As a result of the lingering winter and the ongoing field issues at UW-Superior, the Yellowjacket baseball team was forced to hit the road to play their first home game of the 2013 season, taking on UW-Oshkosh at Tiedemann Field, the Titans' home. And when all was said and done, it was a day worth forgetting for the Yellowjackets.
The lumber was rolling for the nationally-ranked Titans on Saturday, as they cranked out 41 hits on the day, on their way to sweeping the Yellowjackets in convincing fashion.
Game 1
Oshkosh 20, Yellowjackets 2
Box Score
In the first game Oshkosh pounded out 19 hits, seven of which were doubles as they jumped ahead early and routed the Yellowjackets.
After a scoreless first inning the Titans scored four times in the top of the second to grab the early lead. The Yellowjackets got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the inning when Tony Remund (Andover, Minn./Coon Rapids) walked and Brady Flaherty (Balsam Lake, Wis./Unity) doubled to put two runners in scoring position. A wild pitch brought home Remund and later in the inning Wyatt Soderquist (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Flaherty to make it 4-2 after two.
Unfortunately, the Yellowjackets were done scoring in the game and the Titans were just getting started.
In the top of the third the Titans sent 11 men to the plate, six of which scored, to blow the game open. With only three hits in the inning, the biggest being a two-run double by Tyler Kamps, the Titans used three Yellowjacket errors in the frame to build a 10-2 edge.
Jake Lewis (Proctor, Minn./Proctor) relieved starter Alex Beers (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) in the top of the fourth inning and did a good job holding the Titans at bay. After a scoreless fourth inning, Oshkosh added two runs in the fifth to push the lead to ten. Lewis and the Yellowjackets bounced back, blanking the Titans in the sixth.
Lewis was lifted to start the seventh inning and the Titans pounced, tacking on eight more runs in the frame against two Yellowjacket pitchers. Four of the seven hits in the inning for Oshkosh were extra base hits, including a double and a triple by Michael Polcyn.
The Yellowjackets went quietly in their half of the seventh, bring the game to a conclusion because of the run rule.
Soderquist, Flaherty and TJ Evanson (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) had the only three hits of the game for the Yellowjackets.
Beers got the start and was tagged with the loss, giving up ten runs (four earned) on nine hits in three innings. Lewis gave up two earned runs on two hits in three innings of relief. He had a walk and four strikeouts. Seth Wage (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) and Matt Vold (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) teamed up to pitch the seventh for the Yellowjackets.
The top four hitters in the Oshkosh lineup - Doug Beattie, Polcyn, Kamps and Michael Swift all had three hits in the game. Polcyn scored four runs and Kamps scored three times and drove in six. All nine starters had at least one hit in the game for the Titans.
Travis Sindles was the winning pitcher, improving to 4-0 after giving up two runs on three hits in five innings of work.
Game 2
Oshkosh 21, Yellowjackets 5
Box Score
As good offensively as the Titans were in the first game, they were even better in the second game of the day, pounding out a season-best 22 hits to once again rout the Yellowjackets.
And extra base hits were once again the order of the day, as the Titans stroked 13 for extras, including five that cleared the fence at Tiedemann Field. All five home runs were two-run shots.
After scoring eight runs in the final inning of the first game, the Titans accomplished the feat again in the first inning of the second game to make it a laugher early. Bobby Kachel and Beattie each homered in the first as Oshkosh knocked out seven hits and jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
The Yellowjackets got a run back in the bottom of the first. Robbie Veith (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) singled to lead off the inning and went to second on a throwing error. He went to third on a single by Soderquist and scored on Evanson's ground out to make it 8-1.
Oshkosh got a two-run homer from Zac Peterson in the top of the second to make it 10-1. The Yellowjackets answered in the bottom of the inning when Flaherty led off with a double and Casey Dittel (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) was hit by a pitch. With two outs Soderquist doubled to center field, plating both runners and Evanson followed with a single, scoring Soderquist to make it 10-4.
The Titans got a run back in the top of the third to make it 11-4, then added four more in the top of the fifth, paced by Polcyn's two-run homer to stretch the lead to 15-4. It was more of the same in the top of the sixth as the Titans added six more runs to the ledger, two of them coming on Peterson's second home run of the game to push the score to 21-4.
In the bottom of the seventh the Yellowjackets scored their final run of the game, as Soderquist came home on a wild pitch, to make the final score 21-5.
Soderquist led the way in the second game for the Yellowjackets, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Evanson also drove in a pair. Veith was the only other Yellowjacket with a multiple hit game, going 2-for-4. As a team the Yellowjackets had 10 hits.
Kyle Gauger (Spooner, Wis./Spooner) got the start and pitched just an inning-and-a-third, giving up 10 runs (five earned) on nine hits. He gave way to Aaron Martin (Hayward, Wis./Hayward) who pitched three innings of relief. Martin allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits with two strikeouts in three innings. Shawn Lanners (Buckman, Minn./Royalton) and Brandon Jeffery (Kenosha, Wis./Bradford) each pitched an inning-and-a-third.
Beattie had another big game for the Titans, going 4-for-6 with four RBI and three runs scored. Peterson was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI and Kachel was 5-for-5 with two runs scored and five RBI.
Brock Guetzke got the win in relief, pitching five innings and giving up one run while scattering four hits. He is now 2-2 on the year.
The Yellowjackets (12-5, 5-7 WIAC) and the Titans will play the third and fourth games of their series on Sunday, April 21. First pitch from Tiedemann Field is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.