After record-breaking regular season, UW-Oshkosh softball team poised to make postseason run

OSHKOSH – The UW-Oshkosh softball team will continue its record-breaking season when it makes its 10th appearance in the NCAA Division III softball championships starting today.

The Titans (34-7), ranked as high as No. 16 in the NCAA Division III weekly polls this season by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, host top-seeded and 14th-ranked Concordia University-Wisconsin (37-4), No. 25 Luther College (32-8) and UW-Superior (31-11) in a double-elimination regional tournament at the UW-Oshkosh softball park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. when UWO will take the field against Luther College before Concordia and UW-Superior play at 3:30 p.m.

This will be the fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2017, 2018, 2021) for head coach Scott Beyer during his 10-year tenure. UW-Oshkosh holds a 19-19 record all-time in the tournament. The Titans have won at least 20 games in nine of Beyer’s 10 seasons and earned 25 or more wins in eight of those years.

Picked to finish third in the WIAC before the season began, the Titans put together the best start in program history, starting 17-0 before their first loss came on a walk-off, three-run home run to Tufts University on March 24 in Clermont, Florida. The Titans then went on another 10-game winning streak before dropping a doubleheader April 22 at home to UW-Whitewater. Previously, the best start to a season for UWO was 12-0.

“We have had a consistent mindset for the majority of the season,” Beyer said. “The three big phases of the game, hitting/timely hitting, pitching and defense, have all been consistent. We have made routine plays seem routine and have not let the game get too big or go too fast. We have been able to let go of the negatives fairly quickly and respond in a positive way for the majority of the year.

“I'm most proud of our seniors and leaders. They made a commitment to the team in the fall and have followed through with what they set goals for. I'm proud of every player on the team, as well, for making softball ‘just a game.’ It's a failing sport and one that doesn't give you a lot of moments to feel great about. Our whole team has played for each other and has supported each other in great ways and I'm very proud of them for that. We were 27-1 at one point in the season. That is a first for me, and the whole team. I don't think we didn't think it could be possible, but I think everyone was a bit surprised by how consistently we were winning games.”

UW-Oshkosh has won at least 30 games in a season for the sixth time in program history (1987, 2007, 2008, 2015, and 2017) and the Titans have recorded 13 shutout victories, their most since 2007 (16) and the third time they’ve achieved that mark since 2001 (13 in 2006).

After dropping their first-round game in the WIAC Tournament against UW-La Crosse, 9-5, UWO split results on the second day of the double-elimination event, shutting out UW-Platteville, 9-0, in the first game before falling to UW-Stevens Point, 8-6, in the second game, eliminating the Titans from the tournament.

In the tournament game against the Pointers, senior first baseman/outfielder Hannah Ritter became the all-time career hits leader for UW-Oshkosh with 198 in just three full seasons, breaking the 23-year-old program record of 196 set by Robin Schmidt (1997-2000). Ritter, who is batting .489 overall, was named a top-10 hitter to watch in D-III by FloSoftball before the season. Last season, Ritter picked up 58 hits in 36 games, raising her average 31 points after an impressive debut her sophomore year.

The Titans boast six additional players with a batting average of .300 or better: Oshkosh West's Brianna Davis (.407), Sydney Rau (.375), Gabby Buikema (.373), Seymour's Sophie Wery (.368), Mishicot's Abby Garceau (.329) and Zoe Malone (.310). Garceau leads UWO in runs with 37 while Wery is the team leader in doubles (15) and home runs (nine). Wery also leads the WIAC in RBIs (46) and is one of five players in the league to have a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000.

“I think we’ve done a really good job of taking it game-by-game,” Wery said. “We all got really close before the season started, so just being close in the dugout is really helping us on the field too. I think that’s what’s given us success. The energy in the dugout bleeds out into the field. We obviously want to keep taking it game-by-game, doing the best we can, going out and playing every game like it’s our last because soon it is going to be our last game. We’re just trying to win every game we can from here on out. We’re capable of so much more than where we are right now. Coming out and playing every game with as much energy as we can is what’s going to help us get far.”

Six Titans earned All-WIAC honors this season, matching their total from a year ago. Voted to the first team were Maddie Fink, Sydney Nemetz of Marinette, Buikema, Ritter and Wery. In addition, Ana Iliopoulos was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

Fink, a senior from Stevens Point, leads the Titans with 96 strikeouts and a 1.31 ERA. She has held opposing hitters to a batting average of .195, good for second in the WIAC, and also leads the conference in complete games (17) and shutouts (seven).

Wery, a sophomore catcher, has 46 hits, 33 runs, a slugging percentage of .720 and an on-base percentage of .431. Wery holds top-10 spots in the WIAC for runs, hits, doubles and is tied for the second-most home runs this season.

“I'm always impressed by Hannah Ritter, Maddie Fink, Sydney Nemetz and Abby Garceau for the consistency and leadership they bring each day,” Beyer said. “Sophie Wery has really stepped up this season both as a catcher and hitter. She has been incredible all season at the toughest position on the field. Gabby Buikema has also been a player that has stepped up this year. Gabby has always had the talent to be great but has had some setbacks with injuries and things over the years, and now that she is healthy and feeling good she has lit it up all season.

“A couple of local kids – Brianna Davis has improved a lot from last year as a freshman. She has played great in the outfield and has been a consistent contributor in our lineup. Also, Haylie Wittman (of Kaukauna) has been a starter for most of the season as a freshman and she’s been able to contribute each day at a high level.”

Despite the early exit from the WIAC Tournament, and with the season in its final stretch, UW-Oshkosh has adopted the mentality of putting the past in the past while continuing to have fun and play for one another no matter what the results come to be.

“I think it’s going into every game with the mindset of we’re 0-0, keeping that same kind of fun that we always have together and that we’ve been thriving off of so far," Fink said. "We don’t try to hold goals or expectations over each other. Obviously, we want to go out and play for each other. We’re going to play well, we’re going to play hard, but in terms of having to win this game or get to this point in the season or it doesn’t matter, we don’t really do that so it’s not like, ‘World Series or bust’ or anything. We’re just focused on our next game.”

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: UW-Oshkosh softball team begins NCAA Division III regional play today