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Haley Bayreuther singled and scored in the first inning to give UW-Oshkosh a 1-0 lead over UW-La Crosse.
Haley Bayreuther singled and scored in the first inning to give UW-Oshkosh a 1-0 lead over UW-La Crosse.

Titans Clip Eagles In WIAC Championship Opener

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Sara Brunlieb won her 20th game of the season and Katie Koepsel added a two-run home run to lead the UW-Oshkosh softball team to a 4-1 victory over UW-La Crosse in the opening round of the WIAC Championship on Friday (May 1) at Gelein Field in Eau Claire.

Third-seeded UW-Oshkosh (29-10) advances to play fifth-seeded UW-Stout (16-25) on Saturday (May 2) at noon. The Blue Devils moved on to the winner's bracket with a 9-5 upset win over second-seeded UW-Whitewater (33-7) on Friday.

Top seed and host UW-Eau Claire (26-16) was ousted from the tournament after falling, 1-0, to sixth-seeded UW-River Falls (21-20) in the opener and 6-4 to UW-Whitewater in an elimination contest.

Brunlieb (20-3) went the seven-inning distance, recording four strikeouts and limiting UW-La Crosse to one run on just three hits – all singles. She becomes the third Titan to win 20 games in a season and the first since Ronessa Stampfli won 20 in 2006.

Koepsel's school-record 34th career homer gave the Titans a 4-1 advantage in the bottom of the sixth inning. Koepsel is now tied atop the WIAC with 12 home runs this season.

UW-Oshkosh's Haley Bayreuther led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, advanced to second on Erika Berry's sacrifice bunt, and scored on a single by Hayden Krueger.

Berry's third-inning single drove in Caitlin Hoerning to increase the Titan lead to 2-0 before UW-La Crosse's Alecia Faber broke up Brunlieb's shutout with a two-out, run-scoring single in the fourth frame.

The Eagles had the potential tying run at first base with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, but Brunlieb struck out cleanup hitter Emilie Wiltzius to end the threat.

UW-La Crosse starting pitcher Jessie Carignan (10-4) suffered the loss, yielding three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk in five innings.

UW-Oshkosh's five hits featured one from five different players. Emily Holldorf accounted for two of UW-La Crosse's three hits.

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout split two one-run games in Menomonie on April 19. The Titans won the opener, 5-4, and the Blue Devils prevailed, 3-2, in the nightcap.

The double-elimination tournament concludes on Sunday (May 3).