Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 OSHKOSH, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team opened Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play with a pair of losses at UW-Oshkosh on Friday, 7-4 and 12-2 (7 innings). The Blugolds couldn't complete a rally from a six-run deficit in Game 1, and couldn't hold on to an early lead in Game 2.

Charley Griffin (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) made some history in Game 2 for UW-Eau Claire. The right-handed pitcher struck out two batters to hit the 100-strikeout milestone for his career. He became the fourth pitcher in program history to join the 100-strikeout club.

The Blugolds (5-9, 0-2) trailed 6-0 after four innings in the first game of the day, but managed to chip away at the lead down the stretch. Ethan Plantz (Sr. - South Elgin, Ill./Elgin Academy) hit an RBI double and Dustan Green (Jr. - Prior Lake, Minn.) added an RBI single in the top of the seventh to get UW-Eau Claire on the board. The Titans tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 7-2 ball game, and despite a two-run homer by Drew Salyers (Jr. - Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) in the eighth, the Blugolds couldn't claw all the way back.

Green finished with three hits in the first game. Walter Johnson (Jr. - Minnetonka, Minn.), Austin Buck (So. - Afton, Minn./Stillwater) and Jack Sandvik (So. - Pewaukee, Wis.) all added two hits apiece. Brennan Cohen (Jr. - Vestavia Hills, Ala.) started on the mound and worked five frames. Ben Teigland (Jr. - Hastings, Minn.) threw three innings in relief and held the Titans to one run.

Johnson hit a solo home run — his fifth homer of the season — in the first inning to get UW-Eau Claire off to a strong start in Game 2. The Titans answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame, but Plantz re-established the Blugolds' lead with an RBI triple in the second inning. UW-Oshkosh took over from there though, scoring 11 unanswered runs to end the game in seven innings. The Titans broke things open with a five-run fourth inning.

Buck and Kyle Babin (So. - Whittier, Calif./St. John Bosco) had two hits apiece to pace the Blugold lineup in Game 2. Griffin struck out two batters in three innings to climb to 100 for his career. Sebastian De La Toba (So. - Chula Vista, Calif./Olympian) pitched the rest of the game.

The four-game series concludes with another doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. in Oshkosh.

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