Six Titans Receive All-WIAC Softball Awards
First Team selections Erika Berry, Kaitlyn Krol, Bailey Smaney and Acacia Tupa highlight UW-Oshkosh's league-high six players named to the 2018 All-WIAC Softball Team.
Berry, a senior third baseman, was voted to the First Team for the third straight season after receiving all-conference honorable mention recognition in 2015.
Krol, a junior first baseman, earned her second straight all-league accolade after collecting honorable mention status a year ago. Smaney, a junior pitcher, and Tupa, a sophomore outfielder, both garnered their initial all-conference award.
Rounding out UW-Oshkosh's all-conference selections were honorable mention picks in sophomore designated player Claire Petrus and senior outfielder Brianna Witter, who also received all-league recognition for the first time.
Berry leads the Titans with a .377 batting average, 40 hits and a .452 on-base percentage while ranking second on the team with eight doubles and four stolen bases.
Berry has 13 multiple-hit games this season, including five three-hit performances. She went 15-for-22 with three doubles and seven runs batted in during a six-game stretch from March 3-18. In WIAC play, Berry ranked fifth in the conference with 31 assists.
Krol is hitting .356 and paces the team with 31 runs batted in and 16 walks. She has accumulated 37 hits, including seven doubles and three home runs.
Krol had a 6-for-7 day with a home run and three RBIs during a doubleheader against UW-River Falls this season. She drove in at least three runs in a game on seven occasions, including three games in a row from March 3-4 and a season-best four RBIs against UW-Eau Claire. Against league opponents, Krol ranked third in the WIAC with a .469 on-base percentage and fourth with 10 RBIs. She walked seven times in conference play and did not strike out in 41 at-bats. In the field, Krol played a role in a league-high four double plays and 91 putouts during conference games.
Smaney sports a team-leading 10-3 record and a 2.62 earned run average with three saves and 57 strikeouts in 99 innings pitched. In her second season with the Titans after transferring from NCAA Division I UW-Green Bay, Smaney compiled a league-best 6-0 record during conference play.
Smaney went more than two months without suffering a loss, racking up an 8-0 record with five complete games and three saves in 16 pitching appearances from March 4 through May 5. In league play Smaney was second among WIAC pitchers with 48.2 innings. Smaney matched her career high with seven strikeouts in complete-game wins over Lakeland University and UW-River Falls.
Tupa paces the Titans with nine doubles, five triples, four home runs and a .670 slugging percentage. Playing her first year with UW-Oshkosh after transferring from UW-Green Bay, Tupa is batting .351, including a team-high .405 in conference play.
Tupa was 5-for-7 with a double, a home run and three runs scored during a doubleheader against UW-Stout this season. She also homered and drove in a season-best four runs against UW-Whitewater. During the 14-game conference season, Tupa led the WIAC with 29 total bases, nine walks, two triples, a .532 on-base percentage and a .784 slugging percentage while ranking third with 12 runs and fourth in batting average at .405.
Petrus is batting .389 with seven doubles, two triples and one home run as 10 of her 14 hits on the year have gone for extra bases, leading to a .778 slugging percentage in 36 at-bats.
Petrus, who collected all but two of her hits during conference play, went 3-for-3 with three doubles in a game against UW-Stevens Point and matched her season high with three hits against UW-Stout. She also owns a 13-8 record as a pitcher with a 2.66 earned run average and 49 strikeouts in a team-high 116 innings.
Witter is hitting .317 on the season with 17 runs batted in. She batted .323 with six RBIs in league games. Witter registered at least one hit during nine of her last 11 contests against WIAC opponents, including a stretch when she went 6-for-9 at the plate from May 1-5.
Conference champion UW-Whitewater matched league runner-up UW-Oshkosh with six total All-WIAC players, including four on the First Team.
Joining the UW-Oshkosh quartet on the 21-member All-WIAC First Team were UW-Eau Claire's Mikayla McEnery and Sarah Peka; UW-La Crosse's Brittany Baldwin, Katie Klein and Mia Schmidtke; UW-Platteville's Shannon Gaul, Ashton Hoeppner and Abby Jaques; UW-River Falls' Kaia Dorn and Molly Kaspar; UW-Stevens Point's Ashley Cohen; UW-Stout's Mary Iliopoulos and Beth Wood; and UW-Whitewater's Julia Camardo, Caitlin Catino, Bella Matthias and Vera Pflugradt.
UW-Whitewater's Camardo and Pflugradt were selected as the WIAC Pitcher of the Year and Position Player of the Year, respectively. UW-Platteville received Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
UW-Whitewater (25-11-1) claimed the WIAC regular season championship with a 12-2 record. The Warhawks were followed by UW-Oshkosh (25-12) in second place at 10-4, UW-Stout (23-12) in third at 9-5, UW-Eau Claire (21-18) in fourth at 7-7, UW-River Falls (21-15) and UW-Platteville (21-15) in fifth at 6-8, UW-La Crosse (18-18) in seventh at 5-9 and UW-Stevens Point (12-25) in eighth at 1-13.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater will represent the WIAC at the NCAA Division III Championship that commences Thursday (May 10). UW-Whitewater claimed the conference postseason title to earn the league's automatic berth to the 62-team national field while UW-Oshkosh received an at-large berth for the second straight season.