Rec Plex To Host Titans' Season-Opening Softball Doubleheader
The two-year-old UW-Oshkosh Rec Plex will host its first intercollegiate softball activity when UW-Oshkosh hosts Marian University in a doubleheader Friday (Feb. 21). The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 5 p.m.
The inaugural Rec Plex games are the first of 14 home contests for UW-Oshkosh, which has produced 16 consecutive winning seasons and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship twice in the past three years. The Titans will also host 12 games at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park, beginning with a doubleheader against Loras College (Iowa) on April 9.
UW-Oshkosh has won its last 11 games against Marian University, all since the 2005 season. The most recent victory for the Titans over the Sabres was a six-inning, 9-1 result on Feb. 25, 2018 in Marquette, Mich.
UW-Oshkosh, which compiled a 23-17 record last season, is projected to finish fourth in the 2020 WIAC softball standings, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The Titans placed fifth in last year's WIAC race with a 7-7 league record.
UW-Oshkosh seventh-year head coach Scott Beyer brings back six members of last year's starting lineup among the 11 previous letterwinners returning. Beyer, the program's all-time leader with a .668 winning percentage, sports a 161-80 record at the helm of the Titans.
Last year UW-Oshkosh led the conference in scoring at 5.4 runs per game as well as on-base (.379) and fielding (.972) percentages. The Titans also finished second in the WIAC last season with a .309 batting average, a .430 slugging percentage and 21 home runs.
Senior All-WIAC performers Acacia Tupa, Claire Petrus, Natalie Dudek and Amanda McIlhany headline the returning Titans, who are seeking the program's first WIAC regular season title since 2007.
Tupa was named All-WIAC First Team and All-Great Lakes Region Second Team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as an outfielder the past two years since transferring from NCAA Division I UW-Green Bay after her freshman season. Last year Tupa hit .347 and led the Titans with 27 runs scored, eight doubles, two triples and eight stolen bases while adding four home runs and 26 runs batted in.
Petrus, a pitcher and outfielder, was tabbed to the All-WIAC First Team a year ago at designated player after garnering all-conference honorable mention accolades in 2018. Petrus compiled a 9-9 record with two shutouts and a save in the pitcher's circle last season while batting .356 with a team-leading six home runs, 29 RBIs, 61 total bases and .587 slugging percentage.
Dudek, an all-league honorable mention selection at shortstop in 2017 and 2019, paced the Titans last year with a .374 batting average, 40 hits, eight doubles, 16 walks, a .465 on-base percentage and 88 assists.
McIlhany was selected to the All-WIAC Honorable Mention team at second base last season after hitting .325 with 39 hits while committing just four errors on the way to compiling a .976 fielding percentage.
Marian University returns 16 of its 22 letterwinners from last year's squad that tallied a 26-15 record. The Sabres placed fourth in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference standings with a 15-7 record and finished as the runner-up in the league's postseason tournament.
Marian University has six of its eight starting position players from a year back, including junior infielder Peyton Loesch who earned All-NACC First Team honors last season after hitting .364 with 13 doubles, 4 home runs, 24 runs scored and 41 runs batted in. The Sabres also return junior infielder Katy Croeker who collected All-NACC Second Team accolades in 2019 after hitting .348 with 4 home runs, 18 runs scored and 27 runs batted in.
Senior Paige Rauhut is being counted on to lead Marian University on the mound this spring. Last season Rauhut registered a 13-9 record and a 3.35 earned run average in a team-high 125.2 innings of work.
Marian University was picked to finish fifth in this year's NACC standings, as voted on by the head coaches and sports information directors of the league.
The UW-Oshkosh Rec Plex is a 4.35-acre recreational complex with multi-use synthetic turf, state-of-the-art LED lighting, a 3,000-plus square foot support building, and a seasonal dome from approximately November through May to allow for year-round activities.
Parking for Friday's doubleheader between UW-Oshkosh and Marian University is available across the street at the Culver Family Welcome Center. Admission is free and fans are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.