OSHKOSH, WIS.  – The Luther College softball team is used to playing on the big stage. After an impressive season, the Norse found themselves in the thick of the NCAA Championship hunt, facing the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the opening round of the regional. Despite a late rally, Luther was unable to open its NCAA Tournament run with a victory, as the team fell to host UW-Oshkosh by a final score of 5-4. The Norse overall record now stands at 32-9, as they fall to the loser's bracket of the double elimination tournament. 

GAME ONE: #25 LUTHER (4) vs. UW-OSHKOSH (5)
Luther found itself in an early hole in its NCAA Regional opener, as UW-Oshkosh came out hot in the bottom of the first. Despite savvy pitching from ace Kendra Cooper (Lansing, Iowa / Kee), the Titans scored one run on three singles in the bottom of the first. The Norse looked to answer in the top of the second, as Riley Sauser (Ely, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie) reached on an error by the UW-Oshkosh first baseman before her base runner, Alison Martinez (Brighton, Colo. / Brighton) advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sydney Schultz (Raymond, Iowa / Columbus Catholic). 

Luther was unable to bring Martinez around, as back-to-back flyouts from Raven Allen (Birmingham, Ala. / McAdory) and Ken Vavrichek (Bloomington, Minn. / The Blake School) ended the inning. The top of the third was a different story. After Cooper took care of business in the bottom of the second, longtime teammate Katie Brennan (Lansing, Iowa / Kee) led off the third with a double. Berg then claimed first base with a walk, giving the Norse runners on first and second with zero outs. 

It looked like Luther was about to take a lead, as Anna Forari sent a Maddie Fink fastball to deep left field. While the ball went over the fence, it was just foul, and Fink managed to get both Forari and Abby Spore (Cedar Rapids, Iowa  / Kennedy) to fly out in the infield. She could not, however, send Leah Crown (Plato, Minn. / Central) back to the dugout. With a 2-2 count, the senior center fielder laced a ball into the outfield, scoring Brennan from second to tie the game at 1-1. 

The Norse threatened again in the top of the fourth thanks to hits from Schultz and Vavrichek. However, Luther was unable to get its runners across the plate and untimely fielding errors proved costly in the bottom of the fourth. A two-error inning allowed the Titans to score three runs, taking a 4-1 lead with three innings remaining in the game.

The Norse were unable to answer in the top of the fifth despite yet another quality scoring opportunity. Thanks o a lead off walk by Forari and base hit from Spore, Luther had runners on first and second with no outs, prompting UW-Oshkosh to make a pitching change. The switch worked in the Titan's favor, as Crown, Sauser and Schultz went down in order to end the Norse threat. The same was true in the top of the sixth, as Luther was sent down in order before UW-Oshkosh scored an insurance run in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-1. 

The Norse had their work cut out for them in the top of the seventh, as they needed to score four runs to force extra innings, five to potentially win. Berg put some life back in the Luther dugout, as she led off the inning with a single to left to give the Norse a base runner. Forari popped out to the second baseman before Spore sent a fly ball to deep right field. With the wind blowing out, the junior seemingly cut the Titan lead to two, but the right fielder caught the ball at the warning track, bringing Crown to the plate with two outs. With the count at 2-2, the senior laced a hit past the glove of the second baseman, keeping Luther's rally alive. 

Crown's hit proved significant, as it allowed Sauser to hit a bloop single to left, scoring Berg to cut the lead to 5-2. The hits just kept coming from there, as Schultz laced a two-out single, scoring both Crown and Livia Williams (Coralville, Iowa / Iowa City West), to make it 5-4. 

After Schultz's RBI single, the Norse had the Titans on their heels and a contact hitter in Allen at the plate. After looking at the first two pitches, Allen saw something she liked and swung, making solid contact with the pitch. Her hit sailed toward the left field line but was snatched out of the air by the UW-Oshkosh third baseman, halting Luther's rally and ending the game 5-4 in favor of the Titans. 

TOP NORSE

• Sydney Schultz (Raymond, Iowa / Columbus Catholic) went 2-3 at the plate in Thursday's loss, with two RBI in the top of the seventh. 
• Belle Berg (Chatfield, Minn. / Chatfield), Abby Spore (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Kennedy) and Ken Vavrichek (Bloomington, Minn. / The Blake School) all went 1-3 at the plate, with Berg scoring a run for Luther. 
• Kendra Cooper (Lansing, Iowa / Kee) pitched her 20th complete game of the season in the loss, surrendering five runs, three earned, on eight hits in six innings of work. She additionally struck out five and walked two in the game.

NOTEABLES
During Thursday's game and throughout the season, Luther wore a green jersey to raise awareness for mental health. The color green and the green ribbon are international symbols of mental health, and one in every five individuals will be affected by a mental health condition during their lives. Both Luther College and the Athletics Department are proud to support the softball team's efforts to end the stigma and raise awareness for a topic that affects students, faculty and staff members both in the Luther community and high education as a whole. 

UP NEXT
Since the NCAA Regional is a double elimination tournament, the Norse will play in an elimination game at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, May 19. Should Luther win that game, the team will advance to the 3:30 p.m. elimination game, and will play the loser of game three Friday afternoon. The Norse opponents will be announced on social media and www.luthernorse.com following the game between the Falcons and Yellow Jackets.