Falcons Capture WIAC Crown By Sweeping Titans

Rose Tusa pitched 11.2 innings to earn two wins as UW-River Falls swept a women's softball doubleheader over UW-Oshkosh on Tuesday (May 3) in River Falls.

The Falcons (22-13/13-3 WIAC) clinched the league title for the first time since 1994. In the opener, Tusa posted six strikeouts for a 7-1 victory. UW-River Falls survived a dramatic seventh frame to pull out a 4-3 decision during the nightcap.

Just three innings featured scoring in game one, but the Falcons' four-run first proved to be enough. Two walks set the table for Ashley Goettl's run-scoring double. Just one batter later, Alyssa Black connected for a two-run shot, her first homer of the season, to take a 4-0 lead.

Those two contributed the remaining scores for UW-River Falls during the fifth inning. With nobody out, Goettl smacked a two-run single to center. Black added a run-scoring groundout, as both players finished with three RBI.

UW-Oshkosh (21-15/6-10 WIAC) had a pair of leadoff hits, a solo round-tripper from Tess Fadness (Fr. • Eau Claire) in the second inning and a single from Jamie Braden during the seventh. Marti Meyer (Jr. • Verona) tallied the only other hit, a single, in the third frame.

Tatum Schultz (So. • Oshkosh) took the complete-game loss after yielding seven runs in six frames. Tusa went five innings before letting Sarah Bohlen collect the final six outs while admitting one hit.

UW-River Falls notched a 4-0 lead during the second contest after marking twice in the sixth and once during the third and fifth frames. A double by Nicole Lubahn and a single by Emily Olson made it 2-0. The Falcons had two runners touch home on a throwing error during the sixth.

Three singles in the opening inning were not enough to produce a UW-Oshkosh run. The Titans finally put together four hits and capitalized on two Falcon mistakes in the seventh. Kelley Koebler (Jr. • Janesville) and Braden each drove in one run. With the tying woman on third base, UW-Oshkosh struck out to end the day.

Sydnee Wyss (Sr. • Monroe) was the batter of the contest, posting a 4-for-4 effort. She is now just seven hits from reaching 200 for her career. The Titans outhit the Falcons, 9-8, as UW-River Falls got one hit from eight different players.

Tusa recorded all but one out, fanning seven and allowing no runs. Bohlen entered during the final frame and let in three runs while retiring one batter. Courtney Wautier (So. • Brussels) took the loss after yielding three earned runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings.

With its sixth-place league finish, UW-Oshkosh plays top-seeded UW-River Falls in the WIAC Tournament on Friday (May 6) in River Falls.