After one of the best seasons in team history in 2023, the UW Oshkosh women’s softball team is looking to repeat that success or potentially do better in 2024. The team not only finished second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and tied their program high in wins with a 36-9 record. They hosted an NCAA regional for the first time in program history, and made the regional finals. Head Coach Scott Beyer is proud of the success from last year.
“We tied for the most wins in school history, hosted the NCAA Softball Regional for the first time in school history,” he said. “We gave ourselves opportunities to win every game we lost, so I am happy with how things went as a whole.”
In 2024, the Titans will return most of the lineup from its WIAC leading 2023 offense including their top three statistical hitters Hannah Ritter, Brianna Davis and Sydney Rau. Ritter batted to a .521 batting average with a .625 slugging percentage and hit 24 rbi’s. While Davis and Rau slugged a .365 and .362 batting average. Coach Beyer is excited to utilize this veteran lineup.
“It is a nice luxury,” he said. “Statistically our lineup was the best in the WIAC last season, so I am looking forward to seeing our top players returning and watching them improve from a season ago.”
Even though the Titans are projected to finish third in the WIAC behind UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater, coach Beyer believes with the goals that the team has along with the returning players, that this could be another good season for UWO.
“I am excited to see the growth from last year’s successes,” he said. “I expect our team to compete with anyone we play, and anticipate this team to play at a high level all season long. It’s hard to replace some of the players that are graduating, but we have a great group of players returning that are eager to fill those voids. Our goals of winning the WIAC and advancing in the NCAA tournament are very realistic and we are excited to begin playing the games.”
The UWO softball team will open the season at home with a doubleheader against Lakeland University on Feb. 24. Game one will start at 12 p.m. and Game two will start at 2 p.m.
