UW-Oshkosh ran its winning streak to nine games after tallying two baseball victories over The University of Scranton (Pa.) on Saturday (March 26) in Fort Myers, Fla.
The Titans (9-1) jumped ahead early and posted a 6-3 triumph in the opener. Game two featured a six-run fifth frame as UW-Oshkosh pulled away, 14-6. Troy Mrkvicka (Jr. • Glendale) appeared in both wins and retired the final 11 batters he faced, notching a save in game one.
Nolan Fadness (Sr. • Eau Claire) got the first contest started with a triple to right field. He came home before Jake Dostalek (Fr. • Waterford) made it a 2-0 cushion on a run-scoring single. During the second inning, Tyler Kamps (So. • Appleton) drove in a pair of runs with a double.
The University of Scranton (6-10) only recorded hits in the third and fifth innings. The fifth at-bat contained three of those, with Chris Stallone's single plating two Royals and David Giglio's single accounting for their final tally.
Alex Mullendore (Jr. • Glendale Heights, Ill.) and Derek Hiroskey (Sr. • Kimberly) each booked an RBI for UW-Oshkosh during the seventh frame to make it 6-3. Luke Westphal (Jr. • Clintonville) captured the victory, striking out nine batters and allowing three earned runs in 4.1 frames. Mrkvicka tossed the last 2.2 innings and yielded just one hit.
The Royals' loss went to Matt Mosko, who fired all seven frames and surrendered six earned runs on 11 hits. Stallone paced Scranton with two base hits as it faced UW-Oshkosh for the first time.
Game two started with a bang again as Fadness walked and stole two bases. Dostalek tacked on another RBI single as the Titans made it 3-0. In the fourth frame, Fadness drilled a two-run single for a 5-3 cushion.
Scranton posted one run in the third, two in the fourth and three more in the seventh. Stallone and Anthony Duchnowski each marked a run-scoring single, while Sean Butler came up with a pinch-hit, two-run double. Michael Amaturo was the only Royal with multiple hits, gaining two of his squad's 12.
Hiroskey added to the Titans' lead with RBI on a walk and a double. The other big contributor was Doug Beattie (So. • Escanaba, Mich.), who smacked a three-run double during the fifth inning and a run-scoring single during the sixth.
Mrkvicka hurled two perfect frames after Andrew Murphy (So. • Suamico) took the win with four innings of three-run (one earned) ball. Giglio was charged with six ER, along with three walks, to get the loss after 4.1 innings. Thomas Sheehan followed and didn't get a man out while allowing three runs.
UW-Oshkosh's home opener at Tiedemann Field is scheduled for Tuesday (March 29) against St. Norbert College.