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Wisconsin-Superior
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Brady Flaherty
Jade Jensen

Baseball

Oshkosh Completes Sweep of Yellowjackets

Brady Flaherty had four more hits Sunday, but it wasn't enough to help the Yellowjacket get the win.
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

To say that the 2015 season has been difficult for the Yellowjacket baseball team would be perhaps the biggest understatement of the year. Just about everything that could have gone wrong thus far has, and Sunday, the Yellowjackets had to compete with weather issues in order to finish their weekend series with UW-Oshkosh.

Sunday's games were originally scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Ted Whereatt Field, but with the rainfall in Superior over the last 24 hours, the games were moved to a 4:00 p.m. start time and then to 2:00 p.m. The venue also changed, moving from the Yellowjackets' home field to the NBC Spartan Sports Complex at Superior High School. The time and venue may have changed, but the Yellowjackets' fortunes did not, and they once again dropped a pair of games to UW-Oshkosh.

Oshkosh 15, Yellowjackets 5

The first game Sunday started off as somewhat of a pitcher's duel, as Yellowjacket starter Grant Schneider (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) and Oshkosh's Matt Sabel were locked in a 1-1 battle through four innings. Oshkosh scored the first run of the game in the top of the second, and the Yellowjackets answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Brady Flaherty (Balsam Lake, Wis./Unity) came home on an error with two outs to tie the game.

Things changed in the fifth, as it appeared the weather began to play a role. Both pitchers began to have difficulty gripping the wet baseball, and from there on out control issues plagued anyone who toed the rubber.

In the top of the fifth Oshkosh scored three times on just one hit. The Yellowjackets walked five players in the frame, and an error contributed to the Titans offense, giving them a 4-1 advantage.

The Yellowjackets had an answer in the bottom of the inning, scoring a pair of runs of their own. Greg Pitts (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) singled with one out and Matt Vold (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) and Alex Quinones (Waterloo, Iowa) walked back-to-back to load the bases. Flaherty walked the bases loaded and another run came home on a Jordan Koepp (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) ground out to pull the Yellowjackets to within one.

Oshkosh scored three times again in the sixth, and again they did it on just one hit. This time they were helped along by three more walks. The Yellowjackets got one run back on a Vold ground out. Oshkosh scored twice in the seventh, and in the bottom of the inning the Yellowjackets again got a run back, as Flaherty came across when Sam Holden (Spooner, Wis./Spooner) reached on an error to close the gap to four, 9-5.

But Oshkosh had another big inning in them and scored six times in the top of the eighth inning to push the lead to 10 at 15-5.

In the bottom of the eighth inning the Yellowjackets did get Pitts as far as third base, but he was stranded there and the game ended because of the ten-run rule.

The Yellowjackets had seven hits in the game, led by Pitts and Flaherty who had two each. Flaherty also scored twice and drove in a run.

Schneider pitched 4.2 innings and gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits, but he walked six. He suffered the loss, falling to 0-5 on the year. Jonah Lundequam (Cumberland, Wis./Cumberland) pitched 2.1 innings of relief and Brock McDermid (Pulaski, Wis./Pulaski) pitched one inning.

Control, as mentioned earlier, was an issue, as the Yellowjackets issued 14 walks in the game. On the other side Oshkosh walked five batters.

Andy Brahier had three hits to lead Oshkosh offensively. He also drove in two runs.

Oshkosh 19, Yellowjackets 4

As tight as the first game of the day was early, the second game was anything but, as the Titans took advantage of control issues from several Yellowjacket pitchers to build an insurmountable lead.

In the top of the first inning of game two the Titans scored 10 runs, and had only three hits, as they took advantage of eight walks by Yellowjacket pitchers to go up 10-0 before the Yellowjackets came to bat.

Brady Stocker (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) came on in the second and set the Titans down without a run, then allowed just one run in the third inning. When Oshkosh got to its second time through the order on Stocker, they took advantage and scored six runs on four hits in the top of the fourth to open up a 17-0 lead. The big hit was a two-run single from Brahier.

