The UW Oshkosh softball team advanced to the regional championship of the NCAA Division III Softball tournament last weekend, beating UW-Stevens Point 5-2 in the first game of the double-elimination contest, before losing to the Pointers in the second game 3-1.
The Titans (39-8), ranked 14th in the nation by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) faced off against the Pointers (31-13) for the third time of the tournament, after UWSP handed UWO its first loss of the playoffs on Friday.
UWO’s Brianna Bougie threw 5.2 innings against the Pointers in the first regional championship game. She allowed four hits and two walks for two runs while fanning four Pointers and faced just three batters in the first, second, and fourth innings. Grace Nardi then earned her first collegiate save with 1.1 innings of scoreless work, allowing one hit and a walk.
At the plate, Oshkosh’s Olivia Ullman and Sydney Rau both went 2-for-4. Rau scored a run and Ullman recorded two RBIs with a double. Haylie Wittman and Sarah Hammerton also hit doubles and Amanda Martineck sent in two runs, scoring one of her own with a 1-for-2 game at the plate with a home run.
Morgan Rau led off the second inning with a single to right field and moved to second base on a passed ball, later scoring when Martineck homered to left field for a 2-0 edge.
The Titans added a run in the sixth inning when Hammerton doubled and answered a pair of Stevens Point runs with two of their own in the seventh when Ullman doubled to left center. Abby Garceau and Sydney Rau were on base after reaching on an error and beat out a bunt to the pitcher.
Nardi forced three straight outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to force another game against UWSP, this time a winner-take-all contest.
Nardi pitched once again against Stevens Point in the next game and struck out three batters across 4.2 innings while allowing three unearned runs on two hits, three walks, and a hit batter. Bougie finished the game by throwing 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two.
Hammerton and Cali Divito both went 1-for-2 performances in the second matchup with the Pointers and Hammerton scored Oshkosh’s lone run of the season finale.
While Nardi worked scoreless innings across the first four frames and faced three batters in the second, the Titans went down in order in each.
In the top of the fifth, the Pointers reached on an error and walked to put two runners on for Jesse Klicker, who broke the tie with a home run to left field.
Bougie fanned a pair of Pointers in the sixth inning, keeping the score at 3-0, and moving the board to the bottom half of the frame. Hammerton hit an infield single, took second when Wery grounded out, and third when Divito singled. When Stevens Point’s catcher threw down to second attempting to get Olivia Baugnet who was stealing second, Hammerton dashed home to break up the shutout.
In the seventh inning, Bougie induced two groundouts and a pop up to hold off the Pointers, however Oshkosh couldn’t start a rally in the last half inning and its season concluded in the national tournament.
Bougie, Garceau, and Nardi were all named to the regional all-tournament team after the final game concluded.
UWO finished the season with a 39-8 record, the second-most wins in program history. After opening the season with eight consecutive wins, the Titans posted a 10-4 record in WIAC play to earn the No. 2 seed in the WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver’s). After the first-round bye, they defeated UW-Stevens Point and UW-Platteville on their way to the third conference tournament crown in program history to earn the WIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
