Jake Cook pitched seven strong innings to lead Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) to a 4-0 home win over the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh baseball team Friday (March 1) in Birmingham, Ala.
Cook allowed just four hits and struck out eight without issuing a walk on the way to improving his record to 2-1 on the season.
Birmingham-Southern College (6-4) supported Cook's outing with a run in the fifth inning, two more in the sixth and an insurance run in the eighth.
Cole Steadman went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and one run batted in for Birmingham-Southern College as the Panthers collected nine hits.
UW-Oshkosh (0-1), ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com, did not advance a runner past second base after the first inning of its season opener.
Titans starting pitcher Colan Treml suffered the loss, giving up three runs on seven hits across six innings. Treml, who compiled a 10-0 record last season, walked three and struck out one Friday.
UW-Oshkosh's Dylan Ott hit a one-out triple off of Cook in top of the first inning, but a pair of groundouts thwarted what turned out to be the Titans' best scoring opportunity of the game.
Cook and Treml were locked in a scoreless duel until the home half of the fifth inning, when Cory Price singled with one out and the bases loaded to provide the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers' two-run sixth frame was highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Brian Williams and a two-out, run-scoring single from Tyler Wise. They later capped the scoring on Steadman's RBI single in the eighth inning.
Cook pitched around a pair of one-out singles in the seventh inning by UW-Oshkosh's Zack Radde and Jensen Hinton by registering a pair of strikeouts to end his outing.
Panthers relief pitchers Robbie Lively and Paul Williamson preserved the shutout with hitless innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
UW-Oshkosh remains in Birmingham to play Adrian College (Mich.) and Birmingham-Southern College on Saturday (March 2).
Photo courtesy of Peggy Modaff