The UW Oshkosh softball team started its 2017 season strong after going 5-1 at the Finlandia Dome Tournament this past weekend in Marquette, Mich.

“I was very surprised with our outcome this weekend,” sophomore first baseman Kaitlyn Krol said. “Everyone took on their role for each game the way I, as a player, want them to. It makes me excited to see how the rest of the season is going to go.”

UWO kicked off its season against Northland College on Friday night. The Titans beat the Lumberjills 16-0 in five innings.

In the bottom of the first inning, junior leadoff hitter Erika Berry was walked. The third baseman advanced to second after sophomore Emma Fionda was hit by a pitch.
Sophomore catcher Abby Menting was called out after her first at-bat of the year went to second base and was thrown to first. However, Berry advanced to third, and Fionda advanced to second on the play.

Senior outfielder Lauren Torborg drove in both Berry and Fionda on a single with two outs. The first inning concluded with UWO leading 2-0.

Menting drove in two runs on a ground-rule double to highlight the second inning for the Titans. Krol also had a ground-rule double and an RBI as Menting made it home on the hit. Krol was the last runner to make it home before the second inning came to an end.

By the beginning of the third inning, the Titans already had eight runs and six hits on the board. By the end of the inning, the Titans added an additional six runs and four hits.

Freshman Amanda Mcllhany was the first Titan to add a run to the Titans’ score in the third inning. The freshman made it home after sophomore catcher Jordan Manthei singled. Junior Brianna Witter advanced to second and sophomore pitcher Bailey Smaney got to third as a result of the hit.

Freshman Natalie Dillon was the final Titan to score in the third inning as freshman Natalie Dudek hit an RBI single.

The inning ended when Mcllhany flied out to center field.

Oshkosh would go on to tally two more runs in the fourth inning. Dillon had a ground-rule double to drive in both Manthei and Witter.

The game concluded after the top of the fifth inning.

In Friday’s second game, UWO crushed Edgewood College in a lopsided 22-0 score. Both teams were tied at zero following the first inning, but Oshkosh was able to make the most out of the second inning.

Smaney said her team’s performance against Edgewood highlighted the tournament.

“Against Edgewood we had our best hitting performance,” Smaney said.

The Titans drove in 13 runs and tallied 11 hits. Dudek was the first one to reach home off of a Witter single to left field. Mcllhany advanced to second on the play.

Menting, who went one-for-two and had an RBI against Edgewood, said having a deep bench helped contribute to the extremely successful second inning.

“This year our team is a lot more dynamic,” Menting said. “We have a lot more consistency throughout the lineup. Last year we had a lot of, either the top was hitting or the bottom was hitting. There was never the entire lineup all the way through working together. This weekend we really showed that we have a lot of versatility and a lot of talent every where on the field.”

In the bottom of the third, Fionda, Dudek, junior Tanya Hammitt and Dillon all reached home plate to add an additional four runs. The Titans had just two hits in the inning, but both Dudek and Fionda reached first base by being hit by pitches.

The game ended at the top of the fifth inning, after UWO collected five additional runs in the bottom of the fourth.

On Saturday, UWO faced UW-Superior, a team that won 27 games and played in the NCAA Division III Championship last year, in its first game of the day. The Titans beat the Yellowjackets in a tight 4-2 outing.

Dillon made the first offensive play for Oshkosh in the game when she hit a single to right field in the top of the first inning. The freshman right fielder was able to steal second base before Menting struck out at home plate to tally two outs for the Titans.

Krol was the next batter in line and hit a double to right field to drive Dillon home. The Titans were up 1-0 when Torborg grounded the ball to third base for an out to end UWO’s first offensive bout of the game.

Both UWO and UWS were able to collect one hit during the second inning, but neither team was able to collect any runs during their at-bats.

In the top of the third, Berry hit a single to get her onto first base. Dillon was out at first place after hitting a sacrifice bunt so Berry could advance to second.

After Menting struck out, Krol was able to hit an RBI single as Berry made it to home plate. The inning ended with the Titans controlling the lead 2-0.

The Yellowjackets were unable to answer in the bottom of the third, while UWO added another two points to their score as both junior outfielder Caitlin Hoerning and Fionda each made it home.

In the bottom of the fourth, UW-Superior started to make a comeback.

Katie White singled to get onto first base for the Yellowjackets. A Bailey Armstrong double to right field advanced White to third base and Shelby Gerken pinch ran for Armstrong.

Claire Robbe threw a wild pitch which advanced Gerken to third base and Armstrong to score. An error shortly after by Robbe lead to Gerken also reaching home.

Neither of the two teams would score again and the game ended in a 4-2 Titans win after seven innings.

In its second game of the day, UWO faced Lakeland University.

Smaney started on the pitcher’s mound for the Titans and retired three batters and walked one during the first inning.

Berry, Fionda and Menting all got out in a 1-2-3 first inning. In the second inning, UWO was able to collect five runs and five hits from its batters.

