Titans Begin Defense Of WIAC Tournament Title Against Blugolds

The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh softball team begins defense of its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (presented by Culver's) championship against UW-Eau Claire on Friday (May 6) in La Crosse. The first-round matchup is scheduled to start at noon.

UW-Oshkosh (24-8), ranked 18th in the NCAA Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, is seeded second at the WIAC Tournament and UW-Eau Claire (23-9) third.

Regular season champion UW-La Crosse (25-8) is set to host the five-team, double-elimination WIAC Tournament as the top seed at North Campus Field. The Eagles clinched their second regular season title and first since 2010 this spring.

Fourth-seeded UW-Whitewater (19-17) and fifth-seeded UW-River Falls (17-14) open the league tournament at 10 a.m. Friday. The winner advances to play UW-La Crosse at 2 p.m. Friday.

The WIAC Tournament continues with three games Saturday (May 7) before concluding Sunday (May 8). The WIAC Tournament champion receives the league's automatic berth into the 62-team Division III Championship that commences with regionals May 12-15.

Last year regular season co-champions UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater met in the WIAC Tournament title game. UW-Oshkosh secured the 2021 conference postseason championship on the way to sweeping through the Eau Claire Regional and reaching the Division III World Series for the first time since 1988.

This season UW-Oshkosh, which has been ranked in the top 20 in the NFCA poll each week, finished second in the WIAC standings – three games behind UW-La Crosse. The Titans swept conference doubleheaders against UW-River Falls and Whitewater before falling twice to both UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse during the regular season.

UW-Whitewater has won the WIAC Tournament a record 10 times, including a string of six consecutive years from 2013-18. UW-Eau Claire is next with six conference postseason titles, followed by UW-River Falls with four, UW-La Crosse three and UW-Oshkosh two.

UW-Oshkosh won its WIAC Tournament championships in 2008 and 2021. UW-La Crosse was the 2019 conference postseason winner, while UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls are seeking their first titles since 2007 and 2012, respectively.

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire will be meeting for the fifth time in the past eight WIAC Tournaments. The Blugolds have won three of their four most recent matchups with UW-Oshkosh in the league tournament, defeating the Titans in 2014, 2016 and 2019. The Titans' lone conference tournament victory over UW-Eau Claire during the last decade was a 9-1, six-inning decision in 2017.

The Titans boast the top offense in the league entering the postseason, pacing the WIAC in scoring (6.19), batting average (.343) and on-base percentage (.404). UW-Oshkosh, which has committed just 28 errors in 32 games on the year, also leads the conference with a .968 fielding percentage under the direction of ninth-year head coach Scott Beyer and assistants Alyssa Doomis and Kaitlyn Krol. Beyer, Doomis and Krol were voted the WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year last season.

Three Titans are hitting better than .400 this year as Hannah Ritter ranks fifth in the country with a WIAC-best .534 batting average, Abby Garceau follows at .450 and Brianna Davis .409.

Ritter, a 2021 NFCA Third Team All-American, also ranks 11th nationally with a .583 on-base percentage and leads the WIAC with 55 hits while pacing the squad with nine doubles, 12 walks, 67 total bases and a .650 slugging percentage.

Other UW-Oshkosh offensive team leaders include Davis with 30 runs scored and six stolen bases, Sophie Wery with five home runs and 39 runs batted in, and Zoe Malone with 12 walks. Wery's RBI total is tied for the best in the conference.

The prolific Titans offense features 11 players who have either scored or driven in at least 10 runs this season. Emily Cliver (.333), Morgan Rau (.333), Gabby Buikema (.317) and Grace Stevens (.304) are all batting above .300 for UW-Oshkosh on the year while Ana Iliopoulos has 18 RBIs and Sydney Rau has scored 10 times.

The UW-Oshkosh pitching staff of reigning WIAC Pitcher of the Year Maddie Fink, Sydney Nemetz and Mia Crotty has compiled a 2.49 earned run average with seven shutouts and 184 strikeouts in 207.2 innings.

Fink owns a 9-5 record with a 2.43 earned run average and a conference-leading five shutouts this year. Fink, whose 83 strikeouts rank second in the league, also paces the WIAC with nine complete games.

Nemetz is 11-1 on the year with three saves, a team-best 2.39 earned run average and 66 strikeouts. Nemetz's 11 victories are tied for the most in the conference while her three saves are one short of tying the school record.

Crotty, who did not allow an extra-base hit in her first 24 innings pitched this season, has a 4-2 record with a 2.81 earned run average. Crotty's team-best .242 opponent batting average ranks fifth in the WIAC.

UW-Eau Claire enters the WIAC Tournament with a .327 batting average and a 2.36 earned run average. The Blugolds lead the conference with 13 triples, 82 stolen bases and a .478 slugging percentage.

Megan Maruna and Sadie Erickson headline the UW-Eau Claire offense. Maruna, batting .441, is the WIAC leader with 42 runs scored and a .775 slugging percentage. Erickson is hitting .427 to go along with a conference high-tying 39 RBIs.

Jacie Schultz, Madi Zerr and Lauren Gamme helm the Blugolds pitching staff as Schultz is 10-2 with a 2.32 earned run average, Zerr is 6-1 at 2.19 and Gamme 3-3 with a 1.51 earned run average. Gamme has a Division III-high six saves in 19 appearances out of the bullpen.

UW-La Crosse is riding a 13-game winning streak after concluding the regular season with a .308 batting average and a conference-leading 1.95 earned run average. The Eagles have hit a WIAC-high 20 home runs and produced a league-best nine shutouts.

Jordyn McCormack is UW-La Crosse's leading hitter, batting .430 with 12 doubles, five home runs, 29 RBIs and a .684 slugging percentage.

Spearheading the Eagles in the pitcher's circle are Elise Weinzierl and Remington Stark. Weinzierl has an 11-2 record with a 1.41 earned run average and 83 strikeouts while Stark is 9-2 with a 1.53 earned run average and 75 strikeouts in 45.2 innings. Weinzierl paces the WIAC in earned run average, is tied for the league lead in wins and ranks second in strikeouts. Stark's 11.2 strikeouts per seven innings is sixth best in the nation.

UW-Whitewater is batting .274 on the year and owns a 3.19 earned run average. The Warhawks are 14th in the division with 37 sacrifice bunts.

Team leaders for the Warhawks include Krista Sbarra with a .361 batting average and a .441 on-base percentage on the offensive side and Kate Cleveland in the pitcher's circle. Cleveland has a 6-4 record and a 2.15 earned run average.

UW-River Falls has a .302 batting average and 4.48 earned run average this season.

Keegan Piton headlines the Falcons offense, batting .452 with 36 runs batted in and a .504 on-base percentage. Juliana Reynolds is the ace of the UW-River Falls pitching staff, going 7-8 in the circle with a 3.86 earned run average and 74 strikeouts.

UW-Oshkosh secured its WIAC record-tying 18th consecutive 20-win season in 2022. The Titans, seeking their fourth appearance in the past five NCAA tournaments, tied for fifth at the 2021 Division III World Series.