Fink Headlines Titans' All-Conference Selections

Pitcher of the Year Maddie Fink and Coaching Staff of the Year honors headline UW-Oshkosh's selections to the 2021 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Team.

Fink, a sophomore, becomes the third Titan to earn the WIAC Pitcher of the Year award, joining Sara Brunlieb (2015) and Ronessa Stampfli (2005-08).

UW-Oshkosh head coach Scott Beyer along with assistants Alyssa Doomis and Kaitlyn Krol were tabbed Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Titans to a share of the program's fourth WIAC regular season title and first since 2007. UW-Oshkosh (24-11) went on to win the WIAC postseason tournament and secure an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship.

Fink, senior second baseman Amanda Mc Ilhany and freshman catcher Hannah Ritter were each voted to the 20-member All-WIAC First Team for UW-Oshkosh. Titans senior outfielder Acacia Tupa was among 14 players named to the All-WIAC Honorable Mention Team while senior outfielder Natalie Dillon represented UW-Oshkosh on the All-Sportsmanship Team.

The all-conference accolades were Tupa's third, Mc Ilhany's second, and the first for both Fink and Ritter. Tupa was named to the All-WIAC First Team in 2018 and 2019. Mc Ilhany garnered Honorable Mention recognition in 2019.

Fink has compiled a 16-3 record this season, including an 8-1 mark in conference games, with a 2.29 earned run average, two saves and 88 strikeouts in 122.1 innings pitched. Fink, who has won each of her last seven decisions, leads the WIAC with four shutouts and 13 complete games.

In 11 appearances during conference play, Fink tossed a pair of shutouts and completed five of seven starts en route to pacing the league with eight victories.

Fink, who was named to the 2021 Division III All-Great Lakes Region Third Team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 19 of her 23 appearances this year. Fink opened 2021 with a six-hit shutout and a season-high 11 strikeouts at St. Norbert College on March 9. She has since fired a one-hit, five-inning shutout at UW-Stout on April 30, a four-hit shutout to clinch the WIAC regular season title at UW-La Crosse on May 7, and a six-hit shutout against UW-Whitewater during the third and deciding game of the WIAC Championship Series on May 16.

Ritter, an NFCA All-Great Lakes Second Team selection, leads the Titans with a .472 batting average, 58 hits, 11 doubles, a .585 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Ritter also ranks second on the squad with 21 runs batted in and third with 18 runs scored.

In 14 WIAC games, Ritter batted .469 with six doubles, a .592 slugging percentage and a .519 on-base percentage. Ritter tied for the league lead in doubles during conference action while finishing second with 23 hits, third in on-base percentage and fourth in batting average.

The starting catcher in all 35 games for the Titans this season, Ritter has 21 multiple-hit performances on the year, going 4-for-4 at the plate on three occasions. Ritter had three hits, including her first collegiate home run, and a season-high four RBIs against UW-Stevens Point on May 4.

Mc Ilhany is hitting .330 this season with six doubles, one home run, a team-leading 21 runs and 16 RBIs while sporting a .986 fielding percentage with just two errors in 144 total chances for a team that ranks sixth in the country with a .978 fielding percentage. During the Titans' 14 WIAC contests, Mc Ilhany batted .381 with four doubles, one triple, eight runs scored and eight runs batted in.

Mc Ilhany, who ranks ninth among active Division III players with 167 career games played, has had a trio of three-hit efforts this season. She went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs at UW-Stevens Point on May 4.

Tupa is batting .307 on the year with nine doubles, two home runs, 20 runs scored and 14 RBIs to go along with a team-best 11 walks and eight stolen bases. In league play Tupa hit .378 with five doubles, one home run, 11 runs scored, eight runs batted in and five steals. Tupa's in-conference doubles and stolen base totals ranked third in the league despite missing three of UW-Oshkosh's 14 WIAC games.

Tupa, an NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team selection in 2018 and 2019, hit a home run and drove in three runs against both UW-Stevens Point on April 22 and UW-Stout on May 11.

UW-Oshkosh, the WIAC's lone representative at the 2021 Division III Championship, will be the top seed at this weekend's Eau Claire Regional. The Titans, seeking their third regional title and first since 2017, open the national tournament against Illinois College at 10 a.m. Friday (May 21).

Rounding out the All-WIAC First Team were UW-Eau Claire's Sadie Erickson and Abbey Place; UW-La Crosse's Kendra Leis, Maddie Muelken and Sydne Shattuck; UW-Platteville's Shannon Gaul and Ashton Hoeppner; UW-River Falls' Johanna Breyen and Taylor Fall; UW-Stevens Point's Sammy Buerger, Maddie Candre, Becca Geiyer and Makenna Tkach; UW-Stout's Shannon Jones; and UW-Whitewater's Meg Cohrs, Nikki Mikosz and Kaleigh O'Brien.

UW-Stevens Point's Candre and UW-River Falls' Breyen were voted WIAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, respectively.