Superb bullpen pitching and Bobby Kachel's (Sr. • La Crosse) clutch home run gave UW-Oshkosh a sweep of UW-Platteville on Saturday (May 4) at Tiedemann Field.

Brock Guetzke (Sr. • Hartford) allowed just one run in 6.2 relief innings as the Titans came back for a 9-6 opener victory. Kachel then ripped a solo homer in the eighth inning to take the second game, 4-3.

UW-Platteville (10-26/5-15) got out to a 5-1 lead in the first contest. Tyler Jacobson knocked in two runs with a sacrifice fly during the second inning. Zach Demmon added a two-run blast in the third for the four-run advantage.

The Titans (21-10/10-8 WIAC) slowly chipped away with RBI singles from Michael Polcyn (So. • Ripon), Kachel and Doug Beattie (Sr. • Escanaba, Mich.) to make it 6-5.

Michael Swift (So. • Kenosha) doubled to begin a four-run rally in the fifth. Beattie smacked another run-scoring single before Tyler Kamps (Sr. • Appleton) hit a RBI single that put UW-Oshkosh ahead, 9-6.

The loss went to Bill Oppriecht, who allowed nine runs (six earned) in the first 4.2 innings. UW-Oshkosh starter Travis Sindles (Jr. • Twin Lakes) surrendered five runs over 2.1 frames.

UW-Oshkosh did not commit an error in either game. The nightcap was a low-scoring affair, with each team marking once in the third frame.

During the fourth, Swift tripled into the gap to take the lead. Robbie Kleman (Fr. • Oshkosh) followed with a RBI single for a 3-1 margin that stood until the seventh.

The Pioneers marked four straight singles in the seventh, using Ryan Duva's hit to tie the score at 3. Ian Zahn (So. • Fond du Lac) then came in to pitch and tossed three scoreless innings for the win.

Kachel led off the bottom of the eighth and clobbered a line drive over the LF wall for the winning tally.

Adam Theis (loss) went all eight frames, allowing four ER on eight hits. UW-Oshkosh had James Lacy (Jr. • Shawano) yield three runs in the first six innings.

Polcyn totaled a double and a single while extending his hit streak to 13 games.

The Pioneers were led by Bobby Patton, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

UW-Oshkosh has its final home date of the year against UW-Platteville on Sunday (May 5).

By Jon Feyen