Titans Receive Second Straight Invitation To NCAA Championship
UW-Oshkosh is heading back to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship after receiving an at-large berth for the second straight season on Monday (May 7).
UW-Oshkosh (25-12) opens the national tournament Thursday (May 10) against Central College (Iowa) (27-10) in St. Paul, Minn. The opening pitch is set for 1 p.m. at University of St. Thomas' South Field.
The four-team, double-elimination St. Paul Regional will also see University of St. Thomas (35-6) hosting University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) (25-14) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
University of St. Thomas is ranked seventh in the country by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association while Central College lists 17th.
Thursday's winners will meet Friday (May 11) for the right to advance to the St. Paul Regional championship game, which will be contested Saturday (May 12). Thursday's losers will play and elimination contest Friday.
The 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 Division III title May 24-29 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
UW-Oshkosh, which reached the super regional round a year ago, earned one of 20 at-large berths to this year's field after finishing second in the regular season and the league postseason tournament in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Titans, who last made two straight NCAA postseason trips in 2007-08, own a 13-15 record in seven previous NCAA postseason trips.
Central College, which also received an at-large bid to the Division III Championship, was the runner-up in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) standings before losing its first and only game in the league tournament. The four-time national champion and two-time national runner-up Dutch boast a 92-56 record in 28 prior NCAA appearances. The program is tied for the record for Division III postseason appearances while ranking second in victories since the championship debuted in 1982.
University of St. Thomas, hosting a regional for the first time, clinched an automatic berth to the field of 62 teams after winning the regular and postseason titles in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The two-time Division III champion Tommies, who have won 24 of their last 25 games, are unbeaten in 11 home games this year. University of St. Thomas has a 75-49 record in 25 previous NCAA trips.
University of Northwestern secured its first Division III Championship appearance by cruising through three games at the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament, outscoring opponents, 34-7, along the way.
UW-Oshkosh is seeking its first win over Central College as the Dutch have swept all nine meetings by a combined 70-7 score, including an 8-0 decision during the most recent matchup in 2006. The Titans, who have never played University of Northwestern, lost to University of St. Thomas, 11-6, on March 4 in Tucson, Ariz., extending their losing streak against the Tommies to three games.
The St. Paul Regional features three teams leading their respective conferences in scoring and a University of Northwestern squad that paced the UMAC with a 3.14 earned run average. University of St. Thomas is averaging seven runs per game while Central College scores 6.46 runs per contest and UW-Oshkosh 6.14.
UW-Oshkosh also leads the WIAC in double plays turned per game (0.51), triples per contest (0.51) and on-base percentage (.391). The Titans' 20 triples this year are a program record.
The Titan offense, hitting .320 for the season, is spearheaded by sophomore outfielder Acacia Tupa, sophomore second baseman Amanda McIlhany, senior third baseman Erika Berry and junior first baseman Kaitlyn Krol, who are each hitting better than .350 on the season.
Tupa is hitting .351 with a team-leading nine doubles, five triples, four home runs, four stolen bases, 65 total bases and a .670 slugging percentage. She has 14 hits in her last 30 at-bats with 10 runs, three home runs and eight runs batted in over the past nine games.
McIlhany, batting .384 on the year, leads the team with 29 runs scored and four home runs while adding three triples and a .626 slugging percentage. Berry has a team-best 40 hits to go along with eight doubles, 22 runs batted in and a .377 batting average while Krol has a .356 average, 37 hits, three home runs and a team-high 31 RBIs.
Rounding out the UW-Oshkosh regular lineup are sophomore designated player Claire Petrus, senior outfielder Brianna Witter, sophomore shortstop Natalie Dudek, sophomore outfielder Natalie Dillon and junior catcher Abby Menting.
Petrus is hitting .389 and slugging .778 in 36 at-bats while Dudek and Witter have 18 and 17 runs batted in, respectively. Dillon leads the team with five stolen bases, and Menting has driven in 20 runs and launched a pair of homers as nine different Titans have combined to hit 19 home runs this season.
