Titans Conclude Opening Weekend With 5-1 Record

Bailey Smaney pitched a two-hitter, Abby Menting collected three hits and Lauren Torborg hit a two-run home run as the UW-Oshkosh softball team defeated Carroll University, 8-0, in five innings on Sunday (Feb. 26) in Marquette, Mich.

The Titans jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning before scoring once in both the second and fourth frames, and twice in the fifth.

Smaney (2-0) recorded four strikeouts and allowed just two baserunners.

Menting went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, while Torborg raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run that halted the contest via the eight-run rule and handed Carroll University (3-1) its first loss of the year.

UW-Oshkosh (5-1) recorded nine hits, including seven for extra bases.

The Titans' four-run opening inning was highlighted by a run-scoring double by Kaitlyn Krol and a Carroll University infield error that allowed two runs to score.

Menting's first double of the game drove home Claire Petrus in the second inning, and Emma Fionda increased UW-Oshkosh's lead to 6-0 by scoring on a sacrifice bunt by Paige Giese in the fifth.

With two outs and Brianna Witter on second base in the home half of the fifth inning, Torborg laced her home run to right field to conclude the game.

Caitlin Hoerning, Jordan Manthei and Petrus added doubles for UW-Oshkosh, which has won each of its four meetings with Carroll University since 1999.

Carroll University gained its only baserunners on doubles by Hannah Miller in the second inning and Strasser in the fourth.

Carroll University starting pitcher Lexy Kemnitzer (1-1) was charged with the loss after yielding six runs (five earned) on eight hits across 3.1 innings.

The Titans concluded their six-game trip to Michigan with a .383 batting average, 29 doubles, and .631 slugging and .464 on-base percentages while committing just four errors in the field and compiling a 0.82 earned run average. UW-Oshkosh has outscored its opponents, 60-5.

Krol, Menting and Clare Robbe all represented UW-Oshkosh on the 14-player All-Finlandia University Dome Classic Team.

UW-Oshkosh is idle until embarking on a 12-game trip to Florida from March 17-23. The Titans open play in the Sunshine State against Amherst (Mass.) and Lake Forest (Ill.) colleges on March 17 in Leesburg.

Photo by Paul Fionda