In the fifth Oshkosh got RBI doubles from Brahier and Ian Czarneski to increase the lead to 19-0.

The Yellowjackets came to the plate in the bottom of the inning and were finally able to not only get on the scoreboard, but also scratch out their first hit. Alex Petroski (Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon) and Pitts took back-to-back walks before a fielder's choice and popout put the rally in jeopardy. With two outs Flaherty doubled to bring home a run and end the no-hit and shutout bids of Oshkosh starter Ben Messenger. A second run scored on an error before the Yellowjackets added a third run on an RBI-single by Damian Wiblin (La Crosse, Wis./Logan).

In the bottom of the seventh the Yellowjackets plated another run on a single by Holden, but it wasn't nearly enough and they fell to defeat and a series sweep at the hands of Oshkosh.

The Yellowjackets had six hits in the game, led by Flaherty who had a pair. For the weekend Flaherty finished with a .643 batting average (9-for-14), scored three runs and drove in three, making him a major bright spot in a tough weekend.

Jake Lewis (Proctor, Minn./Proctor) was the starter for the Yellowjackets in the second game and he struggled, not making it out of the first inning. He took the loss and is now 0-6 on the year. Tyler Kronstedt (Andover, Minn./Andover), Stocker and Riley Grandson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) all pitched in relief in the second game, with only Grandson escaping without walking a hitter. The Yellowjackets issued 26 walks on the day after entering the games with only 69 walks on the season.

Brahier had another big game to lead Oshkosh, going 3-for-3, driving in three runs and scoring four.

The Yellowjackets (4-23, 0-12 WIAC) are scheduled to host UW-Stout at Ted Whereatt Field Tuesday, April 21 beginning at 3:00 p.m.

Weather Note: The weather over the next couple of days is not supposed to be favorable in Superior, so it is likely that the game time and/or location for the above mentioned games with UW-Stout could be changed. Stay tuned to www.uwsyellowjackets.com for updates.
 
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Players Mentioned

Brady Flaherty

#10 Brady Flaherty

C
6' 4"
Senior
R/R
Riley Grandson

#27 Riley Grandson

P
5' 11"
Senior
L/L
Sam Holden

#25 Sam Holden

IF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Jordan Koepp

#36 Jordan Koepp

IF
6' 2"
Junior
L/R
Jake Lewis

#12 Jake Lewis

P
6' 1"
Junior
R/R
Brock McDermid

#19 Brock McDermid

P
6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
Alex Petroski

#21 Alex Petroski

SS
5' 9"
Senior
R/R
Alex Quinones

#24 Alex Quinones

C/3B
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Grant Schneider

#26 Grant Schneider

P
6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
Matt Vold

#23 Matt Vold

IF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Damian Wiblin

#9 Damian Wiblin

P
6' 1"
Senior
L/L
Jonah Lundequam

#7 Jonah Lundequam

P
5' 8"
Freshman
L/L

Players Mentioned

Brady Flaherty

#10 Brady Flaherty

6' 4"
Senior
R/R
C
Riley Grandson

#27 Riley Grandson

5' 11"
Senior
L/L
P
Sam Holden

#25 Sam Holden

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
IF
Jordan Koepp

#36 Jordan Koepp

6' 2"
Junior
L/R
IF
Jake Lewis

#12 Jake Lewis

6' 1"
Junior
R/R
P
Brock McDermid

#19 Brock McDermid

6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Alex Petroski

#21 Alex Petroski

5' 9"
Senior
R/R
SS
Alex Quinones

#24 Alex Quinones

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
C/3B
Grant Schneider

#26 Grant Schneider

6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Matt Vold

#23 Matt Vold

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
IF
Damian Wiblin

#9 Damian Wiblin

6' 1"
Senior
L/L
P
Jonah Lundequam

#7 Jonah Lundequam

5' 8"
Freshman
L/L
P