Five Titans Receive Top WIAC Softball Honors

Cindy Suess was voted Coach of the Year, while four Titans earned spots on the 2013 All-WIAC Softball Team.

Catcher Katie Koepsel received all-league honors for the second consecutive season. UW-Oshkosh also had first baseman Tess Fadness, outfielder Hayden Krueger and pitcher Courtney Wautier selected by the conference's head coaches.

This is the second award for Suess, who was also named Coach of the Year during 2007. She led the Titans to a 25-11 record for the program's best mark in five seasons. Following a 4-4 start, UW-Oshkosh won 14 of its next 15 games. The 10-game winning streak included a Grinnell Invitational title and two victories over #10 UW-Whitewater.

Fadness led the WIAC with 13 doubles and ranked third with 31 RBI. She also compiled a .385 batting average with seven homers and 23 runs scored. Against UW-Stout, Fadness booked five hits, four doubles and three RBI.

Krueger listed second in the league in hits (49) and third in runs (35). She also crushed seven homers and eight doubles while marking 20 RBI. Krueger had a 13-game hitting streak late in the year to up her average to .402.

Like Fadness and Krueger, Koepsel started all 36 games. She recorded a .318 average with six homers, 24 runs scored, 24 RBI and 14 walks. Koepsel had a career day against UW-Superior, when she totaled three homers and nine RBI in six at-bats.

Wautier topped the conference with 17 wins and 106 strikeouts, while her 1.70 ERA ranked second. Wautier made 18 starts and tossed 15 complete games. She held opponents to a .219 batting average in 136 innings. On March 20, Wautier threw a seven-inning no-hitter against SUNY-Brockport. The next day, she fired eight innings with just one hit allowed in a victory over Worcester State.

Wautier ends her career with 395 strikeouts, which ranks 12th in WIAC history. She became the third Titan to reach 50 wins, finishing 50-30 with a 2.76 ERA. Wautier also totaled 45 complete games in 110 appearances (523 innings).

UW-Oshkosh had outfielder Kaelyn Hogan and pitcher Jill Vondrak receive All-WIAC honorable mention. Hogan led the league with 12 sacrifice bunts, to go with a .301 average, 24 runs and five stolen bases. Vondrak achieved a 6-4 record, 2.88 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 73 innings.

Hogan also was the Titans' representative on the All-Sportsmanship Team.

A total of 21 players made the All-WIAC First Team, including five from UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds' Amanda Fischer was voted Position Player of the Year, as UW-Whitewater's Katie Boyle earned Pitcher of the Year. Ashley Goettl (UW-River Falls) received Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

By Jon Feyen