Titans Collect Berth Into The NCAA Postseason

UW-Oshkosh returns to the NCAA softball postseason for the first time since 2008 after receiving an at-large berth into the 62-team Division III Championship on Monday (May 8).

The Titans (30-11), who collected one of 20 at-large invitations, begin tournament play against Benedictine University (Ill.) (33-11) at 1 p.m. on Friday (May 12) in La Crosse.

Rounding out the four teams at the La Crosse Regional are host UW-La Crosse (28-14) and St. Norbert College (21-14), which will meet in Friday's second contest (3:30 p.m.).

Friday's winners will meet on Saturday (May 13) for the right to advance to the regional's championship game on Sunday (May 14) while Friday's losers will play an elimination contest on Saturday.

The La Crosse Regional winner advances to play in a best-of-three game super regional next weekend (May 19-20). The eight super regional champions will then play for the national title May 15-20 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

UW-La Crosse joined UW-Oshkosh in securing an at-large berth out of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while Benedictine University and St. Norbert College gained automatic entry to the national field by winning league tournament titles in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) and Midwest Conference (MWC), respectively.

UW-Oshkosh, a seven-time NCAA postseason participant, has reached 30 wins for the second time in three seasons and the fifth time in program history. Head coach Scott Beyer guided the Titans to third place in the WIAC standings before a fourth-place showing at the league tournament.

The Titans own a 10-13 record in their previous six NCAA postseason appearances. UW-Oshkosh, which reached the regional final during its most recent trip in 2008, finished sixth in the country in 1988.

UW-Oshkosh has an 0-4 record this year against teams at the La Crosse Regional, falling to Benedictine University by a 4-2 score on March 18 in Clermont, Fla., and suffering three defeats to UW-La Crosse. UW-Oshkosh suffered setbacks to UW-La Crosse by scores of 5-0 and 4-1 on April 17 in La Crosse and 5-2 during the first round of the WIAC Championship on May 5 in Whitewater.

The Titans boast seven players hitting better than .300 this season, including sophomore catcher Abby Menting, freshman utility Claire Petrus, junior third baseman Erika Berry, sophomore first baseman Kaitlyn Krol and sophomore outfielder Emma Fionda.

Menting, the reigning WIAC Co-Position Player of the Year, paces the team in batting average (.383), hits (44), home runs (5), runs batted in (28), walks (21), on-base percentage (.482) and slugging percentage (.626).

Petrus is hitting .359 with a team-leading 15 doubles while Berry is batting .347, Krol .320 and Fionda .310. Berry has contributed 26 runs scored, five home runs, 22 runs batted in and a team-best six stolen bases. Krol has three home runs and 27 RBIs, and Fionda leads the squad with 33 runs scored.

UW-Oshkosh freshman shortstop Natalie Dudek is hitting .306 while leading the team with 75 assists.

In the pitcher's circle, UW-Oshkosh senior Sara Brunlieb has compiled a 12-5 record with a 2.43 earned run average and 104 strikeouts in 115 innings pitched.

Completing the Titan pitching staff are sophomore Bailey Smaney, junior Clare Robbe and Petrus. Smaney has a 6-1 record and a 2.08 earned run average in 60.2 innings pitched while Robbe is 6-4 with a 2.75 ERA in 51 innings and Petrus 6-1 with a team-leading 1.41 ERA and four saves in 44.2 innings.

As a team, UW-Oshkosh has a .308 batting average and a 2.24 earned run average. The Titans, who rank third nationally with a .977 fielding percentage, have a 23-1 record this season when holding opponents to fewer than three runs. UW-Oshkosh is also 25-2 when it scores at least four runs.

Benedictine University claimed both the NACC regular season and postseason titles for the third time in the past seven seasons. The Eagles sport a 24-30 record in 14 previous trips to the NCAA postseason, which includes a program best third-place finish in 1993.

Friday's opener between UW-Oshkosh and Benedictine University could feature a pitching matchup of the Titans' Brunlieb opposing Eagles senior Holly Haberkorn. Brunlieb enters the postseason ranked ninth among active Division III pitchers with 57 career wins (57-20 record) while Haberkorn lists second with 72 (72-22 record).

Haberkorn leads Benedictine University in the pitcher's circle and at the plate this season. She has a 22-4 pitching record with a 2.13 earned runs average and 95 strikeouts in 164.2 innings. Haberkorn also paces the Eagles in batting average (.414), hits (63), doubles (17) and runs batted in (46).

Other offensive leaders for the Eagles include junior infielder Courtney Grasz, senior outfielder Kassee Johnson, junior outfielder Angie Malsack and senior infielder Shannon Fritsche.

Grasz is hitting .396 with a team-leading 41 runs scored and eight home runs to go along with 40 runs batted in. Johnson hits .340 with 38 runs scored while Malsack is hitting .326 with a team-high 22 stolen bases and Fritsche .316 with 35 runs scored, seven home runs and 17 stolen bases.

In the pitching circle, Benedictine University freshman Nicole Parney has a 10-4 record with a 2.33 earned run average in 87 innings.

Benedictine University has produced a .339 batting average and a 2.72 earned run average.

UW-La Crosse finished as the runner-up in both the WIAC standings and the league tournament. The Eagles, making their first NCAA appearance since 2011, have a 5-8 record in four previous trips to the national tournament.

The Eagles' offensive leaders include junior outfielder Brittany Baldwin, freshman outfielder Stephanie Cole and sophomore outfielder Ashley Lindstrom.

Baldwin has a team-leading .438 batting average, 34 runs scored, 35 stolen bases and a .514 on-base percentage. Cole is hitting .400 with a team-team 12 doubles, two home runs 32 runs batted in and a .543 slugging percentage while Lindstrom is batting .364 with 11 doubles.

The UW-La Crosse pitching staff is headlined by senior Jessie Carignan, sophomore Caitlyn Hughes and junior Kate Klein.

Carignan has an 11-5 record with a 1.35 earned run average in 98.1 innings pitched while Hughes is 10-5 with a 2.96 ERA and a team-high 65 strikeouts in 99.1 innings. Klein sports a 7-4 record with a 2.48 earned run average and a Division III-best eight saves on the year and 27 saves during her career.

As a team, UW-La Crosse has a .312 batting average and a 2.24 earned run average.

St. Norbert College, the MWC's regular season champion, is in the NCAA tournament field for the fifth time and first since 2012. The Green Knights clinched the MWC's automatic berth into the NCAA postseason with a 6-4 victory over Cornell College (Iowa) in the league tournament's championship game.

St. Norbert College began the year with a 1-8 record before winning 20 of its last 26 games, including 14 of 15 at home.

The Green Knight offense is spearheaded by sophomore third baseman Tia Danforth, who leads the team in batting average (.394), runs scored (34), doubles (10), triples (3), home runs (4), runs batted in (26), slugging percentage (.663) and on-base percentage (.484).

St. Norbert College has used just two pitchers – both freshmen – the entire season. Emma Molenhouse has a 10-5 record with a 2.68 earned run average in 104.2 innings pitched while Sydney Pfotenhauer sports an 11-9 mark with a 2.76 ERA in 129.1 innings.

As a team, St. Norbert College has a .295 batting average and a 2.72 earned run average.

The Green Knights have a 4-8 record in NCAA tournament play.

NCAA Division III Women's Softball Championship Selections

NCAA Division III Softball Championship Website - La Crosse Regional