OSHKOSH, Wis.- Brett Gaynor recorded the 12th no-hitter in the UW-Oshkosh baseball program's history on Thursday (April 17) during the Titans' doubleheader wins over UW-River Falls at Tiedemann Field.
UW-Oshkosh (10-8, 11-5 WIAC) extended its winning streak to seven games by defeating the Falcons (11-20, 4-12 WIAC) in seven-inning scores of 11-1 and 12-0. The Titans tallied 26 hits between the two games, 12 in the first and 14 in the second and held the Falcons to five hits in the first game. Oshkosh stole 12 bases on the day, led by four for Carter Stebane (Sr. • Brillion) including three in the first game and was awarded first 13 times on 11 walks and two hit by pitches. River Falls recorded eight errors across the doubleheader, including six in the first game.
The Titans, receiving votes in the D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association polls this week, entered Thursday with a 26-5 all-time record against the Falcons. The teams first meet in 1969 and last met in 2002 before River Falls' program was discontinued between the 2003 and 2024 seasons.
In his ninth career start, Gaynor (So. • Long Grove, Ill.) threw just 85 pitches to earn his first career shutout and his first complete game. Gaynor (3-2) retired 20 of the 21 batters he faced and struck out six batters, including two in the sixth inning.
The no-hitter was the 12th in program history and the first since Chris Atwood no-hit former WIAC affiliate Finlandia University (Mich.) on March 31, 2019. It is also the 14th in Division III, the sixth solo, and the first thrown by a WIAC pitcher this season. The last WIAC pitcher to record a no-hitter was UW-La Crosse's Tyler Schmitt against UW-Platteville on April 4, 2023.
The only Falcon to reach base was Tanner Hraby in the fourth inning on an error by Stebane. Hraby later made the third out of the inning when he was caught attempting to steal second base.
Logan Schill (So. • Pewaukee) led Oshkosh at the plate in the second game, going 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and three RBIs. Owen Housinger (Jr. • Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) also sent in three RBIs and scored two runs on 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.
UW-Oshkosh jumped on the board with seven runs in the first inning of the nightcap. Schill was hit by the first Falcon pitch of the game and stole second base before scoring on a Jake Surane (Grad. • Lincolnshire, Ill.) single through the left side of the infield. Zach Taylor (Grad. • Long Grove, Ill.) sent Surane home two batters later with a single of his own. Mason Kirchberg (Sr. • DeForest), who was also hit by a pitch in the opening frame, tallied Oshkosh's third run when Braydon Skenandore (So. • De Pere) reached first on a fielder's choice. Housinger cleared the bases with a two-run triple and scored when Schill singled in his second plate appearance of the inning to make the score 6-0. Jack McNamara (Jr. • LaGrange, Ill.) reached home for the seventh run on an infield single by Nick Shiu (Sr. • Gurnee, Ill.).
In the fourth inning, Skenandore and McNamara both recorded an RBI single and Schill knocked in two runs with a double to left center.
Oshkosh's final run of the day was scored in the fifth inning when Kirchberg moved home on a bases loaded walk by Housinger.
Gaynor forced back-to-back groundouts for the first two outs of the seventh inning and a fly out to Shiu in right field to complete the no-hitter.
The Titans' starting pitcher in the series opener was Josh Jansen (Jr. • DeForest). He tossed seven innings, his second complete game of the year, striking out three batters against one run on five hits and a walk.
On top of drawing a pair of walks, Skenandore hit 2-for-2 in the first game with a triple, two runs and three RBIs. Stebane tallied three runs in the contest while going 1-for-3 with a walk, three runs, and an RBI.
Schill was awarded a leadoff walk in the first inning, moving to second on a Shiu single and home when Surane singled as the third batter. After Shiu tallied another run on a fielding error by the Falcons' left fielder, Surane crossed the plate on an error and Stebane made the score 4-0 on a Skenandore single.
The Falcons scored their only run on a single in the top of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Stebane drew a leadoff walk and stole second before stealing third and scoring on an errant throw down the line by the catcher. Skenandore walked, moved to second on a Housinger walk, and third on a McNamara sacrifice bunt before putting Oshkosh up 6-1 when Schill singled through the left side.
The Titans earned the shortened-inning walk off win in the seventh. Stebane sent Surane home on a single, Kirchberg scored on a Skenandore triple, Skenandore made the score 10-1 when Housinger singled, and when McNamara flew out to left field with an out, Housinger darted home to increase the edge to 10 runs.
The Titans and Falcons will face again for a doubleheader on Saturday (April 19) at Tiedemann Field.