UW-Oshkosh bounced back from a first-round defeat to advance in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Tournament on Friday (May 11) in La Crosse. The Titans will play 16th-ranked UW-La Crosse or UW-Whitewater (29-13) in an elimination game at 1 p.m. on Saturday (May 12).
In the tournament's first contest, Tim Verthein fired an eight-inning shutout during UW-La Crosse's 10-0 victory. Michael Polcyn (Fr. • Ripon) then posted two clutch extra-base hits to help UW-Oshkosh post a 5-3 win over UW-Stevens Point. The decision knocked the 25th-ranked Pointers (27-15) out of the tournament.
The Titans (15-22) owned plenty of opportunities against the Eagles (31-9). In the first frame, they had three consecutive men reach base before hitting into a double play. UW-Oshkosh later put two men on during the third, fourth, seventh and eighth innings.
In the second, UW-La Crosse gained a 2-0 lead with run-scoring hits from Corey Geary and Cole Cefalu. After a solo homer by Jay Fanta in the fourth, Brooks Braga crushed a three-run shot to make it 6-0 in the fifth.
The Eagles tallied two more runs on an error in the sixth. Geary added a run-scoring single to finish the contest with two runs scored and two RBI.
Both pitchers went the distance, with Verthein allowing five hits and five walks with five strikeouts. James Lacy (So. • Shawano) took the loss with five earned runs on 10 hits.
UW-Oshkosh got its zero off the board quickly against UW-Stevens Point. In the opening frame, Kyle Van Abel (Sr. • Kaukauna) drilled a solo homer over the left-field wall.
Each of the next three innings featured one run. The Pointers tied the score on Jimmy Coady's single in the second. Polcyn then doubled home one to put the Titans back on top. During the fourth, Justin Jirschele connected for a home run down the right-field line to make it 2-2.
That score remained until the bottom of the seventh, when UW-Oshkosh marked three times with two men out. Following two singles, Tyler Kamps (Jr. • Appleton) lifted a sacrifice fly for the lead. Polcyn came up next and ripped a two-run triple to center for the 5-2 margin.
UW-Stevens Point earned its final score on an eighth-inning double from Ryan Schilter. Casey Barnes led all Pointers with his three-hit game.
Van Abel compiled three runs and two hits, as UW-Oshkosh's 1-4 batters combined for eight hits.
Luke Westphal (Sr. • Clintonville) struck out 10 men, while yielding three runs on 10 hits, for the victory. The loss went to Ryan Iverson, who surrendered three runs over 2.2 frames.