Home Runs Power Titans Past Falcons

Katie Koepsel tied the program career home run record in the opener, Hayden Krueger hit a go-ahead homer in the nightcap and the UW-Oshkosh softball team swept a doubleheader at UW-River Falls on Saturday (April 18).

The Titans (22-8, 8-2 WIAC), winners of 15 of their last 17 contests, won by scores of 4-1 in the opener and 3-2 in the second game. UW-Oshkosh moved into second place in the conference standings, trailing front-running UW-La Crosse (24-8, 9-1 WIAC) by one game with six contests to play.

Koepsel launched a solo home run in the seventh inning to give the Titans a 3-1 advantage. It was Koepsel's ninth homer of the season and 31st in her career, which ties the school mark set by Whitney Tornow in 2010 and currently ranks seventh in WIAC history.

Sara Brunlieb was the winning pitcher in both ends of the doubleheader, lifting her season record to 14-3 and lowering her earned run average to 2.30. Brunlieb went the distance in the opener, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out three. She pitched 4.2 scoreless innings in the second game on three hits after coming on in relief of starter Clare Robbe in the third frame.

In the opener, UW-River Falls cleanup hitter Katie Thompson broke a scoreless tie with her seventh home run of the season, a solo shot off of Brunlieb in the fourth inning.

UW-Oshkosh knotted the score at 1 on Erika Berry's run-scoring single in the fifth inning before taking a 2-1 lead in the sixth frame when Elizabeth Fonk crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

Koepsel's school record-tying homer provided an insurance run, and Fonk's RBI single capped the scoring in the seventh inning.

UW-River Falls has two runners aboard to lead of its half of the seventh inning, but Brunlieb recorded a groundout and two strikeouts to end the threat.

Fonk and Emily Mallek both had two of UW-Oshkosh's eight hits.

Thompson paced the Falcons with two her team's four hits.

Brooke Lauritzen (7-7) was charged with the loss for the Falcons after ceding two runs on six hits and three walks in 5.2 innings pitched.

In the second game, UW-River Falls held a 2-0 lead until Krueger's three-run homer, her fifth of the year, gave the Titans the lead for good in the top of the third inning.

The Falcons (16-16, 3-7 WIAC) pulled within 3-2 on an RBI single by Kaitlyn Lepine in the home half of the third inning, but the Titans recorded an out at the plate on a squeeze attempt that would have tied the score in the fourth frame, and Brunlieb retired 12 of the last 13 Falcons to earn the victory.

Krueger and Brianna Witter recorded two hits apiece for the Titans while Sarah Sorensen had two hits to pace the Falcons.

Michelle LaCasse (1-1) took the loss for UW-River Falls, going the first two frames and allowing all three runs on three hits and four walks.

Abbie Morris relieved LaCasse and pitched five shutout innings.

UW-Oshkosh will attempt to keep pace in the WIAC standings when it heads to UW-Stout for two games on Sunday (April 19).