University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Athletics

LA CROSSE, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh baseball opened its final series of the regular season with an 8-3 win over UW-La Crosse at Copeland Park on Friday (May 1) before falling, 4-1, in the nightcap.
 
The Titans (16-21, 12-14 WIAC) kept their WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's) hope alive with the win and will have to win one more game than UW-River Falls in its home doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (May 2) to qualify for the four-team tournament.
 
Oshkosh snapped a five-game regular season losing streak to the Eagles (28-10, 19-7 WIAC), outhitting the hosts, 11-9, in the opener, led by Brenden Max's (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) 3-for-5 game with three RBI. Aaron Davis (Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South) hit a double and scored a run while Gavin Persson (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) hit his third home run of the season with a solo shot in the sixth inning.
 
Josh Jansen (DeForest/DeForest) improved his season record to 3-5 with a seven-inning outing that gave up two unearned runs on five hits and three walks. He fanned a season-high nine batters, including five straight between the final two outs of the first inning and all three second-inning batters.
 
Ryan Richter (Waukesha/Waukesha West) and Ben Buehring (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) closed out the win with one inning of work apiece. Richter worked around a pair of two-out hits in the eighth inning with three strikeouts and Buehring punched out all three Eagles he faced after relieving Richter in the ninth frame.
 
Between the three pitchers, Oshkosh stranded 12 La Crosse runners on base.
 
Oshkosh opened the scoring in the third inning with Gavin Persson (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and Jack McNamara (La Grange, Ill./Lyons) scoring on a Logan Schill (Pewaukee/Pewaukee) single through the left side of the infield. Trevor Morris (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) made the score 3-0 with a sacrifice bunt that scored Owen Housinger (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Stevenson) in the following plate appearance.
 
La Crosse closed the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom half of the inning, scoring on an error and a groundout.
 
The Titans scored one run in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings on two Max RBI singles, a Cullen Kirchberg (DeForest/DeForest) sacrifice fly and Persson's home run.
 
After the Eagles scored their third run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, Kirchberg drew a two-out walk in the top of the ninth. He advanced to second base when Davis was hit by a pitch and scored when Max recorded his third RBI single.
 
La Crosse opened the home half of the ninth with back-to-back singles, chasing Richter. Buehring made quick work of the next three Eagles however, putting them down in order on strikes.
 
Four Eagles collected two hits in game one and Keegan Fleischman tallied a pair of runs.
 
Eagles starter AJ Curtis fell to 4-3 on the season after pitching five innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits, a walk and a hit batter against three strikeouts.
 
Oshkosh was held to four hits in Friday's second game, leaving three runners on base while striking out a season-high 14 times.
 
Braydon Skenandore (De Pere/West De Pere) was the only Titan with more than one hit in the contest, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run. He put Oshkosh in scoring position in the second inning when he reached third base after roping a leadoff single to center field but was left 90 feet from home.
 
Neither team put a runner on third again until Oshkosh starter Brett Gaynor (Long Grove, Ill./Stevenson) stranded three runners on base in the fifth inning with two strikeouts and a lineout to maintain the 0-0 tie.
 
The Eagles broke the scoreless tie in the sixth inning on a sacrifice bunt, but the lead was short-lived as Skenandore led off the seventh with a double, advanced to third on Kirchberg's sacrifice bunt, and scored on a balk.
 
La Crosse reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the seventh inning, scoring on an RBI single and a two-RBI single.
 
Gaynor (3-1) was assigned his first loss of the season after going 6.1 innings and striking out six batters while allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits, five walks and a hit batter.
 
Benje Hencke (De Pere/West De Pere) finished the remaining 1.2 innings with a strikeout against two hits.
 
Owen Deprez improved to 7-1 on the year for La Crosse, tossing seven innings and allowing a run on four hits and a walk. He accounted for 11 of the Eagles' 14 strikeouts.
 
Austin Olla picked up his third save after fanning three Titans across two innings.
 
The Titans and Eagles will tangle again on Saturday (May 2) in games scheduled for noon and 3 p.m.