Pioneers falter in doubleheader against Titans
The Pioneer baseball team’s four-game weekend series against UW-Oshkosh got off to a rough start, as the home team lost both games Saturday.
Written by Colten Bartholomew, UW-Platteville Sports Information Intern
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The Pioneer baseball team's four-game weekend series against UW-Oshkosh got off to a rough start, as the home team lost both games Saturday.
UW-Oshkosh took game one by a score of 11-7 and game two by a 10-3 margin.
Game One
The Titans fired the opening salvo in the first inning, using two doubles and a seeing-eye single to score to score two runs.
UW-Platteville responded with a three-run rally that came with two outs. The middle of the Pioneer order produced four straight singles, with the big blow coming from DH Tyler Trautsch, who smacked a two-RBI single to right field.
The 3-2 lead would hold until the third when the Titans collected three runs, aided by a Pioneer error. UW-Oshkosh got two more runs in the fifth, one on a solo home run and the other on an RBI double.
Down 7-3, the Pioneers climbed back in the sixth inning when Trautsch clubbed a two-run homer to right, and then eventually tied the game in the seventh with a bases-loaded walk by Zach Demmon and then a fielder's choice two batters later.
Going into the ninth, Pioneer reliever Nathan Fay had thrown 3.2 scoreless innings, but the Titans were able to square up Fay's pitches and took a commanding 11-7 lead and held off a Pioneer comeback in the ninth.
Game Two
UW-Oshkosh's bats kept rolling to start game two, as they scored two in the first, three in the second and two in the third to take a 7-0 lead in the early innings.
Shortstop Casey Schroeder got the Pioneers on the board in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, and despite the early miscues, starter Mike Boushley locked in on the mound and kept the Titans from scoring from the fourth to the eighth innings.
Zack Iverson delivered a two-run bomb from the nine-hole to inch the Pioneers back into the game at 7-3, but the Pioneers were unable to capitalize on a bases-loaded, no-outs situation later in the inning, which was the team's last scoring threat.
Todd Wienkes was able to reach base three times in the game, with one hit and two walks drawn, and despite the loss, Boushley picked up seven strikeouts to push his season total to team-leading 33.
Pioneers are scheduled to finish the series with the Titans at noon on Sunday.
