Titans Earn Doubleheader Sweep of Eagles

For Immediate Release: Saturday, April 25, 2009

Oshkosh, Wis. – The UW-La Crosse baseball team dropped a pair of WIAC games at UW-Oshkosh Saturday afternoon at Tiedemann Field. The Titans took the opener, 10-6, and the nightcap, 9-2. UW-L falls to 17-13 overall and 9-9 in the conference while UW-Oshkohs is 18-12 overall and 10-6 in the league.

In the opener, the Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Jay Fanta doubled to score Joey Casper and then scored on a Cory Poppitz triple. UW-L made it 3-0 in the top of the second on Josh Weber's RBI double to knock in Tyler Peterson, but UW-Oshkosh tallied three times in the bottom of the fourth to tie it. After Jason Fosler was hit by pitch, Kyle Kannenberg and Andrew Eichstaedt hit back-to-back triples to make it 3-2. Eichstaedt then scored on a Mickey Fadness RBI single.

Poppitz gave UW-L a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth on a double to score Storm Gram, but UW-Oshkosh took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fifth on a Derek Hiroskey sacrifice fly and Travis Helland RBI single. The Titans then scored five runs in the sixth to lead 10-4 highlighted by Fadness' two RBI single.

Travis Kerr and Lance Poppy had run-scoring doubles in the ninth for UW-L to end the scoring.

Bryant Rude (3-3) took the loss for UW-L, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing eight hits, eight runs (six earned) and five walks with two strikeouts. He also hit two batters. Weber finished 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI while Casper, Poppitz and Poppy each had two hits.

Brandon Lenz (1-0) earned the win for UW-Oshkosh, pitching 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, one run (unearned) and one walk while striking out one. Kannenberg picked up his second save, going 4.0 innings, allowing five hits and two runs (unearned) with three strikeouts.

UW-Oshkosh scored four times in the bottom of the first of the nightcap, highlighted by Ben Sebesta's and Justin Jirschele's two-run singles. Casper had an RBI single to score Kerr in the fourth to make it 4-1 and Poppitz had a run-scoring single to knock in Gram in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2. Blake Berger gave the Titans a 5-2 lead in the bottom of fifth and UW-Oshkosh added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh and one more in the eighth for the scoring margin.

Ross Benitz (6-4) suffered the loss for the Eagles, going 6.1 innings, allowing 10 hits, eight runs and three walks with two strikeouts. Fanta was 2-for-4.

Kannenberg (4-3) picked up the victory for the Titans, pitching 5.2 innings of relief, allowing three hits, one run (unearned) while striking out two.

UW-L and UW-Oshkosh will play another doubleheader Sunday, April 26 at noon.