Titans Defeat Dutch In NCAA Postseason Opener

Natalie Dudek homered and drove in a career-high three runs to lead UW-Oshkosh to a 5-2 victory over nationally ranked Central College (Iowa) during the first round of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship on Thursday (May 10) in St. Paul, Minn.

Dudek gave UW-Oshkosh a 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. She added a run-scoring double that extended the Titans advantage to 5-1 in the sixth frame.

Bailey Smaney (11-3) pick up the win in the pitcher's circle, holding the speedy Central College lineup to two runs (one earned) on 10 hits in a complete-game effort. Smaney walked one and struck out two.

UW-Oshkosh (26-12) advances to play at 11 a.m. Friday (May 11) in the St. Paul Regional winner's bracket final. The Titans will face host University of St. Thomas (36-6), which defeated University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) by a 9-1 score in six innings during Thursday's other first-round contest. University of St. Thomas is ranked seventh in the country by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Twenty-third ranked Central College (27-11) will battle University of Northwestern (25-15) in an elimination contest Friday.

UW-Oshkosh earned its first win against four-time national champion Central College in 10 all-time meetings. The Dutch, who entered Thursday's matchup fifth nationally with 3.41 stolen bases per game, had outscored the Titans, 70-7, in the nine prior meetings.

The Dutch were 0-for-1 in stolen bases against the Titans, marking just their seventh game this year without a steal.

Eight different Titans combined for 11 hits, including two each from Dudek, Kaitlyn Krol and Brianna Witter. UW-Oshkosh reached double-digits in hits for the 17th time on the year.

Tabitha Taylor went 3-for-3 to pace Central College while Shaye Witte and Emily Walton both accounted for two of the Dutch's 10 hits, which were all singles.

After Smaney pitched around a pair of one-out singles in the top of the first inning and UW-Oshkosh stranded two baserunners in the home half of the first frame, Witter reached on an infield single with two outs in the second ahead of Dudek, who launched her first home run of the season well beyond the left field wall.

UW-Oshkosh gave Smaney all the support she needed with two more runs on five hits in the third inning. Acacia Tupa, Natalie Dillon and Krol hit consecutive singles to start the frame for a 3-0 lead. Amanda McIlhany later added a run-scoring single with two outs for a 4-0 Titan advantage.

Smaney retired seven consecutive Dutch batters until issuing a leadoff walk in the fourth inning. Walton followed with a single, but two straight groundouts and another grounder with the bases loaded kept Smaney's shutout intact.

Central College trimmed its deficit to 4-1 on a two-out, run-scoring single by Daria Parchert in the top of the sixth before the Titans answered with a run of their own in the sixth as Witter hit a ground-rule double and Dudek followed with a double to plate Witter.

The Dutch pulled within 5-2 in the seventh inning on Taylor's two-out RBI single, but Smaney induced a fly ball for the final out that secured the Titans' trip to the winner's bracket final for the second year in a row.

Central College starting pitcher Mariah Fritz (12-8) suffered the complete-game loss, yielding five runs on a season-high 11 hits in six innings. She walked one and struck out one.

Central College claimed Division III titles in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 2003.

UW-Oshkosh won the La Crosse Regional championship with three straight wins last season before going on to fall in two games to host Trine University (Ind.), by a combined 14-11 score, in the best-of-three Angola (Ind.) Super Regional.

NCAA Division III Softball Championship Digital Program

UW-Oshkosh NCAA Division III Softball Regional Media Guide

NCAA Division III Softball Championship Website - St. Paul Regional 

UW-Oshkosh Postgame Press Conference: