Titans Pummel Eagles To Earn Season-Opening Split

UW-Oshkosh bounced back from a heartbreaking loss with a nine-run first inning as it captured one of two women's softball games on Saturday (Feb. 26) in Marquette, Mich.

The Titans (1-1) posted a 14-0 victory over Edgewood College in game two after dropping a 7-5 extra-inning contest to the University of Dubuque (Iowa) in the opener.

The Spartans (1-0) committed six errors in game one, and their first run came on a UW-Oshkosh miscue during the second frame. The Titans capitalized on two Dubuque errors in their half of the third inning to tie the score at 1.

During the fifth inning, UW-Oshkosh drew a leadoff walk and got another runner on base thanks to a fielding error. Two consecutive walks followed, as Marti Meyer (Jr. • Verona) and Sydnee Wyss (Sr. • Monroe) each forced in a run. The Titans held their 4-1 advantage until the sixth frame.

The Spartans forced extra time by tallying once in the sixth and twice during their final chance in the seventh. Lindsay Ellinor singled home her team's second run, and she delivered the deciding blow with a three-run homer in the eighth.

UW-Oshkosh marked six hits, including a pair apiece by Wyss and Jamie Braden (Sr. • Lake Villa, Ill.), while drawing 11 bases on balls. Ellinor compiled two of the Spartans' 10 hits as she scored twice and drove in four.

Jessica Nearad picked up the win with her two hitless frames. Melissa Webster started for Dubuque, walking nine and allowing two earned runs in six innings. After Courtney Wautier (So. • Brussels) struck out 12 batters during her seven innings (3 ER), Tatum Schultz (So. • Oshkosh) took the Titans' loss by yielding three runs in the final frame.

The next time UW-Oshkosh stepped to the plate, it booked nine runs on five hits, using the assistance of four Edgewood College (0-4) errors. Wyss opened the contest with a solo home run and added a run-scoring single later on. In between, the Titans used a two-run single by Meyer and RBI hits from Kelley Koebler (Jr. • Janesville) and Tess Fadness (Fr. • Eau Claire).

Other scoring included a Julia Burns (Jr. • Verona) base knock after Braden tripled during the fourth inning. Hayley Freimuth (Jr. • Combined Locks) blasted a two-run bomb to increase the margin, as did Michelle Zick (Fr. • Rosholt) with a fifth-inning RBI double.

Elizabeth Greatens (Fr. • Green Bay) fired three scoreless frames after Schultz tossed two for the combined shutout. Wyss was the Titans' star at the plate, going 4-for-4 with four runs scored and two RBI. UW-Oshkosh marked 11 hits, while Edgewood totaled six.

The defeat belonged to Charlie Leikness, who surrendered six earned runs in the opening three frames. Brittany Andrews followed with two innings of two-run softball. Emily Monson was the Eagles' leader with two base hits.