Madison, Wis. - The UW-Green Bay softball team posted the most significant win in team history Friday night in the NCAA regional, but the Phoenix was unable to keep its Cinderella ambitions alive in the tournament with a 4-0 loss to No. 23 DePaul and a 5-0 setback to No. 6 Oregon State Saturday afternoon. The Phoenix season ends at 27-18, highlighted by a league tournament championship and an NCAA regional win over sixth-ranked OSU in the first ever NCAA tournament appearance for UW-Green Bay.
The Beavers dished out their revenge Saturday, eliminating the Phoenix less than 24 hours after Green Bay knocked the regional favorite into the loser's bracket. The teams were locked in a scoreless tie through four innings when an OSU sacrifice fly off Phoenix starter Kristin Kosobucki lit the scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. The remainder of the scoring came in the sixth courtesy of a Kelly Peterson grand slam off Phoenix relief pitcher Stephanie Hansen, who struck out Peterson with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh the night before to seal Green Bay's upset win.
Oregon State's Brianna McGowan fanned 10 Phoenix batters to earn the victory, fresh off a school-record 16 strikeout effort in the 8-2 elimination game win over Wisconsin.
"All of the credit goes to Oregon State," said UW-Green Bay head coach Jean Rivett. "They played a tough game today. We just didn't get the hits we needed to. Our kids fought hard up until the sixth inning, it was a 1-0 game up until then. We have nothing to hang our heads about and that's what we've been telling our kids. We're proud of what we've accomplished. This is a great experience for our ballplayers and it's a wonderful stepping stone for the softball program."
Oregon State head coach Kirk Walker praised the Phoenix effort.
"(I have) just a ton of respect for them and their performance here," said Walker. "Just an absolutely great effort, a great team, well coached. I just want to acknowledge Jean (Rivett) and her staff. I have a ton of respect for coming in and doing what they did. Not that it's something that they're not capable of, but nobody knew anything about them, and I think that worked to their advantage and I think they used it to their advantage. My hat's off to them. I think they did a tremendous job."
In the opening game versus DePaul, a pair of seventh inning home runs broke open the game as the 23rd-ranked Blue Demons advanced to Sunday's regional final with a 4-0 win over the Phoenix. DePaul was on the board, 1-0, after one inning, but the Phoenix kept the Blue Demons scoreless the rest of the way behind a six-strikeout effort from junior hurler Lisa Meissner.
DePaul cashed in three insurance runs in the top of the seventh courtesy of a pair of round trippers, and the Phoenix was unable to respond.
Oregon State and DePaul will meet Sunday at 11 a.m. in the regional final. Due to the loss to UWGB Firday, the top-seeded Beavers will need to earn two wins over the Blue Demons to advance.
