Titans Begin Season By Ousting 2009 NCAA Postseason Participants

After missing the 2009 season with an injury, Amie Heinzelman (Sr. • Monroe) returned to the UW-Oshkosh starting lineup and helped the Titans open their 2010 women's softball campaign with a pair of victories.

Heinzelman went 7-for-7 at the plate with four home runs and nine runs batted in as UW-Oshkosh posted wins of 10-2 over Concordia University Wisconsin and 12-7 over Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) on Saturday (Feb. 27) in Marquette, Mich. Both UW-Oshkosh opponents participated in last year's NCAA Division III Championship, with Gustavus Adolphus College finishing third.

UW-Oshkosh (2-0) banged out 12 hits as it ousted Concordia University Wisconsin in five innings. The Titans scored three times in the fifth inning and twice in each of the first, second and fifth frames to win their season opener for the fourth consecutive year.

Heinzelman put UW-Oshkosh on top early by belting a solo home run in the game's first at-bat. The Titans tallied their second run of the opening inning on a double Marti Meyer (So. • Verona).

UW-Oshkosh then extended its lead to 5-0 on a two-run home run by Heinzelman in the second inning and a run-scoring single by Julia Burns (So. • Verona) in the third.

Concordia University Wisconsin (0-1) cut its deficit to 5-2 on a two-run single by Emily Bennin in the bottom of the third inning. The Titans got both those runs back in the fourth inning, when Sydnee Wyss (Jr. • Monroe) smacked a run-scoring double and Whitney Tornow (Sr. • Neenah) added a sacrifice fly.

Up 7-2, UW-Oshkosh closed the game's scoring with three runs on four hits in the fifth inning. After Hayley Freimuth (So. • Combined Locks) brought one run home with a single, Heinzelman capped her return with a two-run triple to right field.

UW-Oshkosh's hit parade included three by both Heinzelman and Meyer and two by Kelley Koebler (So. • Janesville).

The Falcons were held to just three hits by UW-Oshkosh's Courtney Wautier (Fr. • Brussels), who also struck out three batters in her collegiate debut.

Sheri Weidner took the pitching loss for Concordia University Wisconsin after allowing nine earned runs.

In the nightcap, UW-Oshkosh overcame deficits of 3-1 and 5-3 by scoring six runs in the fifth inning. Gustavus Adolphus College (1-1) entered the day ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

UW-Oshkosh jumped ahead of Gustavus Adolphus College on Tornow's run-scoring single in the first inning. The Gusties answered back in the bottom of the opening frame with runs. Following a pair of singles, Emily Wendorff drove in two with a base hit. A run-scoring groundout by Jenna Johnson gave the Gusties a 3-1 advantage.

Both squads scored twice in the third inning on a long fly ball. UW-Oshkosh got a two-run home run by Wyss, but Andrea Brown out Gustavus Adolphus College in front, 5-3, with a two-run blast of her own.

The Titans' six-run fifth inning featured five hits, with one of them being a three-run home run by Heinzelman. The inning also included run-scoring singles by Lisa Hart (So. • Oshkosh) and Freimuth. A solo home run by Heinzelman in the sixth inning gave UW-Oshkosh a 10-5 lead.

Gustavus Adolphus College got single runs in the sixth and seventh innings on an error and a Raquel Davis single. UW-Oshkosh's two-run seventh inning featured a solo home run by Hart.

UW-Oshkosh tallied 12 hits, including four by Heinzelman and two by both Hart and Tornow. Gustavus Adolphus College also counted 12 hits, highlighted by the three of both Wendorff and Mackenzie Dalton.

Ashley Kowalewski (So. • Greenfield) hurled six innings to pick up the win for the Titans. She scattered 10 hits and allowed five earned runs while striking out seven batters. Tatum Schultz (Fr. • Oshkosh) pitched the seventh inning for UW-Oshkosh.

The pitching loss fell on the Gusties' Erin Truebenbach, who surrendered nine runs while striking out four batters in five innings. Callie Nelson allowed three hits and two earned runs while striking out three batters during the final two innings.