Paige Giese got an RBI double when she hit a single to right field. Mcllhany and freshman Claire Petrus each scored.

Berry highlighted the second inning with an inside the park home run which brought home her, Hammitt and Giese.

In the bottom of the third, Menting reached first base off an error committed by Lakeland’s shortstop. A Petrus double led to Menting scoring an unearned run. The inning ended when Witter flied out to centerfield.

Lakeland’s offense struggled against the Titans. The Muskies had only three hits in the game, compared to UWO’s nine. Smaney committed no errors at pitching for the Titans while the Muskie’s two pitchers combined for seven.

The game ended after the bottom of the fifth when UWO collected two more runs from Mcllhany and Torborg to make the score 8-0.

UWO lost its only game in the tournament when it fell to Concordia University-Wisconsin 3-2 in the Titans’ final match of the day.

The game started slow for both teams, as neither was able to get onto the board for the first three innings of play.

At the bottom of the fourth, Menting hit a single to center field after Petrus was hit by a pitch and stole second beforehand. Menting’s single turned into an error by the centerfielder of Concordia which helped Menting advance to second and then third. Petrus made it home to get UWO its first score of the game.

Neither team scored in the fifth inning.

Concordia tied the score up at one after Christine Sharon hit a ground-rule double that brought Nicole Lewis home.

Smaney said the mistakes UWO made against Concordia were contributing factors in the loss.

“We just had a couple of mental errors here and there,” Smaney said. “Base running errors, too. If we would have cleaned that up, I think we would have won.”

In the bottom of the sixth, UWO regained its lead 2-1 when Krol hit an RBI single that lead Petrus to score.

Concordia made a comeback to win the game. The Falcons scored twice and the Titans were not able to respond in the bottom of the inning. The game ended with Berry grounding out to second base with two outs.

Menting also added that playing three games in one day can be tough on a team.

“As the third game of the day, mentally, we weren’t strong enough there,” Menting said. “We need to be more focused in the game. If we would have made the little things count during that game, it would have been a different result.”

Oshkosh concluded its tournament play in a 8-0 win over Carroll College on Sunday morning.

The game got off to a quick start for the Titans when Fionda singled to third base and singled through the right side to advance Fionda to second.

Krol hit a ground-rule double to advance Menting to third and Fionda to score. Mcllhany reached first and then second base by an error committed by the first basement of Carroll. Both Menting and Krol scored on the play.

Shortly after, Manthei grounded-out to third base, but Mcllhany was able to reach home plate. The Titans were up 4-0 when the first inning ended.

After a scoreless top-of-the-second for the Pioneers, Menting doubled to right field to send Petrus home, giving UWO a five-point lead.

Neither team scored in the third inning, but UWO grabbed another point when Fionda stole home with two outs in the bottom of the fourth.

Torborg highlighted and concluded the fifth inning for the Titans as she hit a homerun to right field inside the park. Witter also scored on the play.

The softball team will travel to Florida over spring break where it will play 12 games against teams from all over the country in the span of seven days.

Krol said her team is focusing on how to slow games down, especially with having to play so many over spring bring.

“On thing we are working on in practice is our mental approach to everything,” Krol said. “We know that we are going to be playing a lot of games in Florida compared to what we played in Michigan.”

In the top of the seventh, Concordia made a comeback to win the game. The Falcons scored twice and the Titans were not able to respond in the bottom of the inning. The game ended with Berry grounding out to second base with two outs.

Menting also added that playing three games in one day can be tough on a team.

“As the third game of the day, mentally, we weren’t strong enough there,” Menting said. “We need to be more focused in the game. If we would have made the little things count during that game, it would have been a different result.”

Oshkosh concluded its tournament play in a 8-0 win over Carroll College on Sunday morning.

The game got off to a quick start for the Titans when Fionda singled to third base, and Menting singled through the right side to advance Fionda to second.

Krol hit a ground-rule double to advance Menting to third and Fionda to score. Mcllhany reached first and then second base by an error committed by the first baseman of Carroll. Both Menting and Krol scored on the play.

Shortly after, Manthei grounded-out to third base, but Mcllhany was able to reach home plate. The Titans were up 4-0 when the first inning ended.

After a scoreless top-of-the-second for the Pioneers, Menting doubled to right field to send Petrus home, giving UWO a five-run lead.

Neither team scored in the third inning, but UWO grabbed another run when Fionda stole home with two outs in the bottom of the fourth.

Torborg highlighted and concluded the fifth inning for the Titans as she hit a homerun to right field inside the park. Witter also scored on the play.

The softball team will travel to Florida over spring break where it will play 12 games against teams from all over the country in the span of seven days.

Krol said her team is focusing on how to slow games down, especially with having to play so many over spring break.

“On thing we are working on in practice is our mental approach to everything,” Krol said. “We know that we are going to be playing a lot of games in Florida compared to what we played in Michigan.”