Titans End Contests With Blue Devils Early
Sara Brunlieb took a perfect game into the fourth inning of the opener, Haley Bayreuther and Kaitlyn Krol hit home runs in the second contest, and the UW-Oshkosh softball team swept a doubleheader over UW-Stout on Sunday (April 10) at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.
UW-Oshkosh (12-4, 4-0 WIAC) defeated UW-Stout (9-11, 1-3 WIAC) by scores of 9-1 in five innings during the first game and 9-1 in six innings during the nightcap as both as both games ended early by virtue of the eight-run rule.
The Titans, who collected 12 hits in the first game and 11 in the second, improved to 4-0 in WIAC play for the third time in the past four seasons.
Brunlieb was perfect through 3.2 innings during the opener until UW-Stout's Beth Wood singled to center field. Brunlieb earned the complete-game victory, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts.
Krol hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning of the second game, and Bayreuther led off the third frame with a home run to give UW-Oshkosh a 3-0 lead. The homers were the first of the season for both Krol and Bayreuther.
In the first game, UW-Oshkosh scored four runs on six hits in the first inning, three runs on four hits in the second frame and extended its lead to 9-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth.
Titan Erika Berry went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and one run batted in. Caitlin Hoerning went 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs, while Lauren Torborg had two hits and three runs scored, and Hayden Krueger two RBIs.
Berry, Hoerning and Krol each delivered run-scoring hits, and Krueger added a run-scoring groundout, in the first inning off of UW-Stout starting pitcher Tori Workman.
Hoerning and Krueger provided run-scoring singles, while Berry came in to score on a wild pitch by Workman in the second inning.
Abby Menting singled to score Berry in the fourth inning before Hoerning lifted a sacrifice fly to score Torborg for a 9-0 UW-Oshkosh lead.
UW-Stout had its first two batters reach base against Brunlieb in the fifth inning. Kaylee Francois was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and went to third base on a single by Workman. Sara Griesbach followed with a groundout to score Francois, but Brunlieb recorded a strikeout and a popup to end the game.
Brunlieb (6-2) has allowed just two earned runs in her last 49.1 innings pitched.
Workman took the loss for UW-Stout after pitching all four innings and notching three strikeouts. Eight of the nine runs Workman allowed were earned.
In the second game, Menting went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, and Clare Robbe (2-1) picked up her second straight complete-game victory in the pitcher's circle by ceding one run on four hits with two strikeouts.
UW-Oshkosh extended its lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning when Bayreuther scored on a wild pitch by UW-Stout relief pitcher McKayla Brunner.
UW-Stout cut its deficit to 4-1 in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Heather Bol, but the Titans ended the game in the home half of the inning with five runs on six hits and two walks without recording an out.
Hoerning walked to lead off the Titan sixth inning. Menting, Krueger, Krol, Tanya Hammitt and pinch-hitter Paige Giese followed with consecutive singles to score four runs off of Brunner for an 8-1 UW-Oshkosh lead. After Brunner walked Bayreuther to load the bases, Wood, the Blue Devils starting pitcher, reentered to face Berry, who ended the game with a single to left field.
Karley Wiensch led the Blue Devils with two hits.
Wood suffered the loss for UW-Stout, pitching four-plus innings and allowing three runs on six hits.
Brunner yielded six runs on five hits and two walks in one-plus inning pitched.
The Titans put their five-game winning streak on the line when they host UW-Stevens Point for a doubleheader on Wednesday (April 13) at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.