Game 4 - May 23, 2003
Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play
Grand Chute, Wisconsin - The members of the UW-Oshkosh baseball team and their fans had waited a long time to play this game. In the fourth season as hosts of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Series, the Titans dropped their opening round meeting with Chapman University, 6-1, in front of a record crowd estimated at over 4,000 fans at Fox Cities Stadium Friday night.
The Titans possible home-field advantage was seemingly nullified when it was learned before game time that their ace, Jordan Timm, would not be making his anticipated start, due to a bout of bronchitis. UW-Oshkosh head coach Tom Lechnir refused to use the absence of Timm as an excuse. “We haven’t achieved our record this season, or as a program, because of one person,” Lechnir said. “We’re all in this together; we all have a job to do.”
Chapman drew first blood, scoring twice in the second inning off Titan starter Ben Huffmann (left) to take a 2-0 lead. Oshkosh managed to put a run on the board in the top of the fifth, and threatened to take the lead in the sixth.
But a base running blunder with runners on the corners and two outs cost the Titans dearly. Trailing, 2-1 to start the frame, right fielder Vince Mancuso – the NCAA Division III Player of the Year – grounded out to shortstop, and Lucas Lechnir hit a deep fly to center, but it was well within the range of Chapman centerfielder Chris Van Camp for the second out. Catcher Korey Feiner got the rally started with a single up the middle, and first baseman Josh Stewart followed with a shot into right center field that sent Feiner to third. With Ryan France (right) pitching to second baseman Evan Peterson, Stewart appeared to take off for second base. Once it appeared Stewart was caught in a rundown, Feiner took off for home, and was retired, trying to get back to third base, squelching the rally.
France, who anchored the Panthers NCAA-best pitching staff this season, held the Titans scoreless the rest of the way, finishing with an impressive line. The right-hander allowed a run on six hits, striking out four. After adding a run in the sixth, Chapman finally put the game away in the bottom of the eighth, tagging Huffmann for three more runs, to take a 6-1 lead, silencing the largely pro-UW-Oshkosh crowd.
The win gave France a 10-1 ledger on the season. “It was like 3,900 Oshkosh fans, and 100 Chapman fans,” said France. “We knew they would be very vocal tonight and we were looking forward to it.”
Shortstop Brian Sanders (right) led the Panthers’ attack on offense, with a pair of hits, two RBI, and crossed the plate three times as well. The meat of Chapman’s order, in fact, was especially rough on the Titans, going a collective six-for-nine, with five runs and four batted in.
Chapman advances to the second round of the double-elimination tournament Saturday. The Panthers – who improved to 35-11 – will face Christopher Newport University.
The Titans produced no multiple hitters, while Huffmann finished with five earned runs on nine hits and seven strikeouts in seven and two thirds innings of work. His record fell to just 10-2 on the year. UW-Oshkosh dropped to 36-7 on the season and will face Trinity College in a losers’ bracket contest Saturday at 1:15 p.m.
Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play
Wisconsin-Oshkosh 1 (36-7) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Jeremy Jirschele ss....... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 Kyle Heckendorf rf........ 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 Vince Mancuso lf.......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Lucas Lechnir 3b.......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Korey Feiner c............ 2 0 1 0 1 0 9 1 Josh Stewart 1b........... 4 0 1 0 0 0 10 0 Evan Peterson 2b.......... 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 David Young dh............ 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Mike Mau cf............... 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 Ben Huffman p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Andy Kraus p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals.................... 33 1 6 1 2 4 24 10 Chapman 6 (35-11) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Justin Hallenbeck 1b...... 4 0 0 0 1 2 14 1 Shaun Donahoe rf.......... 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 Alex Taylor 2b............ 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 8 Matt Graves c............. 4 3 2 1 0 1 3 2 Brian Sanders ss.......... 3 2 2 2 0 0 2 5 Chris Van Camp cf......... 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 Jeff Levering dh.......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Max Gruber 3b............. 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 C.J. Castillo lf.......... 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 Ryan France p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Scott Akamine p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals.................... 31 6 9 5 3 8 27 19 Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Wisconsin-Oshkosh 000 010 000 - 1 6 1 Chapman 020 001 03 - 6 9 1 ---------------------------------------------- E - Lechnir; J. Hallenbec. DP - UWO 1. LOB - UWO 8; CU 7. 2B - Young(7); A. Taylor(16); B. Sanders(10); C. Van Camp(8). 3B - M. Graves(1). SB - Jirschele(6). SH - Feiner; B. Sanders; C. Van Camp 2. Wisconsin-Oshkosh IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Ben Huffman......... 7.2 9 6 5 3 7 30 36 Andy Kraus.......... 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 Chapman IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Ryan France......... 7.0 6 1 1 0 4 27 28 Scott Akamine....... 2.0 0 0 0 2 0 6 8 Win - R. France 10-1. Loss - Huffman 7-2. Save - S. Akamine (5). WP - R. France; S. Akamine. PB - M. Graves. BK - Huffman. Umpires - Home:Dennis Varwig 1st:Gary Kalkopf 2nd:Dennis Semph 3rd:Gary Gilman Start: 7:50 pm Time: 2:29 Attendance: 4000 Game Notes: R. France faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play
Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Wisconsin-Oshkosh 000 010 000 - 1 6 1 Chapman University 020 001 03 - 6 9 1 ---------------------------------------------- Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 1 Jirschele grounded out to 3b. Heckendorf reached on an error by 1b. Mancuso flied out to rf. Lechnir reached on a fielder's choice; Heckendorf out at second 2b to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Chapman University inning 1 J. Hallenbec walked. S. Donahoe struck out swinging. A. Taylor grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; J. Hallenbec out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 2 Feiner lined out to 2b. Stewart out at first 1b to p. Peterson grounded out to c, bunt. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Chapman University inning 2 M. Graves singled through the left side. M. Graves advanced to second on a balk. B. Sanders singled to right center, RBI; M. Graves scored. C. Van Camp grounded out to c, SAC, bunt; B. Sanders advanced to second. J. Levering grounded out to 1b unassisted; B. Sanders advanced to third. M. Gruber singled to right field, RBI; B. Sanders scored. C.J. Castill singled to third base; M. Gruber advanced to second. J. Hallenbec grounded out to p. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 3 Young struck out swinging. Mau grounded out to ss. Jirschele struck out swinging, reached first on a passed ball. Jirschele stole second. Heckendorf singled to first base; Jirschele advanced to third. Mancuso reached on a fielder's choice; Heckendorf out at second 2b to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Chapman University inning 3 S. Donahoe struck out swinging. A. Taylor struck out swinging. M. Graves struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 4 Lechnir singled through the left side. Feiner grounded out to c, SAC, bunt; Lechnir advanced to second. Stewart grounded out to 2b; Lechnir advanced to third. Peterson struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Chapman University inning 4 B. Sanders flied out to 1b. C. Van Camp singled to third base. J. Levering lined out to rf. M. Gruber struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 5 Young doubled down the rf line. Young advanced to third on a wild pitch. Mau grounded out to 2b, RBI; Young scored. Jirschele grounded out to 2b. Heckendorf fouled out to 3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Chapman University inning 5 C.J. Castill struck out looking. J. Hallenbec grounded out to 2b. S. Donahoe grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 6 Mancuso grounded out to ss. Lechnir lined out to rf. Feiner singled up the middle. Stewart singled to right center; Feiner advanced to third. Feiner out at third p to 2b to 3b, picked off. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Chapman University inning 6 A. Taylor walked. M. Graves reached on a fielder's choice to third base; A. Taylor advanced to second. B. Sanders reached on a fielder's choice, SAC, bunt; M. Graves advanced to second; A. Taylor advanced to third, out at home lf to c. C. Van Camp doubled, RBI; B. Sanders advanced to third; M. Graves scored. J. Levering flied out to lf. M. Gruber grounded out to ss. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 7 Peterson struck out swinging. Young flied out to lf. Mau grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Chapman University inning 7 C.J. Castill grounded out to ss. J. Hallenbec struck out looking. S. Donahoe lined out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 8 Jirschele singled through the left side. S. Akamine to p for R. France. Heckendorf reached on a fielder's choice; Jirschele out at second ss to 2b. Heckendorf advanced to second on a wild pitch. Mancuso grounded out to 2b; Heckendorf advanced to third. Lechnir grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Chapman University inning 8 A. Taylor doubled down the rf line. M. Graves tripled to right center, RBI; A. Taylor scored. B. Sanders doubled to left field, RBI; M. Graves scored. C. Van Camp grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; B. Sanders advanced to third. J. Levering flied out to cf. M. Gruber reached on an error by 3b, advanced to second; B. Sanders scored, unearned. C.J. Castill walked. Kraus to p for Huffman. J. Hallenbec struck out swinging. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Oshkosh inning 9 Feiner walked. Stewart grounded out to p; Feiner advanced to second. Peterson walked. Young grounded out to 1b unassisted; Peterson advanced to second; Feiner advanced to third. Mau grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Updated Sept 2003