to four.
UWW answered in the eighth inning with three more runs. A lead-off walk then single for Holland and Scolan put two runners on with no outs. Frank singled up the middle and went for two after a fielding error. Holland and Scolan both scored on the play. Cootway followed it up, driving in Frank and making it 9-2.
Oshkosh put two in scoring position in the top of the ninth, but the Warhawks got out of it, securing the 9-2 victory.
Max Huseboe (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) took the win after going 5.2 innings, allowing two runs, one of which was earned, on nine hits while striking out seven and walking one.
Scolan went a perfect five-for-five from the plate for UWW in game one, adding a double and driving in one run. He also scored three times and stole a base.
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Heading to game two, UW-Oshkosh opened up with an early lead with 2-runs in the second inning. The Titans rallied a walk and two hits, scoring on a double-steal attempt for the 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, UWW closed on the gap, the Warhawks scored their first on Frank's sacrifice fly to bring in
Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point).
The Titans answered back with a two-RBI double in the fourth, giving a three-run cushion. The Warhawks kept getting on base, but were unable to rally any in to chip away at the lead.
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) drove in a run in the sixth to close the game to 4-2. The Warhawks used the momentum of a quick 7th and 8th inning to close the gap to just one run in the 8th.
Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) hit a ground-rule double, with Paden later sending him in to make it 4-3.
Despite UWW's attempts to close the gap, the Titans added two more runs in the ninth with some small ball hitting. Holland got on base with a double in the bottom of the frame, but was left stranded after the defensive pays from UW-Oshkosh.
The Warhawks will face the Titans in the second half of the conference series on April 23r in Oshkosh.
Next up on the schedule, UW-Whitewater will take on 8th-ranked UW-La Crosse in a weekend series. The Warhawks and Eagles will rematch last year's NCAA Super Regional on Prucha Field on Saturday and Sunday in the four game series.
