UW-Oshkosh Women's Softball

2003 Highlights

Barth Named To All-WIAC First Team

Outfielder Julie Barth (Jr. • Neillsville) was UW-Oshkosh's lone representative on the 2003 All-WIAC Women's Softball First Team, while two other Titans received honorable mention recognition.

Receiving honorable mention status for the Titans were first baseman Brenda Feucht (Sr. • Mayville) and shortstop Angie Long (Jr. • Green Bay).

Barth earned All-WIAC First Team accolades for the second straight season. She ranks 10th in the league with a .356 batting average and led the Titans with 32 hits, 14 runs scored and eight doubles.

UW-Stevens Point's Jill Van Wychen was named the Position Player of the Year and UW-La Crosse's Sally Wenzel was named the Pitcher of the Year, headlining a group of 20 players named to the first team.

Van Wychen leads the league with a .467 batting average, 63 hits and 39 runs scored, while ranking second with six triples and 23 stolen bases. Her batting average is the second-highest in school history and is the seventh-best mark in league history. Van Wychen set a NCAA Division III record with a 36-game hitting steak, reaching safely in the team's first 36 games this year.

It is the second straight All-WIAC First Team honor for Van Wychen, who is the third Pointer to receive the league's Player of the Year award. Kelly Rutta claimed the award in 2000 and 2001.

UW-La Crosse's Sally Wenzel leads the conference with 133 strikeouts and 14 wins, while ranking third with a 1.52 ERA and three shutouts and fourth with 142.1 innings pitched. Wenzel, a four-time All-WIAC First Team pick, holds the conference career record with 76 complete games and ranks second in league annals with 432 career strikeouts. Wenzel also batted .337 at the plate this season with a team-leading five home runs. She finished second on the squad with 20 RBIs.

Maroons Quiet Titans

Lizz Fernelius Natalie Mlinar Freshman right-hander Hannah Roberts and senior southpaw Megan Kunz both threw compete game shutouts as the University of Chicago women's softball team swept a twinbill from UW-Oshkosh on Thursday (April 17) in Chicago, Ill.

Roberts, now 8-2 on the season, scattered three hits while striking out eight as the Maroons took game one 5-0. Five different players scored and four different batters drove in a run. Kara Thaw went 2-for-3 for the Maroons with a run and a run batted in.

UW-Oshkosh's three hits in the opener were all singles, all by three different players. The Titans left only four runners on base in the game, with coming in the fourth inning. Natalie Mlinar (So. • Whitewater) took the pitching loss for UW-Oshkosh after allowing six hits in seven innings.

The nightcap remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning, when University of Chicago's Cristina Metildi singled home Carla Blauvelt with the winning run with one out. Kunz led off the inning with a base hit - the Maroons' first of the game - before Blauvelt reached on a fielder's choice.

Kunz allowed three hits and one walk while fanning three as she raised her record to 5-4. No UW-Oshkosh player had more than one hit in the game.

UW-Oshkosh's Lizz Fernelius (Sr. • Beaver Dam) pitched her finest game of the season, allowing just two hits and no earned runs in 6.1 innings.

The University of Chicago extended its winning streak to four games and upped its season mark to 14-7. The Maroons have posted four consecutive shutouts and five in their last six outings. UW-Oshkosh dropped to 5-18 with the defeats.

Pioneers Silence Titans

Julie Barth Anne Stanislawski Three UW-Platteville pitchers combined for a pair of shutouts as the Pioneers took both ends of a women's softball doubleheader with UW-Oshkosh on Thursday (April 10) in Platteville.

UW-Platteville (12-10/4-0 WIAC) defeated UW-Oshkosh (2-10/0-2 WIAC), 8-0, in the opener behind the six-hit pitching of Alexis Thomas. In the nightcap, pitchers Steph Wood and Katie Larson combined to allow just four hits as the Pioneers topped the Titans, 5-0.

UW-Platteville took game one from UW-Oshkosh with the help of a seven-run third inning. The Pioneers had six hits and benefited from a pair of UW-Oshkosh errors in the frame, with the biggest safety being Stacey Yager's two-run double. The contest ended in the fifth inning due to the NCAA's eight-run rule when Yager scored from third base on a wild pitch.

UW-Oshkosh's six hits off Thomas featured two each from Katie Listwan (Fr. • Menomonee Falls) and Anne Stanislawski (So. • Amherst). The Titans' best opportunity to score came in the fourth inning when they loaded the bases after two were out. UW-Oshkosh also left two runners on base in the fifth inning.

