UW-Oshkosh meets UW-Eau Claire in the first round of the WIAC Softball Championship on Friday (May 2) in Menomonie.

The Titans (23-9) and the Blugolds (24-14) face off in the third game of the day, which is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Top-seeded UW-Stout (25-10) plays UW-Platteville (16-23) at 10 a.m., while UW-Whitewater (27-8) matches up with UW-La Crosse (21-11) at noon. Losers of the first two contests will play an elimination game at 4 p.m.

UW-Oshkosh only plays once on Friday. If the Titans prevail, they meet the winner between the Warhawks and the Eagles on Saturday.

The double-elimination event features four games on both Friday and Saturday. Up to three games could be played on Sunday (May 4), with the tournament winner receiving a berth in the NCAA Division III Championship.

WIAC Softball Tournament Schedule

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire split their regular-season doubleheader on April 26. The Titans used homers from Katie Koepsel and Hayden Krueger to take the first game, 7-5. Laura Raflik and Zana Lorbetske then pitched their way to a 6-1 victory in game two.

The Titans own the top on-base percentage (.411), slugging percentage (.536) and fielding percentage (.978) in the league. Tess Fadness leads the WIAC in batting average at .471. Koepsel has propelled the offense with seven homers, 20 doubles and 43 RBI, while Krueger owns six home runs and 33 RBI.

Sara Brunlieb and Jill Vondrak have combined to start all 32 games for the Titans. Vondrak ranks second in the conference with 12 wins, to go with her 2.69 ERA. UW-Oshkosh issues just 1.4 walks per game – the fewest in the WIAC.

UW-Eau Claire has won seven of its last eight games. The Blugolds are led by Amanda Fischer, who has 10 homers and a league-leading 31 stolen bases. Raflik paces the pitching staff with a 9-4 record and 2.58 ERA.

UW-Oshkosh won its lone WIAC Tournament during 2008. The Blugolds own a record six titles, with the most recent being 2007.

By Jon Feyen