WHITEWATER, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh baseball made its first appearance in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday (May 23) having scored 62 runs across its first four games of the national tournament. The Titans' opponent was conference foe UW-Whitewater, which held them to a first-inning run while scoring 14 times.
 
UW-Oshkosh (34-14) recorded five hits at Prucha Field with four coming in the first three innings while UW-Whitewater (42-5) had 19 hits and scored multiple runs in four innings.
 
Connor Brinkman (New London/New London) (7-3) was Oshkosh's starting pitcher for the first game of the Super Regional. He threw four innings and struck out four batters while allowing 10 runs on 10 hits and four walks. Brinkman fanned two Warhawks in the three-batter third inning.
 
Michael Hughes (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) came in after Brinkman allowed two batters on base in the fifth inning. He allowed three runs on four hits, a walk, and a hit batter before Aaron Huibregtse (Oostburg/Oostburg) finished the game with three innings of work. He scattered five hits and walked one batter while the Warhawks scored once off him.
 
Jack McNamara (La Grange, Ill./Lyons) notched his 15th multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-3 day at the plate on Thursday. Nick Shiu (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) joined McNamara with two trips to first base by recording a single and being hit by a pitch. Jake Surane (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) and Zach Taylor (Long Grove, Ill./Stevenson) rounded out Oshkosh's hits with a single each.
 
The Warhawks got two quick outs to start the game before Surane and Taylor knocked back-to-back base hits. Surane advanced to third on Taylor's single and scored on a wild pitch over the Warhawk catcher's head. Whitewater tied the contest at a run apiece in the bottom half of the inning with a two-out run of its own.
 
After a three up-three down top half of the second inning, Whitewater added four runs to its lead with an RBI single and a three-run home run.
 
McNamara led off the Oshkosh half of the third inning by beating out a single up the middle of the infield and moved to second on a single that careened off the third base bag by Shiu, but both were left stranded on consecutive strikeouts for Warhawk pitcher Cade Hansen.
 
Brinkman earned his first looking strikeout for the first out of the bottom of the third, induced a weak groundout back to him for the second, and sat down the third out swinging to record all three outs in order.
 
The Warhawks scored three runs on four hits and a walk to lead 8-1 headed into the fifth inning and registered three more across the fifth for an 11-1 edge past the halfway mark.
 
UW-Oshkosh got its last baserunner in the sixth inning when Shiu drew a hit by pitch and advanced a base on groundouts by Surane and Taylor. A third groundout stranded him at third base and the Titans went down in order in each of the next three innings.
 
UW-Whitewater scored its final three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI single and a pair of RBI fielder's choices. Huibregtse stranded two Warhawks on base when he induced a groundout to Housinger at third base for the third out.
 
The Warhawks got on base in the seventh inning and threatened to score again until Surane threw to McNamara from center field to catch a runner dashing home. A double play for the Titans ended the eighth frame with no runners left on.
 
The Titans and Warhawks will face again on Saturday (May 24) at 11 a.m. with the 'if necessary' game three scheduled to start approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of game two.