Lizz Fernelius (Sr. • Beaver Dam) pitched all 4.2 innings for UW-Oshkosh in the opener, taking the loss after yielding eight hits and just one earned run. Her record is now 0-5 on the season. Thoms struck out five UW-Oshkosh hitters as she raised her record for the Pioneers to 5-2.

UW-Platteville took the momentum early in the second game by counting two runs in the first inning and three in the second. The Pioneers scored all of their runs in the first period on Laura Brown's two-run single and all of their runs in the second on Michelle Skaden's three-run home run. UW-Platteville left nine runners on base in the game, including two each in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings. The Pioneers' eight hits in the game featured two each from Brown and Skaden.

UW-Oshkosh's five hits in the nightcap were all singles, including one each from Jessie Laha (Jr. • Appleton) and Brenda Feucht (Sr. • Mayville) in the sixth inning when the Titans ended the stanza with the bases loaded.

Natalie Mlinar (So. • Whitewater) saw her UW-Oshkosh pitching record fall to 1-4 on the year after allowing five earned runs in six innings. Wood registered the pitching win for UW-Platteville, her third in five decisions.

Titans Snap Losing Skid With Sweep of Sabres

Natalie Mlinar Anne Stanislawski The UW-Oshkosh women's softball team made the coaching debut of Chrissy Lambie a successful one as the Titans ended a 12-game losing streak by defeating Marian College twice on Monday (March 31) at the Titan Stadium Sports Complex.

Lambie, who was named the Titans' interim head coach earlier in the day, guided UW-Oshkosh to wins of 5-3 and 3-2, with the latter being called after five innings due to rain and darkness. UW-Oshkosh, which has now defeated Marian College 18 times in 20 meetings, rallied to win both contests as it trailed 2-0 after three innings of game one and 1-0 after two innings of game two.

UW-Oshkosh (2-10) erased a two-run deficit in the opener by scoring three runs, all unearned, in the fourth inning and two in the fifth. UW-Oshkosh had two hits and benefited from a pair of Marian College infield errors in the fourth inning, with Katie Dams' (Sr. • Greenfield) run-scoring single giving the Titans a 3-2 lead. In the fifth inning, Anne Stanislawski (So. • Amherst) increased the Titans' advantage to 5-2 by lacing a two-out, two-run single.

Marian College (4-4) threatened in the sixth inning as Bobbie Jo Merten led off the frame with a triple and scored on Erin Schultz's single. The Sabres then placed runners on first and second base before UW-Oshkosh pitcher Cassie Goodweiler (So. • Stoughton) struck out Amanda Nickel to end the inning. Goodweiler then retired Marian College in order in the seventh inning to record her first collegiate win. Goodweiler (1-3) relieved starter Lizz Fernelius (Sr. • Beaver Dam) in the fourth inning and allowed four hits while striking out five batters.

UW-Oshkosh had nine hits in the opener, with Dams and Mary Easton (Sr. • Kenosha) recording two each. Rachel Schulze had two hits to lead Marian College's six-hit attack. Sarah Hannon (0-1) took the pitching loss for the Sabres after allowing nine hits and all five runs.

UW-Oshkosh fell behind in the second inning of the nightcap as Amanda Nickel gave Marian College a 1-0 lead on her sacrifice fly. The Titans tied the contest in the third inning when Lisa Torn scored from third base on a wild pitch. UW-Oshkosh counted a pair of runs in the fourth inning when Stanislawski belted a run-scoring double and later scored from third base on a wild pitch.

Marian College closed the gap to 3-2 in the fourth inning on a run-scoring double by Nickel. The Sabres then put runners on first and second base in the fifth inning before UW-Oshkosh pitcher Natalie Mlinar (So. • Whitewater) ended the stanza and the doubleheader by getting Michelle McCauley to ground out.

Each team had just three hits in the second game, with no player having more than one. Mlinar (1-3) pitched all five innings to gain the win for the Titans. She allowed just one earned run while striking out three batters. Julie Skenadore (4-3) hurled all five innings to take the loss for the Sabres.

UW-Oshkosh Relieves Panske Of Coaching Duties

UW-Oshkosh's Sharon Panske was relieved of her head coaching duties in women's softball and reassigned within the school's department of intercollegiate athletics on Monday (March 31).

In making the announcement, UW-Oshkosh Director of Athletics Allen Ackerman said that assistant coach Chrissy Lambie would serve as the Titans' interim head coach for the remainder of the 2003 season. Lambie, who played for the Titans from 1997-2000, has been a member of Panske's coaching staff the past two-plus seasons.

