The UW Oshkosh softball, ranked No. 4 in the nation, improved to 6-0 this past weekend after defeating Edgewood College, Loras College (Iowa), Wisconsin Lutheran College and UW-Superior for the UW Oshkosh Invitational at the Oshkosh Rec Plex.
The Titans swept in dominating fashion, winning each game by at least four runs and allowing only one over the weekend.
“Our success not only this year, but for the last 7-8 years puts pressure on us, so that is nothing new to handle,” UWO head coach Scott Beyer said. “Winning each inning we play is our focus. The end result is a product of that mentality.”
With only six total runs allowed this season in six games played, the UWO pitching staff has shown no signs of off-season rust.
Beyer said that the team has enjoyed early season success after returning a high-level pitching staff in Sydney Nemetz and Brianna Bougie.
“It’s a great luxury to have pitching depth and known commodities when entering the first part of the season,” Beyer said. “Along with that we have a lot of returners on defense, so for them it’s nothing new. They know how and what to do to prepare so there is no element of rust as we begin games.”
In the opening game of the invitational March 1, the Titans took on Wisconsin Lutheran College and the UWO pitching staff shut the Warriors down, paving the way for a 9-0 victory.
Grace Nardi was the starting pitcher for UWO and pitched two scoreless innings after striking out six. Nardi handed the ball off to Skyler Calmes at the start of the third, and Calmes never gave it up. Calmes went five scoreless innings and was awarded her first win of the season.
The scoring opened up for Oshkosh when Amanda Martineck hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Abby Garceau. In the third inning, the Titans offense exploded for five runs. Haylie Wittman started the onslaught with a single to right field which scored center fielder Sydney Rau. This was followed by run scoring singles from Garceau, Sarah Hammerton and Martineck.
At the top of the seventh inning, Titan Mary Kate Quaid started her impressive weekend off with a pinch-hit single to center, scoring Morgan Rau. Cali Divito drove in the last two runs for Oshkosh with a single through the right side.
Later that day, UWO defeated Loras College (Iowa) 4-0 in their closest game of the weekend.
Oshkosh went with trusted Nemetz to start on the mound and she delivered five scoreless innings, with two strikeouts and zero walks en route to her second win of the season. Bougie came in for relief at the top of the sixth and didn’t allow a single Duhawk to reach base in her two innings.
In the bottom of the first inning, Sophie Wery drove in the first run for Oshkosh with a single through the left side. Morgan Rau’s’ only hit of the game came in the third inning, when she drove one down the line for an RBI ground rule double. Hammerton scored the Titans’ third run off a sacrifice fly by Morgan Miller and Garceau hit a double to score Divito for the eventual last run of the game in the fourth inning.
The second day at the Rec Plex opened with a face off against UWS, where the Titans found themselves victorious yet again, with the final score 10-1 in five innings.
Divito, Quaid and Sydney Rau led the way for the Titan offense as they went a combined 8-for-9 from the plate and knocked in six of the team’s ten runs. Quaid went 3-for-3 and touched home each time she got on base. Divito went 2-for-2 with a double and four runs batted in before she was pinch hit for Reese Koski. Rau in her four plate appearances got three hits, one being an RBI single in the fourth inning.
On the mound, Nemetz made her second start of the weekend. She pitched the entire game but allowed the Titans only run of the weekend when Yellowjacket Baylee O’Donnell knocked a single to left field in the top of the fifth. Nemetz’s final statline was five innings pitched, one run (unearned) and seven strikeouts, which got her her second win in the same amount of days.
UWO’s final game of the invitational came against Edgewood College, which the Titans won 9-0 and ended in six innings.
Bougie made her second appearance on the mound and went five scoreless innings while striking out seven Edgewood batters. Bougie had a no-hitter going until Eagle Kya Loffswold connected on a single to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The offense was again led by the combination of Divito, Quaid and Sydney Rau. Divito and Quaid both went 2-for-2 with a walk, while Sydney Rau went 2–for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Sydney Rau opened up the scoring with a knock to left field to score Quaid and reached home off a single by Wery, putting the Titans up 4-0 in the third inning. The sixth inning was when the Titans took command, scoring five runs leading to a mercy rule. Divito, Rau, Lizzie Slobodecki and Wittman each had run-scoring singles. Sydney Rau advanced off a throwing error which allowed Divito to score.
Quaid, a freshman at UWO, finished the invitational with an on-base percentage of .875 and was able to score five of the seven times she was on base and knocked in two runs herself. Beyer said that Quaid was impressive.
“‘Passing the bat’ is something we pride ourselves with,” Beyer said. “The mentality that you don’t have to do it all yourself, and MK has done a great job with that. She has gotten on base a lot of different ways, and I think that rubs off on her teammates.”
The Titans return to action March 8 with a doubleheader against Milwaukee School of Engineering at the Oshkosh Rec Plex. The first pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m., and the second game at 2 p.m.
