The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh softball team had the chance to play in 12 games over spring break in Florida. The Titans recorded nine wins on the trip and played teams from Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and Ohio.
Head coach Scott Beyer said the trip was very helpful for team development, especially when considering the team’s youth.
“I thought it was really good, based on how we are a young team,” Beyer said. “We learned a lot. Being on the road you need to be a tight group, and you need to stay focused and help each other out that way.”
Oshkosh had games from March 17 through March 23 with a day off on March 20. Most recently, UWO faced off against The College of Wooster (Ohio) and D’Youville College (N.Y.) on Thursday.
In the first contest against D’Youville College, the Titans blanked the Spartans in five innings, 8-0. UWO put up a seven-spot in the second inning, leading to the shortened game.
Junior pitcher Clare Robbe earned her fifth win of the season by throwing a complete-game shutout. Robbe only allowed two hits and struck out four Spartans in the mercy-ruled contest.
Three of the eight Titans runs were unearned, as throwing errors and a passed ball allowed these runs to score. Offensively, Oshkosh had ten hits and earned one walk, while not striking out in the game.
Senior first baseman Paige Giese got the scoring started with an RBI single in the top of the second inning, paving the way for the big inning. Freshman infielder Amanda McIlhany had a two-RBI double to immediately follow Giese.
Other scoring in the second came on a two-RBI double by senior outfielder Lauren Torborg. Two more runs scored on a throwing error by a Spartan infielder and the final run of the inning came across to score on a passed ball.
In the other contest of the day, UWO faced off against The College of Wooster and won in seven innings, 6-2. Senior pitcher Sara Brunlieb earned her fourth victory of the young season by going seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out eight.
RBIs were tallied by junior third baseman Erika Berry, sophomore first baseman Kaitlyn Krol, freshman utility player Claire Petrus and Torborg in the contest. Both teams had six hits each, but the Fighting Scots had four errors that led to two Titan runs.
UWO recorded its final loss of the trip on March 22, losing to the Fighting Scots by a score of 4-3. Robbe recorded her second loss of the season, going six innings and allowing three earned runs while striking out four in the loss.
McIlhany, Torborg and Krol knocked in the three runs for Oshkosh, with McIlhany and Krol both recording RBI singles. Torborg and junior infielder Tanya Hammitt tripled in the contest, with Torborg’s bringing home a run.
Sophomore infielder and outfielder Emma Fionda recorded a double in the contest, and freshman infielder Natalie Dudek put down a sacrifice bunt in the defeat. Berry and McIlhanny both stole a base as well.
The second contest of the day pitted UWO against the Wildcats of St. Catherine University (Minn.), with Oshkosh coming out on top, 5-4. The Titans did not push a run across the plate until the fifth inning, and had a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning that led to the victory.
Brunlieb started for the Titans, going six innings and allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out four. She earned a no decision, and Petrus came in and faced six Wildcats in the final frame, earning her third victory of the year.
Petrus also recorded a double in the game, with Krol, Torborg, Dudek and sophomore catcher Abby Menting knocking in runs. Dudek’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning scored Menting and sent the Titans off with a walk-off win.
Assistant coach Lynn Anderson said, even with the youth of the team, the areas the team developed during the trip will translate into conference play.
“We have a young team, so to have 18 games right out of the shoot can be challenging, but I think our young kids really stepped up to the plate,” Anderson said. “We still have things to work on, but for them to have all of those games under their belts so far, going into conference now is really good.”
UWO played Buena Vista University of Iowa in Clermont, FL on March 21 and held the Beavers to a lone run. Robbe started for the Titans and earned her fourth win, going four innings and striking out three against the one run.
Krol and Menting had doubles in the game, with Menting recording two, and Krol, Menting, Torborg and Dudek all knocked home runs for UWO. Berry, Petrus and Torborg all put down sacrifice bunts in the contest, with Torborg earning her RBI through a bunt.
The first game on March 21 for UWO led to a mercy-rule ending, as the Titans beat Fontbonne University in five innings by a score of 11-0. Oshkosh put up eight runs in the fourth inning and recorded a run in every inning except the second.
UWO had 12 hits in the onslaught, with Fontbonne having a whopping six errors in the five innings. Berry had the only extra base hit in the game for the Titans, as her triple was one of her two hits.
Fionda, Menting, Giese, Torborg, Petrus, Dudek and junior outfielder Caitlin Hoerning forced runs home for Oshkosh, with Petrus knocking in two. Brunlieb recorded her third victory of the season in her complete game effort, only allowing two hits while again striking out eight opponents.
March 19 was another shutout victory for Oshkosh, as they beat Bowdoin College from Maine, 2-0. Petrus recorded her second victory of the year, this time starting the contest; she allowed six hits while striking out six in the shutout.
Petrus recorded two doubles in the win, and Hoerning had one. Petrus and junior outfielder Brianna Witter knocked in the two runs for the Titans, with Witter having an RBI-producing sacrifice bunt and Petrus had a teammate score on a double.
The first game of the day for UWO on March 19 was against the University of Chicago, whom they beat 3-1. Brunlieb struck out six in a complete-game affair, only allowing the one run while scattering five hits.
Offensively, the team was led by Krol’s two-RBI game, as well as Berry knocking in a run. Krol brought Berry home in the fifth inning with a double and sent Fionda to the plate on a single in the top of the seventh inning.
Oshkosh split the first four games of the trip, going 2-2.
Facing off against Benedictine University and Hope College on March 18, Oshkosh fell to the Benedictine Eagles, 4-2. Even while putting up 11 hits, only two runs crossed the plate for the Titans in the losing affair.
UWO recorded all of its scoring in the third inning, as Krol scored on a throwing error and Torborg reached home on an RBI single from Witter.
Oshkosh recorded a walk-off victory in the eighth inning in its first contest against Hope, winning 6-5. Berry recorded a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to bring home McIlhany for the winning run.
The Titans recorded 11 hits on the way to scoring six runs, including a home run by Berry in the bottom of the fourth inning. Petrus recorded her first win in relief of Brunlieb, going the final four innings without allowing a hit, striking out two.
In the first set of games in Florida, UWO went 1-1. The Titans beat Amherst College in the first contest and lost to Lake Forest College in the second game.
Against Lake Forest, Oshkosh put up two runs in a 13-2 shortened defeat. Both Titan runs came across in the second inning, as a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Hoerning brought home the two runs.
In UWO’s first victory of the trip, they defeated Amherst College 6-3. Krol led the squad with four RBIs, including a home run to right center that plated three Titans.
With the results from the Florida trip, Menting said that the team has areas they plan on focusing on to improve last season’s results.
“This year, we want to stay consistent and peak at the end when it is important,” Menting said. “We are a completely different team than we were last year. We have a lot more depth this year, not as much experience, so we have a pretty young team. Putting it together, we are very dynamic and are very different, which is a good thing. All in all, our goal is to make it into the tournament and do the best that we can with the team that we have.”
Upcoming for Oshkosh is a faceoff against Marian University on April 5 for their first home contest of the season.
