Titans' Quest For An 18th Straight Winning Season Begins At St. Norbert College

The UW-Oshkosh softball team begins its 2021 schedule with a nonconference doubleheader at St. Norbert College on Tuesday (March 9). The first pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. from the Mel Nicks Sports Complex in De Pere.

UW-Oshkosh, which is set to play all 32 of its games against in-state rivals, also travels for nonconference doubleheaders at Concordia University Wisconsin on March 17, Carroll University on March 20, Marian University on March 22, Lakeland University on March 25 and UW-Platteville on April 6 before hosting UW-Platteville for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener April 8 at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.

The Titans' slate of eight home games also includes conference doubleheaders versus UW-Whitewater on April 10 and UW-Eau Claire on April 17 in addition to a pair of nonconference contests against UW-Stevens Point on May 4.

Completing the UW-Oshkosh schedule are a WIAC doubleheader at UW-Stevens Point on April 14 and a nonleague doubleheader at UW-Platteville on April 20 along with two conference games each at UW-River Falls on April 23, at UW-Stout on April 30 and at UW-La Crosse for the regular season finale May 7.

The Titans are coming off a 2020 season in which they produced a 5-1 record and outscored opponents by a combined 42-23 score before the remainder of the campaign was canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

UW-Oshkosh eighth-year head coach Scott Beyer, who owns a 166-81 record at the helm of the Titans, welcomes back all nine position starters and the top three pitchers from last year's team that hit .342 and compiled a 2.80 earned run average during the abbreviated 2020 season.

All 10 Titans who recorded at least seven at-bats last season return, including senior two-time NCAA Division III All-Great Lakes Region Second Team and All-WIAC First Team outfielder Acacia Tupa along with a trio of related All-WIAC performers in senior infielders Natalie Dudek (2017 and 2019 Honorable Mention), Amanda Mc Ilhany (2019 Honorable Mention) and senior utility player Claire Petrus (2019 First Team, 2018 Honorable Mention).

Also returning for UW-Oshkosh are previous letterwinners in juniors Natalie Dillon, Katie Fontanetta and Kailee Garstecki; and sophomores Sidney Budzinski, Gabby Buikema, Chloe Lambie and Grace Stevens.

Sophomores Maddie Fink and Ana Iliopoulos and freshmen Emily Cliver and Hannah Ritter also return after seeing extensive playing time for UW-Oshkosh in 2020.

Buikema paced the Titans a year ago with a .476 batting average and 10 hits while Iliopoulos had a team-leading 10 runs batted in. Tupa scored nine runs and hit a pair of home runs, and Fink had a 4-0 record in the pitcher's circle with a 1.12 earned run average.

The 2020 season was cut short before WIAC contests were played. UW-Whitewater remains the defending conference regular season champion after earning the title in 2019. UW-La Crosse won the 2019 WIAC postseason title.

UW-Oshkosh's 5-1 nonconference record last season was the best in the WIAC. UW-Stout was next with a 3-1 mark followed by UW-Stevens Point at 8-4, UW-La Crosse and UW-Platteville at 2-2, UW-Eau Claire at 2-4 and UW-River Falls at 0-4. UW-Whitewater did not play a game in 2020.

The Titans, who reached the Division III Super Regional round in 2017 and regionals in 2018, have produced a winning record each of the past 17 seasons.

Each UW-Oshkosh home softball game will be streamed live online. The video and live-scoring links will be posted on the UW-Oshkosh softball schedule page when available. All contests will be conducted in accordance with NCAA Division III and WIAC regulations, as well as institutional, state, and local health and safety guidelines. A decision about spectator attendance at UW-Oshkosh's home games has not been made.