OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh softball team kicks off the 2025 WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's) on Saturday (May 10) at 1:30 p.m. when it takes on UW-Stevens Point at top-seeded UW-Whitewater's van Steenderen Complex.
 
UW-Oshkosh (34-6, 10-4 WIAC), the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, is the 16th-ranked program in the nation by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and will seek its third WIAC Tournament title; the Titans won the 2008 and 2021 crowns. The winner of the league's postseason event earns the WIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The Titans have made 11 appearances in the Division III Championship, most recently reaching the World Series and finishing fifth last season.
 
UW-Whitewater (35-5) won the regular season conference championship and earned both the No. 1 seed and the right to host this weekend's tournament. UW-Eau Claire (27-13) is the three seed after UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville (24-14) is the four seed, UW-La Crosse (22-18) is the five seed, and UW-Stevens Point (27-11) is the six seed. The Titans split with the Warhawks, swept the Blugolds, Pioneers, and Eagles, and lost both regular season contests against the Pointers.
 
The six-team WIAC Tournament has transitioned to a single elimination format for the 2025 event. Platteville and La Crosse played the first game on Friday (May 9) and the Pioneers won, 9-0 in six innings, over UW-La Crosse to advance to Saturday's 11 a.m. contest against Whitewater. UW-Stevens Point and UW-Eau Claire played the second Friday game. The Pointers beat the Blugolds, 9-4, and will face Oshkosh at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Titans and Warhawks earned first round byes as the top two seeds in the tournament. The winners of the first two Saturday games face in the championship at 4 p.m.
 
UW-Whitewater leads the conference with 11 tournament titles since the WIAC began its tournament in 1989. UW-Eau Claire owns seven titles, UW-La Crosse and UW-River Falls each have four, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point have two apiece, and UW-Platteville and UW-Stout won the 1992 and 2005 crowns respectively.
 
Across the 14-game regular season schedule, the Titans recorded the highest fielding percentage in the conference at .976, committing a league-low 10 errors and turning a league-best seven double plays. They held opposing runners to a .667 stolen base percentage. Oshkosh held additional top-three offensive positions in hits (second, 126), strikeouts (second, 43), batting average (third, .310), and triples (third, three).
 
On the mound, UW-Oshkosh's pitchers posted team WIAC bests in earned run average (1.46), shutouts (four), hits allowed (72), runs allowed (26), earned runs allowed (21), doubles allowed (eight), and held opponents to a league-low .201 batting average. The Titans gave up just one home run to WIAC teams during the regular season.
 
Six Titans are hitting at least .317 in league play entering the WIAC Tournament. Abby Garceau (Mishicot/Mishicot) paces Oshkosh with a .362 batting average and 17 hits with a perfect 4-for-4 mark on stolen base attempts. Sarah Hammerton (Appleton/Appleton West), who ranks fifth in the WIAC with 12 runs, is hitting .359 with an additional team best in on-base plus slugging percentage (.894) and is the only Titan to hit a home run in conference competition. Olivia Ullman (Denmark/Denmark) owns a .333 clip at the plate, leads Oshkosh with eight RBIs, and struck out a team-low once among qualified batters, which also ranks third in the WIAC. Mary Kate Quaid (Aurora, Ill./Oswego East) (.333), Sydney Rau (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) (.318), and Haylie Wittman (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) (.317) round out Oshkosh's .300 hitters. Wittman ranks fifth in the league with five doubles and Morgan Rau (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) is fifth with six walks.
 
On the mound, Brianna Bougie (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) leads the conference in three categories including an ERA of 0.53, which sits top-three in the nation, and ranks in the top five in seven more. She allowed just three earned runs and held batters to a .152 combined batting average. Sydney Nemetz (Marinette/Marinette) became the second in program history to reach 400 career strikeouts this season and finished the regular season with a 2.07 ERA and 14 strikeouts. Grace Nardi's (Marquette, Mich./Negaunee) 1.27 ERA is fourth in the WIAC. She ranks second in opponent batting average (.175), hits allowed (17), runs allowed (six), doubles allowed (one), and fourth in earned runs allowed (five).