Smaney Fires One-Hitter As Titans Win Twice
Bailey Smaney tossed a one-hit shutout in the opener and Claire Petrus pitched a complete game in the second contest of the day as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh softball team won twice Sunday (Feb. 24) at the RCTC Dome in Rochester, Minn.
Smaney took a no-hitter into the final frame as the Titans downed Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.), 11-0 in five innings, before Petrus went the seven-inning distance during an 8-2 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan University.
UW-Oshkosh (3-1), ranked 20th in the NCAA Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, led after each inning in both games and pounded out 22 hits on the day, including five apiece by Natalie Dillon and Natalie Dudek, and four from Kaitlyn Krol.
The shutout was Smaney's second in as many starts this season. Her bid for the 11th no-hitter in UW-Oshkosh history was broken up by a leadoff single in the top of the fifth inning.
The Titans backed Smaney's gem with a run in the top of the first inning, four more in the second and six in the fourth before the game was halted via the eight-run rule.
Smaney (2-0) walked four batters and struck out two on the way to improving her scoreless streak to 11 innings to open the season. She did not allow a runner past first base Sunday en route to upping her career record to 20-5.
Dudek went 3-for-3, Dillon was 3-for-4 and Krol added a pair of hits, including a double, as the Titans collected a season-high 13 hits against Gustavus Adolphus College. Dudek, Krol and Acacia Tupa each drove in two runs.
UW-Oshkosh provided Smaney all the run support she needed when Krol scored Tupa with a one-out double in the top of the first inning.
The Titans' four-run second inning featured run-scoring singles from Tupa, Krol and Dudek before Amanda McIlhany drew a walk with two outs and the bases loaded to extend the lead to 5-0.
UW-Oshkosh then erupted for six runs in the fourth inning on five hits, two walks and two Golden Gustie errors. With two outs and the bases loaded, Dillon began the onslaught with a single that scored Dudek. An infield error by Gustavus Adolphus College allowed another run to score before Tupa reached base on a catcher's interference that brought home Chloe Lambie. Abby Menting followed with a two-run single, and consecutive walks to Krol and Dudek gave the Titans an 11-0 lead.
After Smaney pitched around a walk in both the third and fourth innings, Gustavus Adolphus College (1-3) got its lone hit on an infield single by Marissa Marsolek to lead off the fifth frame. Smaney then induced a pair of popups and registering a strikeout against the next three batters.
Gustavus Adolphus College starting pitcher Ashley Neuenfeldt was charged with the loss after yielding eight runs (five earned) on 11 hits and two walks in 3.1 innings.
In the win over Nebraska Wesleyan University, the Titans scored five times in the home half of the first inning and held a 6-0 lead after two frames.
Lambie and Carly Szada both drove in a pair of runs while Dillon, Dudek and Krol each had two of the Titans' nine hits.
Dillon gave UW-Oshkosh a 1-0 lead with an RBI single that scored Menting, who had walked with one out. Lambie recorded a two-out, two-run single to score Dudek and Krol. Szada then followed with a two-run single of her own that brought home Dillon and Lambie for a 5-0 Titan lead.
Petrus and the Titans escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second frame as Petrus fielded a ground ball, tossed to Menting at home plate for the second out and Menting's throw to Krol at first base was in time for an inning-ending double play.
The Titans tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the second inning on McIlhany's two-out infield single that scored Krol.
Nebraska Wesleyan University (2-2) cut its deficit to 6-2 on a two-run single from Alycin Braun, but UW-Oshkosh answered with a pair of runs in the fifth inning as Katie Fontanetta and Lambie both came around to score on errors by the Prairie Wolves.
Petrus (1-1) set down five of the last six Nebraska Wesleyan University batters to preserve the win. She scattered 10 hits and three walks while striking out two on the way to the 14th complete game effort of her career.
Morgan Shipley went 3-for-3 for Nebraska Wesleyan University, which also received two hits apiece from Rachel Mundt and Payton Swanson.
Prairie Wolves starting pitcher Grace Sommer suffered the loss, allowing five runs on four hits and one walk in one inning.
UW-Oshkosh returns to action next month, when its travels to Iowa for doubleheaders at Loras College on March 23 and Wartburg College on March 24.