"For the betterment of the women's softball program at UW-Oshkosh, I felt that a change was needed at this time," said Ackerman. "It is our hope that Chrissy and her squad can finish the 2003 season on a positive note."

During her 16-plus seasons as head women's softball coach at UW-Oshkosh, Panske guided the Titans to a 298-282-2 record, including an 85-115-1 mark in the WIAC. Last year's team posted a 15-14 record and finished fifth in the WIAC with a 6-5 ledger. Panske guided UW-Oshkosh to appearances in the NCAA Division III Championship in 1987, 1988 and 1997, with her 1988 squad finishing sixth in the country and her 1987 team posting 31 wins.

UW-Oshkosh, with Lambie serving as interim head coach, resumed action on Monday (March 31) by defeating Marian College at the Titan Stadium Sports Complex in scores of 5-3 and 3-2. Prior to the twinbill, the Titans had lost 12 straight games, including all 10 to start the 2003 season.

Australian Trip Long, But Well Worth It For Titans

Talk about a tough road trip.

For the UW-Oshkosh women’s softball team, no longer will a doubleheader in Superior seem like such a big deal after a 13-day, six-game journey through three cities in Australia.

“I’m actually looking forward to the 24-hour bus ride to Florida (for the Titans spring trip in March),” coach Sharon Panske said. “It’s going to feel like a cakewalk, actually.”

Yes, it was a long flight going over and coming back, including 18 hours on a plane to Sydney brought about by three medical emergencies with other passengers. Yes, the days were long and the jet lag can bring strong men to their knees.

But none of them will trade the experience for anything.

“I think it was definitely a worthwhile trip,” she said.

Just over a year in the making, 22 players, three coaches and several friends and family left Chicago Jan. 6 for the journey that was a little about softball but mostly about finding out how they lived on the other side of the world.

“The games were very beneficial but just seeing all the sights was important,” Panske said. “Experiencing the culture and talking to the people. They were extremely friendly.”

The Titans split the six games they played against all-star teams from Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns.

“We didn’t practice a whole lot before we left so it was tough,” Panske said. “Defensively, we were OK but offensively we struggled the first few games. But we got everybody playing time and we were able to get a good look at kids. They were in game situations and they had to react and perform.”

The Titans had to play in situations they weren’t exactly familiar with either.

Though Australia is in the midst of the three-year drought, Panske said it rained nearly everywhere they went.

“The people there thanked us for that,” she cracked.

As well, huge fires brought on by the extended drought have been raging through much of the country though Panske said they never saw any signs of fire.

The softball facilities weren’t exactly what they were accustomed to either, especially in the town of Manly outside Sydney where the pitcher’s mound and home plate area were made of concrete and covered with artificial turf.

“I told my players, ‘No sliding,’” Panske said.

The journey was the culmination of a process that first intrigued Panske a year ago when she received an unsolicited e-mail from a tour company advertising spending New Year’s in Australia.

Unfamiliar with that company and aware of the horror stories about bogus tour packages that can leave groups high and dry, she contacted Melissa Bruner, a friend who was director of basketball operations for the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball program.

The Badgers went on a similar trip recently and used Sports Tours International of Milwaukee. Panske contacted that group and a few days later a preliminary itinerary was already in place, including games with Australian teams

“They did all the work,” Panske said. “They set up the entire trip. They had contacts over there who got the teams together.”

In return, the UW-Oshkosh contingent had to come up with $3,000 apiece that included all air fares, hotels, ground transportation and continental breakfast.

And in that year, the UW-Oshkosh softball team held fund-raisers of nearly every kind. They cleaned up Titan Stadium after football games.

They served as waiters at school functions.

“I had a third job this year and that was fund-raising,” Panske said. “I can’t even think of all the fund-raisers we held.”

Perhaps one-quarter of the money needed was raised through those fund-raisers and the rest came from the families of the players. The university supplied no funding.

“Some parents took out loans and some kids took out loans,” Panske said. “It was kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Along with the softball, though, came the opportunity to tour a rain forest and go whitewater rafting and visit an Aboriginal culture park and go to the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Opera House and a lot more.

“It was just a great experience,” Panske said. “But by the end the kids said, ‘It’s great and it’s fun but we want to go home.’”

NCAA rules forbid a school from making international trips more than once every three years and Panske said she might look into another trip when UW-Oshkosh is eligible again.

“Fortunately the NCAA does put a time frame on this because it’s going to take a while for me to recover,” she said.

The Titans open practice February 3 and their season begins March 16 with the spring trip to Fort Myers, Fla.

Chuck Carlson: (920) 426-6662 or ccarlson@oshkosh.gannett.com or http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/index.shtml