UW Oshkosh softball earns NCAA tournament bid, hosting regionals
OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – The UW Oshkosh softball team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Softball tournament and will host a four-team double elimination regionals tournament.
“We had a good idea that we were going to get in based on what we did all season. But we never know. Our fate is left to somebody else to make that decision. You just never know,” head coach Scott Beyer said at the team’s “Selection Show” watch party.
The team collected all the players’ cell phones in a bag to ensure no one saw any spoilers before the official announcement on TV. But after just over four minutes of waiting, the Titans heard their name, and the room erupted with cheers.
“I figured maybe this year would be a little less stressful than last year…that was not true. I was still freaking out,” senior first baseman Hannah Ritter said.
Oshkosh hosted their first NCAA Regionals last year, advancing to the championship game before ultimately watching Concordia Wisconsin celebrate a 1-0 victory.
The @UWOSoftball1 team is hosting a NCAA DIII Regionals once again!
Full story tonight on @WFRVSports pic.twitter.com/qPPqjDNm6i— Lauren Helmbrecht (@lmhelmbrecht) May 13, 2024
“We need to stay hungry,” Beyer said. “I felt like we left a bit on the table last year. I think right now we’re peaking at the right time.”
The Titans (39-4) started the season on a historic clip, winning 25 straight games and earning the WIAC regular season conference title.
Last weekend, Oshkosh hosted the WIAC Conference Tournament at the UW-Oshkosh Softball Park. After losing their first game to UW-Whitewater, Oshkosh won three straight games to advance to the championship game against the Warhawks. The Titans came up short, losing 2-1.
“Definitely unfinished business. All weekend we played well, we fell a little bit short, but that happens in softball. We get another chance to go at it and that’s all we wanted,” junior pitcher Sydney Nemetz.
The Titans will host the four-team Regional double-elimination tournament on May 16-18. Oshkosh faces four-seed The College of Saint Benedict at noon on May 16, and two-seed Wartburg College will play three-seed Illinois Wesleyan University at 1:30 p.m.
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