Titans Sweep Their Way Past Pointers
Haley Bayreuther went 6-for-7 with four runs batted in, Hayden Krueger homered and drove in four runs, and Abby Menting collected five hits as the UW-Oshkosh softball team swept a doubleheader over UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday (April 13) at the UW-Oshkosh Park.
The Titans hung on for a 4-2 victory over the Pointers in the opening game and cruised to a five-inning, 13-3 win in the second contest. UW-Oshkosh, which extended its winning streak over UW-Stevens Point to 21 games, has not lost to the Pointers since suffering a 2-0 setback on April 26, 2006.
UW-Oshkosh (14-4, 6-0 WIAC) extended its season winning streak to seven games, while UW-Stevens Point (7-14, 0-2 WIAC) has lost four straight.
Bayreuther, who tripled in both games, went 4-for-4 with three RBIs in the opener before adding a pair of hits, two runs, one run batted in, and one stolen base during the nightcap.
Krueger collected two hits in both contests, including a three-run home run in the second game, while Menting went a combined 5-for-7 with three runs and two RBIs. Krueger's homer was her second of the season and 24th career, tying her for third place with Robin Schmidt (1997-2000) on UW-Oshkosh's all-time list.
Sara Brunlieb earned a complete-game win for the Titans in the first game, and Clare Robbe pitched four effective innings to secure the victory during the second contest.
In the first game, UW-Oshkosh erased a 1-0 deficit with a three-run fourth inning.
Brunlieb retired the first six Pointer batters before walking Payton Mix to lead off the third inning. Mix went to second base on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a groundout and scored the game's first run on a single by Bailie Sheahan.
Menting and Krueger singled to start the Titans' fourth inning off of UW-Stevens Point starting pitcher Amelia Heup. After a groundout advanced Menting and Krueger into scoring position, Tanya Hammitt delivered a run-scoring single to tie the score at 1 and end Heup's outing.
Brianna Witter executed a sacrifice bunt that moved Kaitlyn Krol to third base and Hammitt to second against Pointers relief pitcher Maddie Durie. Bayreuther then laced a two-run triple over center fielder's head to give the Titans a 3-1 lead.
Sheahan doubled with one out in the sixth inning and advanced to third base on a groundout. Katie Uhlenbrauck hit a grounder to Bayreuther at shortstop, but her throw was wide to first base, allowing Sheahan to score and cut the Titan lead to 3-2.
Bayreuther immediately atoned for her fielding miscue by hitting an RBI single in the home half of the sixth frame that scored Krol with the final run of the game.
UW-Stevens Point loaded the bases with two outs against Brunlieb in the seventh inning, but Sheahan flied out to end the game.
Brunlieb (7-2) limited the Pointers to two runs (one earned) on six hits. She struck out three batters and walked one.
Heup suffered the loss for the Pointers, yielding three runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings pitched. Durie pitched the final 2.2 innings, ceding one run on four hits. The UW-Stevens Point pitching duo did not record a strikeout or issue a walk.
In the second contest, UW-Oshkosh scored multiple runs in each inning behind a 14-hit attack. The Titans tallied three runs in both of the first two innings, two in the third and five in the fifth.
Menting, Caitlin Hoerning and Krueger provided consecutive run-scoring hits with one out in the first inning off of Heup, who also started the nightcap for UW-Stevens Point.
The Pointers answered with a pair of unearned runs off of Robbe in the second inning, but the Titans put the game away in the bottom half of the second frame with three straight two-out, run-scoring singles by Lauren Torborg, Menting and Hoerning off of Pointers relief pitcher Averi Kanyuh.
UW-Oshkosh's two-run third inning was highlighted by a run-scoring triple from Bayreuther and a run-scoring single from Erika Berry.
Krueger's three-run home run in the fourth inning cut through a stiff breeze blowing in from center field, hit on top of the left field wall and bounded over the fence. UW-Oshkosh upped its lead to 13-2 in the fourth inning after pinch hitter Taylor Loew and Torborg hit two-out, run-producing singles.
UW-Stevens Point scored the game's final run on a two-out single by Mix in the fifth inning.
Menting and Torborg both went 3-for-4 with one double, two runs and two RBIs.
Robbe (3-1) won her third straight start after allowing two unearned runs in four innings pitched. She yielded five hits and notched four strikeouts.
Paige Giese pitched the final inning for the Titans, ceding an unearned run and two hits.
Heup was charged with her second loss of the day after giving up three runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning pitched.
Sheahan led the Pointers with two hits in both games.
The Titans, who are off to a 6-0 start in conference play for the second time in three season, remain at home to host UW-La Crosse on Sunday (April 17) at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.