The Titan pitching staff, which has produced a 3.23 earned run average, is led by Petrus and junior Bailey Smaney, who have accounted for all but 27.2 of the team's innings. Smaney has a 10-3 record with a team-best 2.62 earned run average, three saves and 57 strikeouts in 99 innings pitched. Petrus is 13-8 with a 2.66 earned run average and 49 strikeouts in 116 innings pitched.
Central College is the IIAC leader in per-game stolen bases (3.41), triples (0.43) and double plays turned (0.43). The Dutch, who rank fifth in the country in steals, have eight home runs on the year, including just one over their last 19 games. UW-Oshkosh has more doubles (72) this season than Central College has extra-base hits (71).
Sophomore outfielders Shaye Witte and Sara Tallman spark the Dutch offense from atop the batting order, combining to hit .421 with 82 of the team's 239 runs and 56 of the squad's 127 stolen bases.
Witte paces Central College with a .431 batting average, an IIAC-leading four triples and a .504 on-base percentage while contributing 13 steals. Tallman, who ranks fourth nationally with 1.14 stolen bases per game, hits .413 with a team-high 48 runs scored and 43 steals.
The speedy outfield duo are among six Dutch regulars hitting at least .330, including senior catcher Emily Walton (.376), freshman shortstop Daria Parchert (.338), senior outfielder Tabitha Taylor (.333) and sophomore designated player Kaitlyn Andresen (.330). Walton has a team-best 10 doubles and 37 RBIs while Taylor leads with four home runs.
In the pitcher's circle, the Dutch rely nearly exclusively on senior Annie DeVries and junior Mariah Fritz, who have combined to log all but one of the team's defensive outs since March 30. DeVries and Fritz have totaled 98 strikeouts and 98 walks between them in more than 240 innings pitched. DeVries has a 13-3 record and a 3.47 earned run average with 40 strikeouts in 103 innings pitched. Fritz is 12-7 with a 2.51 earned run average and 58 strikeouts in 131.1 innings.
University of St. Thomas, which lost in last year's super regional, has a MIAC-high .335 batting average and a 4.31 earned run average. The Tommies also pace their conference in doubles (1.93) and steals (2.24) per game, on-base percentage (.398), fielding percentage (.976) and shutouts thrown (9).
Headlining the University of St. Thomas offense are junior first baseman Chase Shortly, junior second baseman Melissa Barry and sophomore third baseman Elise Barnes.
Shortly has a MIAC-leading 39 runs batted in to go along with a team-high .407 batting average and 15 doubles. Barry is hitting .380 with a team-high 52 hits and 20 stolen bases. Barnes, batting .371 with a team-best 50 runs scored, is her conference's leader with eight home runs, 89 total bases and a .674 slugging percentage.
The Tommies pitching staff is helmed by sophomore Haley Dunning, who sports a 23-2 record with a 2.56 earned run average and 81 strikeouts in 156 of the team's 265 innings. She ranks fourth in the nation in victories.
University of Northwestern, which enters its NCAA debut on a seven-game winning streak, is hitting .317 with 10 home runs on the year.
Junior outfielder Mindy Forcier propels the Eagle offense, batting .400 with 48 runs, 19 steals and a .483 on-base percentage. She leads the UMAC at 1.23 runs per game.
Eagles freshman shortstop Kayla Madison, the UMAC leader with 39 RBIs, hits .348 while freshman first baseman Ellie Ronning is batting .378 with a team-high 51 hits, 15 doubles, two home runs and a .578 slugging percentage.
University of Northwestern's UMAC-leading pitching staff is anchored by Lexi Kopacek and Abbie Nelson. Kopacek has a 13-7 record and a 3.01 earned run average with 33 strikeouts in 121 innings pitched. Nelson is 7-5 with a 3.30 earned run average and a team-leading 36 strikeouts in 91.1 innings.
Central College, which went 0-2 as a regional host a year ago, won national championships in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 2003. The Dutch were also the runners-up in 1986 and 2001.
University of St. Thomas claimed back-to-back Division III titles in 2004 and 2005 before falling during the 2006 national championship game in its attempt to become the first program to win three straight titles.
NCAA Division III Softball Championship Digital Program
UW-Oshkosh NCAA Division III Softball Regional Media Guide
NCAA Division III Women's Softball Championship Selections
NCAA Division III Softball Championship Website - St. Paul Regional