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Titans Open 2012 Season Against Tough Minnesota Competition

Box Score

UW-Oshkosh begins its 57th baseball season by playing a pair of NCAA Division III postseason qualifiers from a year ago.

The Titans meet Hamline University (Minn.) for a 5 p.m. doubleheader on Monday (March 12) and the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) for a 11:45 a.m. twinbill on Tuesday (March 13). All games will be played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.

Hamline University owns a 4-5 record after losing a 3-2, 16-inning marathon to NCAA Division I University of Minnesota on Wednesday (March 7). The Pipers, a first-time opponent of UW-Oshkosh, also split a doubleheader with UW-Stout on Feb. 27.

Last season, Hamline University compiled a 29-15 record and advanced to the regional round of the NCAA Division III Championship after winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Tournament.

The University of St. Thomas is ranked 25th in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com. The Tommies saw their record go to 4-2 with a split of a doubleheader with UW-Whitewater on Thursday (March 8). The University of St. Thomas also split a pair of contests with UW-La Crosse on March 5.

Last year, the University of St. Thomas tallied a 28-18 record, won its ninth straight MIAC title and qualified for the regional round of the NCAA Division III Championship. The Tommies, who are 10-10 against UW-Oshkosh, captured NCAA Division III titles in 2001 and 2009.

UW-Oshkosh returns 12 lettermen, including six position starters, from last year's team that posted a 25-14-record and finished third in the WIAC. The top offensive returnee for the Titans is shortstop Tyler Kamps (Jr. • Appleton) and second baseman Kyle Van Abel (Sr. • Kaukauna). Kamps earned All-WIAC first team honors a year ago after hitting .325 with 15 doubles and 38 runs batted in. Van Abel hit a team-leading .333 with eight doubles and 12 runs batted in.

Highlighting the list of returning pitchers is left-hander Luke Westphal (Sr. • Clintonville). Westphal earned NCAA Division III All-America second team honors last season after registering a 7-0 record and a 1.34 earned run average in 60.1 innings pitched. The Titans, who claimed NCAA Division III titles in 1985 and 1994, return two other pitchers who started contests a year ago.