Titans Have Mixed Results On Opening Day Of WIAC Tournament
The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh softball team staved off elimination at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (presented by Culver's) after splitting a pair of games Friday (May 6) in La Crosse.
Second-seeded UW-Oshkosh (24-9), ranked 18th in the NCAA Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, bounced back for a 9-0, five-inning victory over fifth-seeded UW-River Falls after falling, 9-0 in five innings, to third-seeded UW-Eau Claire during the first round.
Defending WIAC Tournament champion UW-Oshkosh advances to play an elimination contest Saturday (May 7) versus fourth-seeded UW-Whitewater (20-18), which split a pair of games Friday. UW-River Falls (17-16) was eliminated from the conference postseason.
Top-seeded UW La Crosse (26-8) hosts UW-Eau Claire (24-9) on Saturday for the right to advance to the WIAC Tournament championship round that will be held Sunday (May 8). The WIAC Tournament winner receives the league's automatic berth into the 62-team Division III Championship that begins with regionals May 12-15.
Abby Garceau went a combined 5-for-7 at the plate Friday to lead UW-Oshkosh.
During the victory over UW-River Falls, UW-Oshkosh provided the only run starting pitcher Maddie Fink would need on a Sophie Wery single that scored Garceau in the top of the first inning.
UW-Oshkosh later tacked on three runs during the third frame and put the game away with a five-run fifth inning.
Grace Stevens hit a two-run single to up the UW-Oshkosh advantage to 3-0. Sydney Rau was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to extend the Titans' lead to 4-0 during the third inning.
UW-Oshkosh's five-run outburst during the fifth inning featured a run-scoring single from Garceau, a two-run single by Wery and a two-run double from Stevens that triggered the eight-run rule.
Fink (10-5) set down the final five batters she faced en route to notching her WIAC-leading sixth shutout this season and 13th career. Fink yielded just two singles and struck out two without issuing a walk.
Stevens singled, doubled, walked and matched career high with four runs batted in.
Wery was 3-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs for the Titans while Garceau chipped in two hits and scored a pair of runs.
UW-River Falls starting pitcher Juliana Reynolds (7-9) suffered the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk with one strikeout in two innings.
In the first game of the day, UW-Eau Claire scored once in the second inning before adding two runs during the fourth frame and invoking the eight-run rule with six runs in the fifth. The Blugolds' final five runs were unearned.
Maria Back hit a solo home run for UW-Eau Claire to open the scoring in the top of the second inning. Back's second home run of the season was the lone extra-base hit of the contest.
Haley Lamberson went 2-for-2 with three runs batted in for the Blugolds while Megan Maruna had a pair of hits and drove in two runs.
UW-Eau Claire outhit the Titans, 11-5. Garceau was 3-for-3 with a stolen base to pace UW-Oshkosh, which also received singles from Brianna Davis and Calista Divito.
Maddie Zerr (7-1) earned the win in the Blugolds pitcher's circle, holding the Titans to three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in four innings.
Sydney Nemetz (11-2) was charged with the loss, yielding five runs (three earned) with five strikeouts across 4.1 frames during two stints in the pitcher's circle.
UW-Oshkosh, which reached the Division III World Series a year ago, went into the day pacing the WIAC in scoring, batting average, on-base percentage and fielding percentage.