Titans Start Season With Two Shutout Wins
Maddie Fink and Mia Crotty both pitched complete-game shutouts as the UW-Oshkosh softball team began the 2021 season with a doubleheader sweep at St. Norbert College on Tuesday (March 9).
The Titans won the season opener, 4-0, behind Fink's six-hitter before claiming the nightcap, 8-0, as Crotty tossed a five-hitter. Fink recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and issued a pair of walks during her gem. Crotty then struck out two and walked one in her efficient collegiate debut.
UW-Oshkosh (2-0), which began the season with two shutouts for the first time since 2017, collected 21 hits on the day, including five from Natalie Dillon and four apiece by Ana Iliopoulos and Hannah Ritter. Iliopoulos doubled twice and homered in the opener. Sidney Budzinski added a home run during the second contest.
The Titans hit a combined .339 in the two games with a .500 slugging percentage and allowed the Green Knights to bat just .212 on the day.
In the season opener, UW-Oshkosh gave Fink the only run she needed when Iliopoulos launched her first home run as a Titan over the left field wall in the top of the second inning.
The Titans added two insurance runs in the fifth inning on a run-scoring single from Ritter that plated Acacia Tupa and an RBI-double by Iliopoulos that brought home Zoe Malone. UW-Oshkosh later capped the scoring in the seventh inning as Natalie Dudek's single scored Ritter from second base.
Fink and the Titans escaped a jam in the bottom of the first inning, when St. Norbert College had runners at first and third bases with no outs following a leadoff double and an error. Fink induced a groundball to Iliopoulos at third base, and Iliopoulos fired to shortstop Dudek to nab the runner at third for the first out. Another grounder to second baseman Amanda Mc Ilhany ended the threat as Mc Ilhany tagged the runner advancing to second base and threw to first in time to complete the double play.
Fink retired eight consecutive Green Knights until issuing a walk to lead off the fourth inning. A strikeout and popup preceded a single and a walk to load the bases with two out. However, Fink preserved the shutout by notching a strikeout to end the inning.
After setting St. Norbert College down in order during the fifth inning, Fink had to work out of a jam in the sixth. The Green Knights hit back-to-back singles to open the inning, and a fielder's choice put runners at the corners with one out, but Fink registered another two strikeouts to thwart the rally.
The Green Knights threatened to push across a run in the seventh inning after a pair of singles put runners at first and third bases with two outs. But once again Fink responded by getting the final batter of the game to ground out to second base.
Dillon and Iliopoulos both went 3-for-4 for the Titans, who also received two hits from Ritter.
Abby Primus had two of the Green Knights' six hits, including their lone extra-base hit of the day with the double to lead off the first inning.
St. Norbert College starting pitcher Ellie Olsen (0-2) was charged with the loss, surrendering three runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in five innings.
During the nightcap the Titans erupted for four runs in the third inning and added a pair of runs in both the fourth and seventh frames.
Dillon plated Tupa for what turned out to be the game-winning run on a bunt single in a top of the third inning that also featured a Claire Petrus double that scored Dillon and a sequence that saw Iliopoulos score on a wild pitch and Ritter cross the plate on the same play following a throwing error on the Green Knights catcher.
Tupa scored again on a St. Norbert College error in the fourth inning before Ritter's single plated Iliopoulos for a 6-0 UW-Oshkosh advantage. Budzinski later blasted a towering pinch-hit, two-run homer well beyond the center field wall that also scored Ritter. The home run was the second of Budzinski's career.
Crotty dominated St. Norbert College through the first four innings, yielding just two singles and retiring 12 of the first 14 batters she faced. The Green Knights got their first runner in scoring position on consecutive two-out singles in the fifth frame, but Tupa, the Titans center fielder, gunned down a runner trying to advance to third base to end the inning.
St. Norbert College (1-3) had two runners aboard again with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Crotty got a fly ball to keep the shutout intact before setting down the Green Knights in order during the seventh inning.
Dillon and Ritter both registered two of the Titans' 10 hits while Budzinski, Dudek, Iliopoulos, Petrus, Tupa and Katie Fontanetta each had one.
Each of St. Norbert College's five hits were singles.
Green Knights starting pitcher Emma Wiese (1-1) suffered the loss after giving up four runs (zero earned) on five hits and one walk across three innings.
UW-Oshkosh travels to Concordia University Wisconsin for a doubleheader March 17.
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics