WHITEWATER, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh baseball team returned to the WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's) on Saturday (May 10) and needed to beat UW-Whitewater, the host and top seed, just once to win the second tournament title in program history. The Warhawks took wins of 6-3 and 11-4 to claim the crown.
 
UW-Oshkosh (31-12), ranked No. 25 in Division III by D3baseball.com and No. 23 by the American Baseball Coaches Association, reached its eighth championship game by defeating UW-La Crosse, 15-4, in eight innings on Thursday (May 8) and UW-Platteville, 15-5, in seven innings on Friday (May 9).
 
UW-Whitewater (37-5), ranked second nationally in both polls, reached its 17th championship game through the elimination game. The Warhawks lost, 6-3, to UW-Platteville on Thursday. In their Friday games, they defeated UW-La Crosse, 6-5, and Platteville, 13-0.
 
Oshkosh earned the right to play as the home team in the first game by reaching the championship games without a loss and the Warhawks played as the visiting team. Whitewater was the home team in the second game.
 
The Titans started Josh Jansen (DeForest/DeForest) on the mound in the first game, who threw nine innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out nine batters during his outing, including all three batters he faced in the fifth inning. Ryan Richter (Waukesha/Waukesha West) tossed the 10th inning and faced the first four batters of the 11th. He gave up six hits for three runs.
 
Jake Surane (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) and Owen Housinger (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Stevenson) each had two hits including a double in the opener and Jack McNamara (La Grange, Ill./Lyons) went 1-for-4 with a walk, a double, and two RBIs.
 
The Warhawks took a first-inning lead on a fielder's choice, but Housinger and Brenden Max (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) singled in the second inning and advanced to second and third when Mason Kirchberg (DeForest/DeForest) flew out to center field. Jack McNamara (La Grange, Ill./Lyons) sent both runners home with a double to right center.
 
After a pair of scoreless innings, Oshkosh extended its lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Jack McKellips (Oshkosh/Lourdes Academy) pinch hit for Nick Shiu (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) and knocked a solo home run.
 
Jansen held Whitewater to just 10 batters across the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, but a solo home run in the seventh inning brought the score within a run. In the ninth, Jansen forced a groundout and fanned his ninth batter of the game for the first two outs, but a Warhawk reached on a single and eventually tied the game at 3-3.
 
The Titans had a chance to walk the game off in the ninth when McNamara walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and to third on another, but the Warhawks got out of the inning and stranded him 90 feet from home.
 
Richter allowed a single to his first batter of the 10th inning, but a relay home from right field got him out at the plate for the first out. The Warhawks went down on a line out and a groundout to keep the score tied.
 
Whitewater scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning on a pair of singles and stranded Surane on third base to force the second championship game.
 
Connor Walters (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) threw the first 5.1 innings of game two. He struck out three batters against six runs (five earned) on seven hits, two walks, and three hit batters. Nick Rector (Sewell, N.J./Clearview Regional) threw 0.1 innings in the sixth, allowing three hits for a run and struck out one. UW-Oshkosh's third pitcher of the game was Parker Thompson (Wauwatosa/Wauwatosa East), who threw 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on three hits. Michael Hughes (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) finished the final inning, allowing a hit and a walk for a run.
 
Surane led the Titans with two hits while Max recorded a run and two RBIs on 1-for-4 with a walk at the plate.
 
UW-Whitewater jumped ahead in the third inning on a solo home run and added six runs in the sixth inning for a commanding 7-0 edge.
 
Oshkosh got on the board in the top of the seventh inning. Kirchberg doubled down the left field line before scoring on a single through the left side of the infield for Max. Max tallied the second run when Surane hit a single and advanced to second base on a fielding error.
 
The Warhawks reached double digits in the bottom half of the seventh with a run on an error and a two-run home run. They scored their 11th run in the eighth inning on a groundout.
 
In the top of the ninth inning, McKellips singled and scored when Logan Schill (Pewaukee/Pewaukee) tripled, and Schill scored on a groundout by Max for the second out of the inning. Whitewater recorded the third out the following at-bat and earned the WIAC's automatic bid to the national championship.
 
The Titans look forward to the NCAA Division III Championship as a potential at-large bid. They have made 25 NCAA postseason appearances since 1979, most recently in 2018 where they reached the regional championship game.