Pioneers Earn Doubleheader Split with Oshkosh

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team wrapped up its 2022 campaign by earning a split of a doubleheader at home with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.  Platteville overcame a 4-0 deficit in game one, rallying to come away with a 19-9 win in seven innings.  Oshkosh came back to win a slugfest in the nightcap, 15-12.  The Titans completed the regular season with a 22-17 mark overall and 15-12 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  Platteville's final record is 16-21 and 11-16 in the WIAC.  The Titans locked down the 3-seed for the WIAC tournament set to begin on Thursday.  The Pioneers finished in sixth place in conference play.

Game 1:  PIONEERS 19, UW-Oshkosh 9 (7 innings)

On a beautiful afternoon with the wind blowing out at 25-35 mph, the only thing hotter than the temperature was the Pioneer bats.  Platteville scored all 19 of its runs in the game's final four innings.  But it was a different story early on as the Titans built a 4-0 lead over the first 3.5 innings against UW-Platteville starter, Isaac Bixby (Fr./Gleason, Wis.).

In the fourth inning however, the Pioneer offense came alive against UWO starter Matt Sorrells.  Zach McCoy (Sr./Modesto, Cal.) got the scoring started with a lead-off home run.  Mitchell McLaughlin (Jr./Amboy, Ill.) followed with a double.  Brady Katterhagen (Fr./Union Grove, Wis.) drove him in one batter later by singling to center.  Three batters into the frame and the Pioneers had cut its deficit in half, 4-2.  And they did not stop there.  A single by Austin Pullera (So./Morris, Ill.) put two on.  Following a pair of outs from the top of the Pioneer order, Wyatt Molitor (Jr./Reedsburg, Wis.) cleared the bases with a 2-out, 2-RBI double, tying the game at four apiece.

After Bixby tossed a shutdown 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, the Pioneer offense stayed hot, scoring three runs to take its first lead of the afternoon, 7-4.  Katterhagen hit a single with the bases loaded for his second RBI hit in as many innings.

Oshkosh showed its resilience by scoring five runs in the sixth to temporarily take back its lead, 9-7.  But the Pioneer offense had no intention of slowing down.  Platteville sent 11 batters to the plate in an eight-run sixth.  The offense utilized seven singles to re-take the lead with five runs.  Then Jake Wegner (So./Reedsburg, Wis.) then provided the exclamation point by driving a 3-run home run over the wall in left and extending the Pioneer lead to 15-9.

Jake Schneider (So./Sturgeon Bay, Wis.), who came on in relief of Bixby in the sixth, tossed a scoreless seventh.  In the bottom half, Oshkosh pitchers only recorded one out while issuing three walks.  Platteville finally earned the victory via run rule when Ross Krist (Sr./Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) scampered home from third on a passed ball, giving the Pioneers the 10-run lead it needed to end the game early, 19-9.

Schneider worked 1.2 innings of scoreless and hitless baseball to earn his first win of the season and improve his record to 1-1.  UWO reliever Aaron Huibregtse was hung with the loss after allowing seven runs in one inning of work.

Katterhagen was a perfect 4-4 at the plate, raising his season average to .316.  McCoy's home run was his fourth of the season.  Wegner's big knock in the sixth was his fourth.

Game 2:  UW-Oshkosh 15, PIONEERS 12 (8 innings)

Both offenses continued to take advantage of the warm weather and wind blowing out in the nightcap.  Each team's starting pitcher, Matt Scherrmann for Oshkosh and Parker Heidorf (So./Sherwood, Wis.) for Platteville held their opponents scoreless in the first inning.  That would become notable as it wound up being the first and last inning of the game in which there was no scoring by either team.  In fact, Oshkosh would go on to score at least one run in every subsequent inning and at least two runs in six of the final seven frames.

Just as it did in game one, Oshkosh jumped out to big lead early, scoring six runs (three earned) in three innings.  But everytime the Titans had designs on pulling away, it was the Platteville offense doing just enough to stay close.

Down 6-0 heading to the bottom of the third, Platteville scored four times but missed an opportunity for more.  With four in and runners still on first and third, the Titan defense was able to turn a slick 5-4-3 doubleplay to avoid any further damage.  The twin killing would be the first of two crucial rally killers that the Titans would turn in the game.

In the fourth inning, both offenses flexed some muscle.  In the top half, a Scherrmann 2-run HR opened Oshkosh's lead to 8-4.  Platteville once again fought to keep things close in the bottom half as with two out, and nobody on, Krist and Jonny Kelso (Sr./Villa Park, Ill.) hit back-to-back soaring home runs to pull the Pioneers back to within two, 8-6.

Both teams again plated two runs in the fifth.  The Titans runs extended its lead back to four, 10-6.  Another Pioneer home run, this one a two-run shot off the bat of McCoy cut the deficit in half, 10-8.  

For the third straight inning, Oshkosh put two more runs on the board in the sixth pushing its lead back to four, 12-8.  Platteville wasted no time in responding.  Austin Pullara (So./Morris, Ill.) got the rally started by being hit by a pitch.  Krist followed with a walk.  With two on and nobody out, Kelso walked up to the plate and promptly deposited a 3-run home run over the 404 ft. sign in straight away center field.  It was Kelso's second round tripper in as many at bats and 21st in his five-year Pioneer career.  After Kelso's big knock, the Pioneers had two more hitters reach base but could not push any more runs across keeping the score 12-11 through six complete.

The bottom of the seventh inning proved to be the turning point in the game.  After UWO's first baseman Zach Taylor hit a solo home run to make the game 13-11, Platteville came to the plate with designs of taking its first lead.  With one out, Oshkosh pitching proceeded to walk three straight batters.  With the bases loaded, Molitor, first pitch swinging, hit a rocket to the right side.  Oshkosh second baseman Chase Marsh had Molitor played perfectly however, fielding the liner off one hop, then pivoting and tossing to second to begin an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, preserving UWO's 13-11 advantage.

Another two-spot from Oshkosh pushed its lead back out to 15-11 in the top half of the eighth.  Platteville got one run back on a McLaughlin RBI single.  With one out, one in, and two on base, the next two Pioneers were retired in order to end the rally.

Upon the end of the eighth inning, coaches from each team and the umpires gathered and decided to call the contest due to darkness after nearly seven hours of baseball, giving Oshkosh the 15-12 win.

Heidorf worked three innings and was hung with the loss to fall to 1-2 in his first campaign as a Pioneer.  Titan reliever Nick Loizzi allowed five runs in two innings of work but was awarded the win, his first of the year (1-0).  Sterling McKinley worked the final 1.2 innings for his first save of the year.

Krist reached base in all four of his at bats, officially going 2-2 with two walks and three runs scored.  His home run was the team-leading 9th of the season, and the fourth most by a hitter in the WIAC in 2022.  

In the final game of his decorated collegiate career, Kelso's two home run performance was the first time he accomplished the feat as a Pioneer.