Titans Defeat Eagles, Blue Devils To Advance In WIAC Tournament
OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh softball team took down UW-La Crosse 4-2 in extra innings and dominated UW-Stout 8-2 in the second round of the WIAC Tournament (Presented by Culver's) on Friday (May 10) at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.
The Titans (38-3) jumped out to a 2-1 lead before the Eagles (24-19) evened the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Oshkosh retook the lead in the top of the eighth before relief pitcher Brianna Bougie (Fr. • Oshkosh) blanked La Crosse in the bottom of the eighth to eliminate the Eagles from the tournament.
Bougie earned her sixth win of the season, pitching 2.2 innings of relief and allowing just one hit. Sydney Nemetz (Jr. • Marinette) started the game for UW-Oshkosh, going 5.1 innings and allowing two runs on six hits while striking out five batters.
The Titans, ranked No. 18 in the nation by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, were led by first baseman Hannah Ritter (Sr. • Marengo, Ill.), who went 4-for-4 in the game with four singles and an RBI.
UW-Oshkosh, which had 11 hits in the contest, opened the scoring in the first inning when Ritter singled through the right side, scoring Sydney Rau (Sr. • Downers Grove, Ill.) from third base.
UW-La Crosse tied the score on an RBI double, and the Titans retook the lead when Brianna Davis (Jr. • Oshkosh) singled to third base, scoring Mia Crotty (Sr. • Palos Park, Ill.) to give UW-Oshkosh a 2-1 advantage.
The Eagles responded with a solo home run to tie the game at 2-2 and sent the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Sophie Wery (Jr. • Seymour) gave UW-Oshkosh the lead after she singled to left field, scoring Haylie Wittman (So. • Kaukauna). The Titans added an insurance run to go up 4-2 when Morgan Rau (Sr. • Downers Grove, Ill.) reached on a fielder's choice and Zoe Malone (Sr. • Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored on a La Crosse throwing error. Bougie shut down the Eagles in the final frame to give Oshkosh its 37th win of the season.
In Oshkosh's second game of the day, the Titans struck first and never looked back en route to a six-run victory over the Blue Devils (22-20).
Abbi Freismuth (Sr. • Fond du Lac) pitched all seven innings for UW-Oshkosh, improving to 12-0 on the year. She allowed two runs on nine hits and struck out two batters.
Offensively, Morgan Rau led the Titans in game two with a 5-RBI game after going 2-for-3 with a grand slam and a single.
Oshkosh kicked off the scoring in the first inning when Morgan Rau smashed a grand slam to left center field, driving in four runs, and giving the Titans an early 4-0 edge. UW-Oshkosh extended its lead to 5-0 in the second inning after an RBI single from Ritter that scored Sydney Rau, and the Titans enjoyed a six-run advantage when Abby Garceau (Jr. • Michicot) hit an RBI single to left field that scored Wery.
The two teams traded runs in the fifth inning when Ritter scored Sydney Rau on an RBI double to left field and Stout got on the board with an RBI single up the middle.
Garceau drove in Crotty with an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning to give UW-Oshkosh an 8-1 lead.
Stout tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Titans were able to shut down a potential comeback as Oshkosh cruised to the six-run victory.
The Titans, the top seed in the WIAC Tournament, will take on No. 2 UW-Stevens Point in the third day of the WIAC Tournament at 10 a.m. on Saturday (May 11) at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park.
Written by Jacob Link, UW-Oshkosh Sports Information