Titans To Face Demanding Softball Schedule
The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh softball team's quest for a return trip to the NCAA Division III Championship begins with four games at the Superior Dome this weekend (Feb. 24-25) in Marquette, Mich.
UW-Oshkosh (33-13 record in 2017) opens its rigorous 2018 schedule against Concordia Wisconsin (31-12) and The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) (24-17) on Saturday (Feb. 24) before taking on Lakeland (16-24) and Marian (27-16) universities on Sunday (Feb. 25).
The College of St. Scholastica appeared in last year's national tournament after clinching the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference title while Concordia University Wisconsin placed second in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC).
The Titans, ranked 23rd in the country by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll, is set to play 15 games against teams that reached the NCAA postseason a year ago. Just three of UW-Oshkosh's 21 non-conference opponents this season had losing records in 2017.
Last season UW-Oshkosh won a regional championship for the first time since 1988. The Titans' most successful season in nearly three decades concluded with the program's first appearance in the super regional round. UW-Oshkosh, which finished third in the WIAC standings with a 9-5 record, won all three of its games at the La Crosse Regional before suffering a pair of setbacks by three total runs to Trine University (Ind.) at the Angola (Ind.) Super Regional.
UW-Oshkosh's 40-game schedule, which features games against eight conference champions, includes trips to Arizona and Florida in March and a 13-game homestand from April 5-19.
The Titans travel to Tucson, Ariz., on March 2-4 to play three league champions and four programs that appeared in last year's NCAA postseason. UW-Oshkosh will battle George Fox University (Ore.) (20-17) and Messiah College (Pa.) (35-10) on March 2, 25th-ranked Babson College (Mass.) (33-16) and DePauw University (Ind.) (23-21) on March 3, and Wittenberg University (Ohio) (29-7) and University of St. Thomas (Minn.) (37-11) on March 4.
Babson College, DePauw University, Messiah College and University of St. Thomas each advanced to the 2017 Division III Championship. Messiah College, University of St. Thomas and Wittenberg University all won conference regular season titles a year ago.
UW-Oshkosh then embarks on its annual trek to Clermont, Fla., for 10 games in six days from March 18-23.
The Titans commence their Sunshine State trip against Clarkson (N.Y.) (22-17) and Worcester State (Mass.) (18-18) universities on March 18 before playing Manchester University (Ind.) (13-25-1) and Williams College (Mass.) (38-13) on March 19.
Williams College enters the season ranked fourth in the country after winning the New England Small College Athletic Conference and advancing to the semifinals of the Division III Championship last year.
UW-Oshkosh concludes its Florida slate of games against Calvin (Mich.) (20-20) and Juniata (Pa.) (15-25) colleges on March 20, Benedictine University (Ill.) (34-13) and Farmingdale State College (N.Y.) (22-19) on March 22, and Hope College (Mich.) (27-15) and University of Chicago (Ill.) (26-14) on March 23.
Benedictine University, University of Chicago and Hope College each reached the NCAA postseason a year ago. Benedictine University is the defending NACC champion, Hope College shared the regular season title in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and University of Chicago, an independent program, received an at-large berth to the national tournament.
UW-Oshkosh conducts its home opener against Marian University on April 5 at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park. The Titans will also travel to Marian University for the season's third meeting between the teams on April 24.
Rounding out the Titans' non-conference schedule are home doubleheaders against Lakeland University on April 12 and St. Norbert College (21-16) on April 17. St. Norbert College, which won the Midwest Conference championship, joined UW-Oshkosh at the La Crosse Regional last season.
UW-Oshkosh opens WIAC play by hosting UW-Stout (18-24) for a doubleheader on April 7. The Titans' 13-game homestand also includes league doubleheaders against UW-River Falls (11-24) on April 8, UW-La Crosse (30-16) on April 14 and UW-Stevens Point (12-24) on April 19.
The Titans wrap up their conference schedule with road doubleheaders at 11th-ranked UW-Whitewater (37-9) on April 21, UW-Platteville (11-25) on April 28 and UW-Eau Claire (27-11) on April 29.
The WIAC Championship is set for May 4-6. The NCAA Division III Championship begins regional play on May 10.
Last season UW-Whitewater won the WIAC regular season with a 14-0 record and claimed the league tournament title by winning each of its three games, including a 5-0 decision over UW-La Crosse in the championship game.
UW-La Crosse finished second in the 2017 WIAC standings with a 10-4 record. The Eagles were followed by third-place UW-Oshkosh with a 9-5 mark, fourth-place UW-Eau Claire at 8-6, fifth-place UW-Stout at 5-9, sixth-place UW-Platteville at 4-10, and seventh-place UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point at 3-11.
UW-Oshkosh, UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater each played in last year's national tournament, marking the first time at least three WIAC programs reached the same NCAA postseason since four made the championship field in 2011.
UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater both hosted NCAA regional tournaments last season. Trine University won the Whitewater Regional while UW-Oshkosh, which lost a pair of games to UW-La Crosse during the regular season, swept through the La Crosse Regional with a 3-0 record, including two wins over the host Eagles.
Trine University (37-10), ranked sixth in this year's NCFA preseason poll, hosted UW-Oshkosh for the best-of-3 super regional round. The Thunder slipped past the Titans by scores of 7-6 and 7-5 to earn the right to advance to the World Series in Oklahoma City. UW-Oshkosh finished the 2017 season ranked 18th by the NFCA.
UW-Oshkosh returns its entire starting lineup and 13 letter winners overall from last year's squad that set a WIAC record with 87 doubles and finished 20th in the nation with a .971 fielding percentage.
UW-Oshkosh fifth-year head coach Scott Beyer owns a 112-49 record. His .696 winning percentage at UW-Oshkosh tops the school record book and ranks sixth in WIAC history.
Beyer welcomes back four All-WIAC players, including first team selections Erika Berry and Abby Menting, who both received All-Great Lakes Region honors for the second time last season.
Berry, a senior third baseman, matched a Division III record last year with four doubles in a game and tied a program mark with five hits in one contest. She heads into her final season with a .343 career batting average.
Menting, a junior catcher, has led the Titans during both of her two seasons in batting average, hits, home runs, runs batted in, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The 2016 WIAC Co-Position Player of the Year has a .403 career batting average with 12 home runs and a .663 slugging percentage over her first two seasons.
Also back for the Titans are a pair of 2017 All-WIAC Honorable Mention choices in sophomore shortstop Natalie Dudek and junior first baseman Kaitlyn Krol.
Dudek hit .307 and produced a .959 fielding percentage while Krol had a .324 batting average with three home runs and 31 runs batted in.
UW-Oshkosh, seeking its fourth WIAC title and first since 2007, has won at least 20 games in each of the past 14 seasons. The streak includes 36 victories in 2007, 33 last year, 32 in 2008 and 30 in 2015.