Titans, Warhawks Split First Two WIAC Championship Series Contests
Two games were not enough to decide the best-of-three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Championship Series as top-seeded UW-Oshkosh and second-seeded UW-Whitewater traded wins Saturday (May 15) at UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.
UW-Oshkosh (23-11) won the opening game between the WIAC regular season co-champions, 2-1 in eight innings, on a walk-off double by Morgan Rau before UW-Whitewater (29-9) evened the series with a 9-0, six-inning victory during the second contest.
The deciding game of the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's) between the Titans and UW-Whitewater will be contested at noon Sunday (May 16) at UW-Oshkosh Softball Park. UW-Whitewater, which had its 12-game winning streak snapped in Saturday's opener, will be the home team Sunday.
The winner of Sunday's game will earn the WIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship that begins May 20-21.
In Saturday's first game of the series, UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Maddie Fink and UW-Whitewater's Rhiann Dick were both tossing shutouts until Amanda Mc Ilhany hit a deep flyball to right field that turned into a pair of errors and a 1-0 Titan lead. Mc Ilhany's drive caromed off the glove of Taylor Briehl, who retrieved the ball in the corner and fired to Warhawks second baseman Delaney Becker as Mc Ilhany was heading to third base. However, Becker's relay throw went to the fence behind third base, allowing Mc Ilhany to scamper home with the first run.
Fink did not allow a hit until a one-out single from Nikki Mikosz in the top of the sixth inning. Vera Pflugradt drew a walk to start the Warhawk sixth frame, went to second base on a sacrifice bunt and scored the tying run on Mikosz's single through the left side that ended Fink's bid for the 11th no-hitter in program history and her WIAC-leading fourth shutout of the year.
Fink retired the next two Warhawks to end the sixth inning and the side in order during the seventh frame. UW-Whitewater's Krista Sbarra singled to lead off the eighth inning against Fink and, following two quick outs, Mikosz walked to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. But Fink got a foul out to left field to escape the jam and set the stage for UW-Oshkosh's dramatic win during the home half of the eighth inning.
Dick got the first two outs of the eighth inning, but Natalie Dudek walked to bring up Rau. On a 1-2 count, Rau drove a liner that went to the wall in the right-center field gap. Dudek rounded third base and dove headlong onto the plate to give the Titans a win in walk-off fashion.
Fink (15-4) earned the win, yielding just two hits and three walks with two strikeouts in eight innings pitched. The complete game was Fink's WIAC-best 12th in 16 starts this season.
Rau and Hannah Ritter both doubled among UW-Oshkosh's five hits.
Dick (7-5) suffered the complete game loss, allowing two runs (one earned) in 7.2 innings. She walked one and struck out three.
In the second game, UW-Whitewater – the home team during the nightcap – never looked back after scoring twice in the first inning. The Warhawks extended their lead to 6-0 after three frames before Pflugradt and Mikosz both homered to invoke the eight-run rule during the sixth inning.
Warhawks starting pitcher Mallory Hollatz (4-0) did not give up a hit until the fourth inning and completed a two-hit shutout to keep her perfect season record intact. Hollatz hit one batter and walked one while striking out three.
Hollatz lost her no-hit bid on a leadoff single by Gabby Buikema to open the fourth inning. Kailee Garstecki followed with a one-out double during the fourth frame and Dudek was hit by a pitch with two outs, but Hollatz preserved the shutout by inducing a flyout to center field to thwart the rally.
The Warhawks outhit the Titans, 14-2, as Mikosz went 3-for-4 with a two-run walk-off home run in the sixth inning. Pflugradt, Sbarra and Meg Cohrs each added two hits for UW-Whitewater.
UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Claire Petrus (4-4) was charged with the loss after ceding three runs on five hits and one walk in 1.1 innings.
Sunday's championship game will be the seventh meeting between UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater this year. Both teams have won three of the previous six games.
UW-Oshkosh is seeking its second WIAC Championship title and first since 2008. UW-Whitewater owns a league-record 10 league postseason championships, including six straight from 2013-18.
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics