Titans Kick Off Florida Trip With Wins Over Ephs, Pioneers
The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh softball team jumped out to large early leads in both games and collected 23 hits on the day en route to winning a pair of contests Monday (March 21) in Clermont, Fla.
UW-Oshkosh (7-3) downed Williams College (Mass.), 6-3, to open its trip to the Sunshine State before beating Grinnell College (Iowa) by an 8-5 score. The Titans, ranked 18th in the NCAA Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, owned leads of 6-0 in the sixth inning against Williams College (2-2) and 6-0 after four frames versus Grinnell College (1-7).
Brianna Davis produced five hits, including two for extra bases, to pace the Titans while Morgan Rau added four hits and Hannah Ritter and Grace Stevens three apiece. Sophie Wery drove in four runs on the day. Ritter, an NFCA Third Team All-American last season who has reached base safely in 41 consecutive games, had a pair of doubles and three runs batted in.
Sydney Nemetz earned saves in both games for the Titans and pitched a total of 3.1 scoreless innings as UW-Oshkosh extended its modest winning streak to three games.
In the victory over Williams College, the Titans scored twice in both the third and fourth frames before upping the cushion to 6-0 heading into the home half of the sixth inning.
Davis tripled and scored the game's first run on a Ritter double. Wery then plated Ritter with a two-out single for a 2-0 advantage during the top of the third inning.
Ritter later drove in what proved to be the game winning runs on a ringing double that allowed Davis and Zoe Malone for a 4-0 lead in the fourth frame. UW-Oshkosh increased its lead to 6-0 following a Rau sacrifice fly that brought home Wery in the fifth frame and a Stevens single that plated Davis during the sixth inning.
Titans starting pitcher Maddie Fink, the reigning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, picked up the win after allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout in 5.2 innings.
Nemetz held the Ephs to one hit across the final 1.1 frames to earn the save.
Davis went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and three runs scored for UW-Oshkosh, which also received a pair of doubles and three RBIs from Ritter, and two hits from both Rau and Wery. Wery tripled and Abby Garceau led off the game with a double as the Titans produced six extra-base hits.
UW-Oshkosh outhit Williams College, 12-8. Vicky Trujillo had two hits for the Ephs while Adhya Tandon plated two with a double during Williams College's three run sixth inning.
Williams College starting pitcher Elyse Chan (0-1) suffered the loss, yielding six runs on nine hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
During the win against Grinnell College, the Titans scored twice in the second, third and fourth innings before holding off the Pioneers' rally in the fifth frame and adding a pair of insurance runs in the sixth.
Wery scored on a wild pitch ahead of a Gabby Buikema double that plated Emily Cliver for a 2-0 UW-Oshkosh advantage in the home half of the second inning.
Wery drove home Davis with a run-scoring grounder, and Ritter scored on a wild pitch for a 4-0 UW-Oshkosh lead during the third frame. Stevens' RBI single allowed Rau to cross the plate for a 5-0 advantage and yet another Titan scored via a wild pitch – this time Garceau – for an insurmountable six-run cushion after four innings.
Grinnell College erupted for five runs on five hits during the top of the fifth frame, but UW-Oshkosh starting pitcher Mia Crotty worked out of the inning by inducing a groundout with the go-ahead run at the plate.
UW-Oshkosh's two-run sixth inning began with walks to Davis and Ritter ahead of a Stevens single that loaded the bases. Wery laced a single up the middle to plate both Davis and pinch-runner Malone with the final runs of the contest.
Crotty (3-1) was credited with the win, retiring the first nine batters she faced and carrying a no-hitter through 4.1 innings pitched. Crotty exited after surrendering five runs on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts in five innings.
Nemetz tossed two perfect innings to picked up her second save of the day and third this season. Nemetz struck out three batters on the way to moving to within one save of tying the season program record.
Davis, Stevens and Rau all had two of the Titans' 11 hits. Wery had three RBIs during the nightcap.
Grinnell College mustered just five hits – all singles. Alexa Okada drove in two runs during the Pioneers' five-run fifth inning.
Taylor Durak (0-1) was charged with the loss in the Grinnell College pitcher's circle after ceding six runs (two earned) in seven hits and three walks in 3.2 innings.
UW-Oshkosh continues its Florida trip against Trinity (Conn.) and Bates (Maine) colleges Tuesday (March 22) in Clermont.
Photo by Lisa Cliver