Titans Hold Warhawks Scoreless During Sweep Of Doubleheader
Maddie Fink and Sydney Nemetz pitched shutouts, Brianna Davis and Morgan Rau hit home runs, and the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh softball team swept a doubleheader at UW-Whitewater on Friday (April 15) during a matchup of last season's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference co-champions.
UW-Oshkosh (20-4, 6-0 WIAC), ranked 14th in the NCAA Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, remained alone atop the league standings with victories of 1-0 and 6-0 in a chilly, windy day at UW-Whitewater. The Titans, winners of their last 10 contests, stay one game ahead in the loss column over second-place UW-La Crosse (15-8, 3-1 WIAC) and UW-Platteville (11-11, 3-1) with eight league games left for UW-Oshkosh.
The Titans, who reached 20 wins for the WIAC record-tying 18th consecutive full season, had not swept a league doubleheader in Whitewater since 2008. UW-Oshkosh, out to the second-best start in program history, last shut out UW-Whitewater in both ends of a regular season doubleheader in 1987.
UW-Oshkosh, which also started 20-4 during the 2014 and 2017 seasons, won 25 of its first 29 contests in 1987. The Titans, who clinched the 2021 WIAC Tournament title over UW-Whitewater on the way to advancing to the Division III World Series, tied UW-Stevens Point's WIAC-record run of 18 straight 20-win season from 1994-2011.
UW-Whitewater (10-12, 3-5 WIAC), which hasn't scored a run versus UW-Oshkosh in their last three matchups, failed to score a run during a WIAC doubleheader for the first time since April 9, 2003, at UW-Stevens Point. The last time UW-Whitewater was shutout in both ends of a WIAC home doubleheader was April 12, 2001, against UW-Eau Claire.
The Warhawks had their 12-game regular season home winning streak versus UW-Oshkosh come to an end.
In Friday's first game, UW-Oshkosh provided Fink the only run she needed on Ana Iliopoulos' single that scored Rau with one out in the top of the second inning.
Rau opened the fateful second frame by drawing a walk and advancing to second base on a groundout. Gabby Buikema followed with a single to bring to the plate Iliopoulos, who laced a sharp hit through the left side of the infield to account for the game's lone run.
Fink, the reigning WIAC Pitcher of the Year, registered her league-leading fourth shutout this season and 11th career after pitching around baserunners in each inning. Fink improved to 8-3 on the season, scattering five hits and five walks while striking out a season-high 10 batters. Fink's 10 strikeouts were one shy of matching a career best.
Fink, who also leads the conference with eight complete games, allowed a two-out single in the first inning before walking the bases loaded during the second frame, when Fink induced a popup to second baseman Zoe Malone to thwart the threat.
Fink went on to work around a single and a walk in the third inning, a fourth-inning single, a baserunner via a wild pitch following a strikeout during the fifth frame, a sixth-inning leadoff single and a pair of two-out baserunners during the home half of the seventh inning. Fink ceded her fifth and final single with two outs in the final inning and then issued a walk, but struck out the next batter looking to secure the victory.
Buikema went 2-for-2 and Hannah Ritter 2-for-4 to lead the Titans.
UW-Whitewater starting pitcher Kate Cleveland (4-2) was charged with the loss despite allowing five hits – all singles – and three walks with zero strikeouts across the first six innings.
Meghan Dunning paced the Warhawks with two hits.
During the nightcap Rau was 4-for-4 with a three-run homer, and Nemetz tossed a three-hitter for her first collegiate shutout.
The Titans once again scored in the top of the second inning as Sophie Wery hit a leadoff single and eventually crossed the plate on a wild pitch with no outs. UW-Oshkosh later upped its lead to 2-0 during the fourth frame on Zoe Malone's one-out single that scored pinch-runner Calista Divito from third base.
UW-Oshkosh then tacked on four insurance runs during the fifth inning with a pair of home runs through a stiff wind that howled in from right-center field the entire day. Brianna Davis hit a solo home run – the first of her career – with one out for a 3-0 advantage. Then, with two outs and both Ritter and Wery aboard after drawing walks, Rau launched a ball well beyond the left-field wall for a 6-0 cushion. The home run was Rau's first this year and fifth career.
Nemetz (8-0) kept her perfect record intact by surrendering just a pair of singles and a two-out triple during the home half of the sixth inning. Nemetz walked one and struck out four, including the final Warhawks batter looking to preserve the shutout.
Dunning accounted for two of UW-Whitewater's three hits in the second contest.
UW-Whitewater starting pitcher Mallory Hollatz (4-6) took the loss after yielding four runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Wery walked twice and scored a pair of runs for UW-Oshkosh. Ritter's walk in the fourth inning extended her on-base streak to 55 consecutive games. Ritter, the current NFCA Division III Player of the Week, entered Friday ranked third in the country in batting average and 11th in on-base percentage. After going 2-for-7 and walking once on the day, Ritter, a 2021 NFCA Third Team All-American, is now batting a team-best .526 and getting on base at a .576 clip this year.
UW-Oshkosh, which collected 16 hits and drew seven walks against the Warhawks, went into the day as the WIAC leader in scoring, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage at the plate, and strikeout-to-walk ratio in the pitcher's circle.
The Titans return home to host UW-La Crosse for a WIAC doubleheader Tuesday (April 19) at UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.
Photo by Michael McLoone, UW-Whitewater