Courtney Wautier (Sr. • Brussels) threw nine scoreless innings to lead UW-Oshkosh to the Grinnell Invitational championship on Sunday (April 7) in Grinnell, Iowa.

The Titans (13-5) started the day with a 4-0 victory over Iowa Wesleyan College (11-12). Wautier then earned the save as UW-Oshkosh finished its perfect weekend with a 7-2 triumph over Westminster College (Mo.) in the title contest.

In the second frame against Iowa Wesleyan, Tess Fadness (Jr. • Eau Claire) led off with a solo homer. That 1-0 advantage would remain until the fifth inning.

A pair of singles and a walk got UW-Oshkosh going in the fifth. Haley Bayreuther (Fr. • Janesville) stole second base and later scored on an error. Two walks set up Lindsey Luedke (Fr. • Howard), who knocked a run-scoring single to left field that made it 4-0.

Iowa Wesleyan mustered just four hits, including two by Ashley Stube, off Wautier.

Ayla Serrano took the loss, yielding four runs on five hits and five walks over six innings.

The Titans scored in each of the final four frames to prevail over Westminster. During the third inning, Rai'an Harris smacked a double into the gap that put her team up, 2-0. The Titans responded with a solo home run from Hayden Krueger (Fr. • Bristol) in the bottom half.

UW-Oshkosh went ahead when Kassie Krueger (Jr. • Plover) posted a two-run triple during the fourth inning. The final two runs came in the sixth, when Luedke drove a single to center and Wautier marked a sacrifice fly.

Jill Vondrak (Jr. • Westchester, Ill.) got the win after pitching five innings. She allowed two unearned runs on three hits with three strikeouts. Wautier didn't surrender a hit while firing the last two frames.

Brittany Lee suffered the defeat, allowing four ER on eight hits and four walks. She threw all six innings.

Vondrak, Wautier and Hayden Krueger were named to the All-Tournament Team. Krueger totaled five hits, five runs and three RBI on the weekend.

UW-Oshkosh finally begins conference play at UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday (April 10).

By Jon Feyen