The UW Oshkosh softball team continued their undefeated start to 2024, going 8-0 in the Spring Games down in Florida March 22-28.
The Titans were supposed to play 10 games in Florida over the week, but due to a rainout on their first day of games, they ended up only playing eight games. Head coach Scott Beyer said that the rainout actually helped the team.
“Friday’s rainout wasn’t all that bad. We had a long travel day Thursday,” Beyer said. “I know the team was disappointed. They were excited to get playing, but we used the day to recover from the long day before.”
Beyer may not be wrong that the rain helped the team. UWO won by four or more runs in all but two of their games. The day one doubleheader for the Titans set the tone for the rest of week. UWO won their first game against Amherst College (Massachusetts) 9-0 after a six-run fifth inning. Pitcher Sydney Nemetz pitched a complete game shutout to earn her fifth win of the season. In their next game against Buffalo State College (New York) the Titans won 6-5. The Bengals responded to the Titans’ four-run first inning with a five-run second inning to take the lead. UWO was able to reclaim the lead with a game-tying RBI single from Haylie Wittman in the fifth and a go-ahead RBI double from Hannah Ritter in the sixth.
After the first day of games, it was smooth sailing for the Titans. In their time at Florida, the UWO offense scored a combined 64 runs in all eight of their games. The team scored four or more runs in all but one game. The pitchers also held their opponents to a combined nine runs. The two games for the Titans that stood out the most in their time at Florida were the games against Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota) on March 25 and Kalamazoo College (Michigan) on March 26.
UWO won 7-0 over Gustavus Adolphus, but the most impressive thing was that Nemetz pitched a no-hitter. Her no-hitter was not only the 13th in program history, but it was the second no-hitter pitched by the Titans just this season. Nemetz’s performances were part of a very good week from the starting pitching staff. Beyer credits how simple they were on the mound.
“All five threw really well. They hit their spots and change speeds well,” he said. “They have a lot of trust in their defense, which allows them to keep the mindset of attacking the opponent and trusting their teammates behind them.”
The win over Kalamazoo was all about the offense. The Titans beat the Hornets 17-2. After going into the seventh with a 7-0 lead, the Titans were able to put up 10 runs in the seventh alone. After a throwing error allowed Morgan Miller to reach first base, the Titans were able to blow it even more wide open after an RBI from Cali Divito.
The Titans completed their trip to Florida for the Spring Games with a 16-0 record. They will have two more non-conference matchups before they head into the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule. Beyer recognizes that the WIAC conference is one of the best, and that the team will need to be ready.
“Pitchers are great, hitters are better, runners are faster etc.” he said. “Beyond that, the familiarity that each team has with one another is another thing that keeps the games in the WIAC close. The rivalries also bring out the fun in everyone, but they are also challenging.”
The Titans will play a doubleheader versus St. Norbert College today. Game one will start at 3 p.m. and game two will start at 5 p.m. Both games will take place at the UWO Rec Plex.
