Offensive firepower and resilience helped UW-Whitewater baseball sweep a home doubleheader against UW-Oshkosh April 8. The games extended the Warhawks’ winning streak to 17 games going into a 10-game road trip.
In game one, the Warhawks started in a five-run hole in the first inning, as the Titans capitalized on multiple Warhawk errors.
It took just three innings for the Warhawks to take the lead, headlined by freshman outfielder Landen Seymour bringing in two baserunners in the second inning and another in the third. His RBI groundout in the third inning pushed the Warhawks ahead 6-5.
(Charlie Clark)
Whitewater added two more runs through senior infielder Danny Hopper scoring on an error made while he was stealing third base in the fifth inning, and freshman outfielder Brady Gilroy going deep in the sixth inning. Junior pitcher Sam Steuber threw four strong innings to maintain the three-run lead.
The Titans made a ninth-inning push, bringing in two runs with an RBI walk and a groundout. Senior utility player Wyatt Jensen caught a fly ball in right field to close the game before the Titans could tack on a third run, allowing the Warhawks to take game one 8-7.
Game two flipped the first-inning script, with the Warhawks scoring five runs. They recorded three hits and three walks in the inning. A solo home run by junior catcher Aaron Holland in the second inning and a Hopper sacrifice fly in the third inning extended the lead to 7-0 by the end of three.
The fourth and fifth innings were the Titans’ time to score. Senior infielder Owen Housinger hit a solo home run in the fourth, and junior infielder Braydon Skenandore hit a two-run shot in the fifth to dig into the Warhawks’ lead 7-3.
The Warhawks took advantage of a scoreless sixth inning from the Titans, scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth to expand the lead to 13-3. The Warhawks went through the lineup, with sophomore outfielder Hudson Turner recording two at-bats in the inning.
The Titans responded with a three-run seventh inning, but they could not recover from a 10-run deficit. The Warhawks tagged on one more run in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, eventually taking the win 15-6.
Senior infielder Leyton Bowers and sophomore utility player Evan Olsen led the Warhawks offensively, combining to hit 7-for-14 with five RBIs and three walks. Steuber’s four-run outing was the most impressive pitching performance of the doubleheader, allowing four hits and one walk in 50 pitches.
Check out some of Charlie Clark’s photographs from the doubleheader!
