OSHKOSH, Wis.- Carter Stebane's walk off RBI single punctuated the first of UW-Oshkosh's two wins over UW-Platteville on Friday (March 28). The Titans defeated the Pioneers by scores of 8-7 and 8-4 to complete their third season sweep of Platteville in five seasons.
 
Receiving votes from both the D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association polls this week, the Titans (13-3, 4-0 WIAC) registered 25 hits across the pair of Friday games including eight extra-base hits and five home runs.
 
Nick Shiu (Sr. • Gurnee, Ill.) paced Oshkosh by hitting 5-for-9 with a walk and a two-run home run while tallying four RBIs and three runs. Jake Surane (Grad. • Lincolnshire, Ill.) went 3-for-7 with two walks, a double, a two-run home run of his own, and a set of stolen bases.
 
The Pioneers jumped on game one starter Josh Jansen (Jr. • DeForest) early, scoring five runs in the first two innings of the day. UW-Oshkosh responded in the third and fourth innings by tallying six runs. Surane hit Logan Schill (So. • Pewaukee) in on a double in the third before Shiu scored Surane in the following at-bat.
 
After Jansen forced a double play and struck out a Pioneer in the top of the fourth, the Titan offense poured on four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Carter Stebane (Sr. • Brillion) lifted a leadoff home run to right center. Jack McNamara (Jr. • LaGrange, Ill.) later reached base on a single and home when Surane homered to right field to tie the game at five runs apiece. Zach Taylor (Grad. • Long Grove, Ill.) sent Shiu homer four batters later after Shiu singled.
 
Platteville tied the game on an RBI double in the fifth inning and reclaimed the edge by a run in the sixth after Jansen was relieved by Cooper Kamlay (Fr. • Franklin). Jansen finished his day with five innings pitched. He allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Kamlay pitched the following 3.1 innings and held the Pioneers scoreless while allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out two.
 
The Titans tied the game back up in the bottom of the sixth inning as McNamara crossed the plate on a Shiu groundout.
 
Neither team scored in the seventh or eighth innings and the score remained knotted up at 7-7. After a sacrifice bunt put a runner on third with one out in the top of the ninth inning, Nick Rector (Sr. • Sewell, N.J.) came in to pitch and fanned the next two batters to set up the Titans for a walk off victory.
 
Mason Kirchberg (Sr. • DeForest) led off the bottom half of the ninth with a single before Jack McKellips (Jr. • Oshkosh) came out to pinch run. McKellips moved to second on a Brenden Max (Jr. • Libertyville, Ill.) single and broke the tie on Stebane's single to left center.
 
Rector earned his second victory of the year.
 
Brett Gaynor (So. • Long Grove, Ill.) started on the mound in the finale and pitched eight innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits and a walk while tallying a strikeout. He was credited with the win and moved to a 1-1 season record.
 
After Gaynor held the Pioneers scoreless in the top of the first inning, Schill walked as the Titans' first batter of the contest. Shiu proceeded to hit his second home run of the season to put Oshkosh up 2-0 early.
 
Platteville got on the board in the second inning. Danny Connelly (So. • Mundelein, Ill.) walked and Schill was hit by a pitch to put two on base for Surane in the bottom half of the inning. Surane homered to make the score 5-0 and knock the Pioneers' starter out of the game.
 
The Pioneers crossed home once in the fourth and eighth innings and Oshkosh added a run in the sixth.
 
Schill got in on the home run parade in the bottom of the eighth with a lead off shot to right field and Shiu scored Oshkosh's eighth run on an RBI single by Taylor.
 
Aaron Huibregtse (Sr. • Oostburg) began the ninth inning on the mound for the Titans before being replaced by Rector after giving up a run. Again, Rector faced two batters and again, Rector recorded two straight outs by forcing a fielder's choice out at second and striking out a batter. He earned his first save of the year in his second appearance of the day.
 
The Titans host No. 14/13 UW-La Crosse (13-2, 4-0 WIAC) for a four-game series at Tiedemann Field next Saturday and Sunday (April 5-6) The first game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.