The Warhawk baseball team split with the UW-Oshkosh Titans for the second day in a row, winning the first game 8-3 and dropping the nightcap 8-6 in Prucha Field at James Miller Stadium Friday afternoon.
In game one Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill)'s third inning, two run double put UW-W on the board first, and Marty Herum (River Falls/River Falls) followed with a two out RBI single to put Whitewater in front 3-0. One inning later the Warhawks took advantage of two walks, and David Cladis (Joliet, IL/Joliet Catholic) produced a two out hit that upped the lead to 4-0.
UW-W's Kyle Stewart (Onalaska/Onalaska) sailed through the first six innings, giving up just four hits. Oshkosh turned that around in the seventh, combining a Warhawk error with a single, a sacrifice and a balk for one run, and Kyle Van Abel singled in another to cut Whitewater's lead in half, 4-2.
Whitewater put a little insurance on the scoreboard in the eighth, scoring four times on five hits. Jared Fon (Germantown) led off with a triple and Herum singled him in. Herum moved up on a Matt Beyer (Janesville/Parker) single and scored on Dylan Friend (Burlington/Burlington)'s fielder's choice. Mike Mierow (Brookfield/Central)'s double put runners at second and third, and pinch-hitter Steve Bartein came through with a two-run single and give the Warhawks an 8-2 lead going into the ninth.
Van Abel homered to left field in the Oshkosh ninth for the final tally of the game.
Stewart picked up the win to move his record to 5-0, and Tom Kerndt (Lansing, IA/Lansing) went the final 1.1 to earn a save. UW-O used four pitchers in the game. Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill) and Herum led the Warhawk offense with two hits and two RBI's each. Van Able, Brock Guetzke, and Derek Layton had two hits apiece for the Titans.
Game Two
The Titans put the first run on the board in the top of the first with a leadoff walk that came around to score on a one-out double to right center.
The Warhawks evened the score in their half of the inning. With two outs, Jared Fon (Germantown) doubled to left field and scored on Herum's single to right center.
UW-O jumpstarted their offense in the top of the second scoring four runs and four hits, all with two outs. Three of the four runs crossed the plate on one hit, a double to right field and the fourth scored on a single.
The Titans added a run in the top of the fourth and again in the top of the fifth to make their lead 7-1.
UW-W narrowed the gap with two more in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back walks followed by a fielder's choice put runners on the corners with JT Schneider (Oak Creek/Oak Creek) up to bat. Schneider notched a double to left center to score both Warhawk runners and bring the score to 7-3.
A sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh saw another Oshkosh runner cross the plate to make their lead 8-3.
UW-W made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Fon was hit by a pitch. The next batter, Herum, was also hit. Beyer followed with a single that loaded the bases. Friend emptied the bags with a triple to cut the Oshkosh lead to 8-6, but Titan hurler Troy Mrkvicka struck out the final batter to preserve the win.
James Lacey, 1-2, picked up the win with six innings of work. Aaron Leitner (Chilton/Chilton), 1-1 and the first of five Warhawk pitchers, took the loss. Schneider, Fon, Beyer and Friend had two hits each for UW-W. DH Jake Dostalek and shortstop Michael Polcyn both had three hits for the Titans.
UW-Oshkosh is 8-11 overall and 4-4 in the WIAC.
UW-W, 11-6 and 2-2 in league play, will play at UW-Platteville Wednesday, April 11. The next home doubleheader will be Saturday, April 14 at noon with UW-Stout visiting Prucha at Miller.
For additional information: John Vodenlich, UW-W coach
