 "Photo: Chris Steinert")
Kyle Kannenberg, a senior at UW-Oshkosh, is a unique kind of student athlete. With roles as both a second baseman and a starting pitcher, Kannenberg is a well-rounded athlete who has had a significant baseball career as a Titan.
Kannenberg attended high school at Oshkosh West, where he played a variety of positions on the team. He eventually would continue excelling at these positions at Oshkosh.
“In high school, I played second base and pitched as well,” Kannenberg said. “I also played shortstop in the summer. When I first came to Oshkosh, I was thrown back and forth between second and third base.”
Fellow Titan senior Mickey Fadness said that he’s not surprised Kannenberg plays multiple positions well.
“(Kyle) has played enough baseball in his life where he can just pick up where he left off and succeed,” fellow Titan senior Mickey Fadness said.
Oshkosh head baseball coach Tom Lechnir said Kannenberg did not hone his pitching skills immediately upon joining the Titans.
“He did do both (positions) in high school and had great success at both of them,” Oshkosh baseball head coach Tom Lechnir said. “In between his sophomore and junior year here, he began focusing on pitching.”
Last season, Kannenberg and continued to hit well, even as he assumed a new role.
“I began pitching my junior year because of my arm strength and speed,” Kannenberg said. “Coach and I thought I could help the team by becoming a pitcher.”
Lechnir acknowledged that Kannenberg is a special kind of athlete.
“It’s very rare, they call them two-way guys,” Lechnir said. “We’ve rarely had a guy good enough to be a top-six pitcher and one of your top nine or 10 hitters. He’s been doing that the last couple years, so that says it all.”
“He’s got a very strong arm and a pretty resilient arm, meaning he’s able to bounce back more quickly than most,” Lechnir said.
While Kannenberg’s 5’10” 180-pound frame is hardly that of a big, overpowering pitcher, Fadness said that size doesn’t matter.
“Kyle is probably an underrated pitcher,” Fadness said. “He’s just a little guy, and when he gets on the mound, he throws pretty hard. When he is on, he can beat anyone.”
Kannenberg admits he wasn’t sure how much the game would change at the college level. “The game has changed to a much higher level,” Kannenberg said. “In high school, I wasn’t taught about certain mental approaches and plans going into a game. I’d say the intensity and the depth of the game have changed.”
Kannenberg is a three-time letter winner, and has started in 122 of his 128 games played as a Titan. He is also a two-time member of the NCAA Division III ABCA All-Midwest Region Baseball Team, making second-team honors in both 2008 and 2009.
Kannenberg’s freshman year at Oshkosh was somewhat of a struggle at the plate. He batted .227 with two home runs on the season and started 35 games.
In his sophomore year, Kannenberg drastically improved his hitting average, batting .370 with 32 RBIs, both of which were second-best on the team behind Brad Demmin.
Kannenberg continued batting well his junior year, with an average of .333 and 23 RBIs. He had multiple hits in 11 games for the Titans during 2009.
Kannenberg also found success from the mound in 2009, only giving up four home runs on the season with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.15.
This season, the senior is batting .311 with 21 RBIs after 26 games. Kannenberg recently gave the Titans their first shutout of the season against UW-Platteville.
Fadness isn’t surprised with how well Kannenberg has been hitting recently.
“It’s not impressive anymore to me,” he said. “I’ve played with him for four years, and he has done this before.”
Through 28 games, the Titans are 12-16 and Kannenberg is trying to find his rhythm on the mound. The senior’s ERA is 5.55 and he has given up five home runs in 2010. The Titans still have high hopes for the rest of the season.
“Our goal is to win a conference championship,” Fadness said. “We need to start clicking as a team, become closer with each other and dig down deep. We have the talent to do great things.”
Kannenberg still has some work to do for the Titans this season, but is also thinking about his future.
“After college if baseball gives me an opportunity, great. I’m majoring in communications and should graduate next year,” he said.
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