OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) -UW-Oshkosh softball has moved up to No. 11 in the nation in DIII.
The Titans are coming off a historic 2021 season, winning the WIAC title and competing in the Division III World Series for the first time since 1988.
Now they’re carrying that energy into the season, despite losing the majority of their leadership in nine graduating seniors.
The Titans currently sit on top of the conference standings and are predicted by the coaches poll to take the title again.
“We knew last year’s season was definitely different than last year. They’re totally separate things,” Titans head coach Scott Beyer said. “All of a sudden, it just started to happen. I didn’t expect it. I’m not surprised but I am surprised.”
“We have a target on our back, we talk about it all the time,” first baseman Hannah Ritter said. “But we also talk about how we’re a new team and that’s not really our target to have because we lost so many girls. We have to embrace it, and it’s been fun. We’re getting everyone’s best stuff.”
“We knew it was going to be a task for the upperclassmen to carry over that culture and those experiences from last year,” UWO pitcher Maddie Fink said. “But I think, how well we’ve been doing, it’s been pretty successful.”
With a few weeks left in the regular season, bigger things could be ahead.
“We talk about going back to Virginia all the time. It was a super cool experience. It’s definitely a goal of ours but we know there are steps along the way to get there too,” Ritter said.
“It’s all in the back of our heads. We’d like to do what we did last year, even go further than we did last year,” Fink said. “We’re very focused on where our feet are and focused on each game because in order to get to where we want to be, we have to win the game in front of us.”
“I think the energy that last year’s team created, they brought that this year a little bit. I think we felt that. We’ve embraced the target on our back a little bit,” Beyer said.
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