OSHKOSH, Wis.- Kiran Sanford (Two Rivers/Mishicot) tossed a two-hitter and Mary Kate Quaid (Aurora, Ill./Oswego East) homered as nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh softball shut out UW-La Crosse, 5-0, during the first game of a WIAC doubleheader Saturday (April 17) at UW-Oshkosh Rec Plex Field.
 
The second game was suspended by poor weather conditions with UW-La Crosse leading, 4-0, and Eagles runners at first and second bases with one out in the top of the second inning. Play will resume on a date to be determined.
 
Oshkosh (19-5-1, 2-1 WIAC), ranked 16th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, improved to 7-0 all-time on the outdoor turf surface of Rec Plex Field after the Titans' primary outdoor facility, Mary Beth Nienhaus Softball Complex, was rendered unplayable due to recent rains.
 
In the first game of the day, Sanford dominated once again in the pitcher's circle, notching her second straight conference shutout and WIAC-leading fourth on the year. Sanford did not allow a baserunner or even a ball out of the infield until yielding a leadoff single in the top of the fifth inning.
 
Sanford (11-1) faced two batters over the minimum on the way to allowing just two hits and striking out eight. She struck out the side during the sixth inning and later pitched around a two-out double in the seventh frame. The WIAC leader in victories, Sanford lowered her league-leading WHIP ratio to 0.84 and team-best ERA to 1.36 while improving her strikeout-to-walk ratio to 11.0 after entering the day fifth nationally at 10.11.
 
Oshkosh backed Sanford's pitching gem with a pair of runs in the home half of the second inning followed by single tallies during the third, fifth and sixth frames.
 
The Titans outhit La Crosse (16-10, 1-2 WIAC), 9-2, as Oshkosh collected three doubles and a home run.
 
Quaid, Sarah Hammerton (Appleton/Appleton West) and Brianne Lopez (Volo, Ill./Grant Community) each went 2-for-3 at the plate for Oshkosh. Quaid doubled, homered and scored twice. Hammerton and Olivia Ullman (Denmark/Denmark) both added doubles. Quaid now has a team-high three of Oshkosh's seven home runs this year. Ullman's double was her team-best 10th on the season.
Quaid and Hammerton laced consecutive one-out doubles in the home half of the second inning to provide what proved to be the only run Sanford would need. Haylie Wittman (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) followed with a single that plated Hammerton for a 2-0 Titans advantage.
 
Ullman doubled over the left fielder's head to score Lopez for a 3-0 cushion with two outs in the bottom of the third inning. Emma Bohn (Rosendale/Laconia) lifted a sacrifice fly during the fifth inning to bring home Olivia Baugnet (De Pere/De Pere), and Quaid capped the scoring with a solo home run to left field with one out in the sixth frame.
 
Marissa Pease accounted for both Eagles hits. Pease's two-out double in the top of the seventh inning snapped Sanford's string of 13.2 consecutive innings without allowing a runner past first base during her two conference starts.
 
La Crosse's Carmen Follette (6-3) suffered the complete-game loss. Four of the five runs Follette surrendered were earned. She struck out six without issuing a walk.
 
The Titans, who have won their last six meetings with the Eagles, will need to stage a comeback in order to extend the streak when the second game resumes. La Crosse scored a run in the first inning and added three more during the second frame. The Eagles are outhitting the Titans, 5-1, in the nightcap.
 
Oshkosh previously won a trio of doubleheaders at Rec Plex Field against Ripon College, Marian University and UW-Stout during a span of five days in 2022.
 
The Titans head to UW-Whitewater (18-8, 3-1 WIAC) for a league doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. Tuesday (April 21).