Ritter, Garceau Named All-Region
UW-Oshkosh junior first baseman Hannah Ritter and freshman outfielder Abby Garceau have been selected to the 2022 NCAA Division III All-Region VIII Softball Team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Ritter was named to the NFCA All-Region VIII First Team after earning Second Team honors a year ago. Garceau was chosen to the All-Region VIII Second Team following her debut collegiate season.
Garceau and Ritter, a 2021 NFCA Third Team All-American, are now in contention for All-America honors by virtue of being selected to one of the 10 All-Region Teams. All 10 regions featured First, Second and Third Teams as voted on by NFCA member coaches. The 2022 NFCA All-America Team will be announced May 24.
UW-Oshkosh has had at least two NFCA All-Region performers each season since 2013.
Ritter, the 25th Titan to garner All-Region honors in consecutive years, was recognized as the top first baseman in Region VIII after producing one of the finest seasons in UW-Oshkosh and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference history.
Ritter, the school-record holder with 67 hits a year ago, tied the WIAC record with a .500 batting average this season while recording 58 hits, 30 runs scored, nine doubles, one home run, 29 runs batted in, 14 walks, 70 total bases, a .603 slugging percentage, a .554 on-base percentage and a .995 fielding percentage. Ritter, the hardest WIAC player to strike out at once per 23.2 at-bats, currently ranks 13th and 25th, respectively, nationally with a conference-leading batting average and on-base percentage while also finishing the campaign ranked second in the WIAC in hits.
Ritter compiled a 17-game hitting streak – the third-longest in program history – this season and reached base safely in each of UW-Oshkosh's 64 games between March 26, 2021, and May 2, 2022.
Ritter was previously announced among 50 total players on the NFCA's watchlist for the 2022 Division III Player and Pitcher of the Year awards and the NFCA Division III Player of the Week for games played April 4-10, when she led the Titans to eight straight wins by going 17-for-23 at the plate during the span with 13 runs scored, five doubles, 10 runs batted in and six walks.
Ritter had 20 multiple-hit efforts during UW-Oshkosh's 36 games this season. She went 3-for-3 on five occasions this year and was 4-for-4 during the first game of a doubleheader against UW-La Crosse on April 19. Ritter, who did not strike out for a 16-game stretch from March 23 through April 30, went a combined 4-for-4 with three walks and a home run in a doubleheader versus UW-Stevens Point on April 27.
Ritter's .477 career batting average through three seasons ranks 14th among all active NCAA players regardless of division. The WIAC career batting average record currently stands at .446.
Garceau concluded her impressive first collegiate season with a .444 batting average, 52 hits, 31 runs scored, 16 RBIs, four stolen bases and a .476 on-base percentage. She paced the squad in runs scored and committed just three errors for a .958 fielding percentage while playing in both the infield and outfield. Garceau finished the year ranked fourth in the WIAC in batting average, fifth in hits and sixth in both runs scored and on-base percentage.
Garceau, the first Titan to earn All-Region accolades as a freshman since 2016, had a trio of four-hit games this season, going 4-for-4 against both Ripon College on April 5 (game one) and UW-Platteville on May 1 (game two), and 4-for-6 versus UW-La Crosse on April 19 (game two). She also collected three hits an additional seven times on the year, including a 3-for-5 effort with a pair of RBIs against UW-Platteville on May 1 (game one).
Ritter and Garceau both received All-WIAC First Team honors earlier this month.
UW-Oshkosh (26-10) won at least 20 games for the WIAC record-tying 18th consecutive season. The Titans led the conference in scoring, batting average and fielding percentage while ranking second in the WIAC in earned run average. UW-Oshkosh's .969 fielding percentage this year ranked fifth in school history and seventh best by a WIAC program.
The Titans won 10 straight games – tied for the fifth longest streak in program history – from April 5-15. UW-Oshkosh was the only WIAC program to be ranked in the NFCA top 25 this season, ascending as high as 11th in the nation on April 19.