Titans Battle Eagles In WIAC Softball Championship Opener
The UW-Oshkosh softball team begins its quest for a second WIAC Championship title on Friday (May 1) at Gelein Field in Eau Claire.
The third-seeded Titans (28-10) face fourth-seeded UW-La Crosse (26-12) in the opening round of the six-team, double-elimination tournament on Friday at 2 p.m.
UW-Eau Claire (26-14) and UW-Whitewater (32-6) had identical conference records (13-3) during the regular season, but UW-Eau Claire earned the top seed and hosting rights by winning both games at UW-Whitewater.
The top-seeded Blugolds open Friday's slate of four games by hosting sixth-seeded UW-River Falls (20-20) at 10 a.m. Second-seeded UW-Whitewater plays fifth-seeded UW-Stout (15-25) at noon.
The losers of the first two games will meet in an elimination game at 4 p.m. on Friday. The loser of the UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse matchup plays at 10 a.m. on Saturday (May 2) while the winner plays at noon.
The final game of the WIAC Championship will be played on Sunday. The winner of the WIAC Championship earns the league's automatic berth in the 62-team NCAA Division III Championship.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse split a pair of games to close the regular season on Sunday (April 26) in La Crosse. The Titans won the opener, 5-1, and fell in the nightcap, 5-3.
The Titans head into the WIAC Championship with the league's leading hitter and the pitcher with the most victories.
UW-Oshkosh catcher Katie Koepsel is batting a WIAC-best .443 with eight doubles, 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in. Koepsel, who also paces the WIAC with an .817 slugging percentage, had a school record 19-game hitting streak this season and owns the school mark with 33 career homers.
Titan pitcher Sara Brunlieb (19-3) is program's first 19-game winner since 2008. Brunlieb pitched the 11th no-hitter in UW-Oshkosh history against Thomas College (Maine) on March 27. She has also tossed a one-hitter and a two-hitter this season.
UW-Oshkosh leads the conference with a .963 fielding percentage, ranks second with a .317 batting average and third with a 2.69 earned run average. The Titans are second in the league with a program-record 40 home runs.
Titan second baseman Hayden Krueger has a team-high 40 runs batted in while hitting .377 with nine home runs. Shortstop Haley Bayreuther leads the squad with 37 runs, 22 walks and 17 stolen bases to go along with seven home runs.
UW-La Crosse lists fourth in the league with a .304 batting average and a 2.86 earned run average.
The Eagles offense is led by catcher Alecia Faber, outfielder Emily Holldorf and first baseman Emilie Wiltzius. Faber is batting a team-high .400, while Holldorf tops the squad with 49 hits and 28 runs. Wiltzius leads UW-La Crosse with nine home runs and 33 runs batted in.
UW-Eau Claire leadoff hitter Amanda Fischer enters the WIAC Championship as the league leader in hits (56), runs (48), home runs (12), triples (4), runs batted in (44), stolen bases (28) and total bases (104).
UW-Whitewater is the conference leader with a .329 batting average, 47 home runs and a 1.88 earned run average. Pitcher Bekka Houda (15-3) sports a WIAC-best 1.57 earned run average while infielder Jo Jablonski ranks third in the league with a .426 batting average and 10 home runs.
At last year's WIAC Championship, UW-Whitewater defeated UW-La Crosse in the final game to earn the school's second straight and sixth overall title.
UW-Eau Claire has also claimed six WIAC Championship crowns, including two straight in 2006-07. UW-River Falls has won the event four times, including two in a row in 2011-12. UW-La Crosse won its two titles in 2009-10. UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout clinched their only championships in 2008 and 2005, respectively.
UW-Oshkosh, which is seeded third for the third consecutive year, went 0-2 at last year's WIAC Championship and 1-2 in 2013.