The No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team recorded back-to-back shutouts Tuesday to sweep UW-Oshkosh in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader in Oshkosh, Wis.
The Warhawks (16-1 overall, 6-0 WIAC) won the first game 8-0 and took the nightcap by a 4-0 count to extend their win streak to 14 games. The team received standout starting pitching performances from junior right-hander Curtis Morgan and senior lefty Colin Grove.
In the first game, UW-Whitewater tallied 14 hits and held the Titans (9-9, 1-5), who entered the day averaging 7.2 runs per game, scoreless.
Morgan and sophomore lefty John Olejniczak combined to allow just seven hits in the contest. Morgan (3-0) struck out three in six innings of work, and Olejniczak struck out four over the final three innings to earn his second save of the year.
Senior second baseman Nick Kuhlmann and sophomore designated hitter Steve Chamberlain each knocked in two runs to lead the offense. Senior first baseman Casey Power and senior catcher Mike Mierow registered three hits apiece.
Morgan escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the bottom of the first, inducing a 5-4-3 double play to end the frame.
The Warhawks were the first on the board as Chamberlain drove a run-scoring single to center field in the top of the third.
UW-Whitewater increased its lead to 4-0 with a three-run fourth inning. Four batters after senior third baseman Adam Gregory scored on a balk, Kuhlmann knocked a two-run single to left.
The Warhawks tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth. Senior left fielder Kyle Haen made it 5-0 in the top of the fifth with a two-out base hit. Chamberlain drove in another run in the sixth with a single to right field.
Power doubled in a run in the eighth, and UW-Whitewater added another run in the ninth on a groundout by freshman right fielder Kevin White.
In Game 2, Grove stymied the UW-Oshkosh lineup, tossing a complete-game three-hitter to improve his unblemished mark to 5-0. He walked just one batter and struck out seven in his first career complete game and shutout. Grove didn't allow a hit until there was one out bottom of the seventh inning.
Pierce and Gregory each finished with two extra-base hits and reached base three times to lead the offense.
Pierce put the Warhawks on the board in the top of the first with a solo home run, his sixth of the season.
Gregory scored on a double play ground ball in the fourth to double the UW-Whitewater lead, and hit a two-out single in the eighth to make it 3-0.
Freshman left fielder Kyle Jones hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth to account for the final margin. Grove allowed two singles to start the bottom half of the frame, but induced a fly-out and a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.
UW-Whitewater resumes action Thursday at Ripon. First pitch of the non-conference doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.