UWO softball remains undefeated

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Courtesy of UWO Athletics — UWO’s Gabby Buikema bats against Lawrence University March 5 at the UWO Rec Plex.

Mattie Beck, Arts and Entertainment Editor

The UW Oshkosh softball team hosted three teams that played seven games inside the Rec Plex on the UW Oshkosh campus over the weekend.

The Titans remained undefeated on the season, winning all four games.

On Saturday the Titans ended the first day strong with a 4-1 win over UW-Superior and a 5-1 win against Lawrence University. 

The first game was a slow start for the Titans, with the Yellowjackets scoring a run in the top of the second. 

The Titans didn’t score until the bottom of the fifth inning when Megan Rau was walked, scoring Ana Iliopoulos from third base for the first run of the game.

In the bottom of the sixth, Gabby Buikema drove in Iliopoulos with a single making the score 2-1. 

Hannah Ritter singled, driving in  Buikema and Abby Garceau to score the last runs of the game for the Titans, who claimed a 4-1 victory over the Yellowjackets.

In the second game of the day, Lawrence started the top of the first inning strong with one run, but UWO tied the game in the bottom half of the inning with a single by Ritter, scoring Garceau.

Emily Cliver doubled, leading Rau to third and driving in Sophie Wery and Ritter,, ending the inning with a 3-1 lead for the Titans. 

Neither team scored for the next four innings until the bottom of the sixth, when Lizzie Slobodecki hit into a fielder’s choice, driving in Cali Divito.

The Titans ended the game with a 5-1 win, earning them their second win of the tournament. 

On Sunday UWO claimed both games in the doubleheader, with an 8-2 win over Lawrence and a 3-0 win over UW-Superior.

In the first game against Lawrence, the team took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, with Cliver reaching on an error by the Lawrence center fielder and scoring Buikema, Rau and Ritter. 

Lawrence came back with two runs in the top of the fifth inning after a scoreless fourth inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, Iliopoulos singled, leading Divito to advance to third and score on the throw. Cliver and Rau scored to bring the game to 6-2. 

Wittman doubled, with Buikema and Iliopoulos scoring two runs, bringing the score to 8-2. 

The final innings remained scoreless, with the Titans claiming an 8-2 victory over Lawrence University. 

UWO  then went on to face UW-Superior in the second game of the doubleheader. 

The second game started fast for UWO, with Rau driving Ritter and Buikema to score two runs with a single, ending the first inning with a 2-0 score. 

In the bottom of the second inning, Wittman and Davis singled, with Iliopoulos hitting a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Wittman for the last run of the game. 

The inning ended with a 3-0 score, with the Titans holding the Yellowjackets at no runs to the end of the game. Maddie Fink pitched a complete game and collected five strikeouts, leaving the Titans 6-0 undefeated for the season.

The Titans will play a doubleheader against Milwaukee School of Engineering on March 11.