Titans Down Lady Blues in Regional Opener
Acacia Tupa hit a go-ahead home run in the third inning and pitcher Maddie Fink won her eighth consecutive decision as the UW-Oshkosh softball team opened the NCAA Division III Eau Claire Regional with a 4-2 victory over Illinois College on Friday (May 21).
Top-seeded UW-Oshkosh (25-11) scored three times in the bottom of the third inning to provide Fink, who struck out 10 on the way to notching her 14th complete game of the season, with all the run support she needed. The Titans added an insurance run during the fifth frame on an Ana Iliopoulos single with two outs and the bases loaded.
UW-Oshkosh advances to play at 10 a.m. Saturday (May 22) against the loser of the Eau Claire Regional's third game between University of Southern Maine (31-4-1) and Linfield College (Ore.) (36-7). Linfield College is ranked eighth in the country by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Sixth-seeded Illinois College (25-13), making its NCAA postseason debut, plays an Eau Claire Regional elimination contest later Friday against fifth-seeded Piedmont University (Ga.) (22-12), which fell by a 3-0 score to 17th-ranked and second-seeded Alfred University (N.Y.) (32-9) in Friday's second game of the double elimination regional.
The Titans, seeking their third regional championship and first since 2017, outhit the Lady Blues, 11-9, and did not commit an error for the 17th time this season. UW-Oshkosh entered the national tournament ranked sixth in the country with a .978 fielding percentage.
Illinois College took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning following a one-out single by Emma Newton that plated Claudia Adam. Adam walked to lead off the game, went to second base on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a wild pitch.
UW-Oshkosh stranded a pair of baserunners in the home half of the first inning and went down in order during the second frame before Tupa changed the game with one swing of the bat in the third.
Gabby Buikema singled to lead off the third inning ahead of Tupa, who launched a towering home run well beyond the center field wall off of Lady Blues starting pitcher Sydney Hood. The home run was Tupa's third on the year and 13th career.
UW-Oshkosh's third inning continued with a Hannah Ritter single. Ritter then evaded a double play by retreating to first base to avoid being tagged out, allowing Kailee Garstecki to reach via a fielder's choice. Garstecki advanced to second base on a passed ball and third base on a Morgan Rau single through the left side. Garstecki eventually came in to score what turned out to be the winning run via a wild pitch, sliding safely at the plate just ahead of the tag from Hood.
Fink pitched around a leadoff double in the third inning, setting down the next seven Lady Blues until allowing consecutive one-out doubles during the fifth frame that pulled Illinois College within 3-2. However, UW-Oshkosh answered with a run of its own during the bottom of the fifth inning as Ritter, Rau and Dudek each singled to load the bases for Iliopoulos, who delivered a sharp single through the left side to score Katie Fontanetta, who reached via a fielder's choice.
Illinois College led off the sixth inning with back-to-back pinch-hit singles, but Fink again escaped the jam with three straight outs on a sacrifice bunt that put the tying run in scoring position, a key strikeout for the second out and a popup to Iliopoulos at third base.
The Lady Blues once again had the go-ahead run at the plate following a pair of two-out singles in the top of the seventh inning, but Fink recorded a looking strikeout – her 10th of the game – to conclude the first ever meeting between the teams.
Ritter went 3-for-4 to pace the Titans while Tupa, Buikema and Rau each added two hits. Buikema also collected her first stolen base of the year.
Fink went the distance, allowing nine hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts – one shy of her career high.
Hood (13-6) suffered the complete game loss for Illinois College, yielding 11 hits while striking out three without issuing a walk across six innings.
Adam and Newton both had a pair of hits for the Lady Blues.
Eau Claire Regional Postgame Interview • Head Coach Scott Beyer
Eau Claire Regional Postgame Interview • Outfielder Acacia Tupa
Eau Claire Regional Postgame Interview • Pitcher Maddie Fink