OSHKOSH, Wis. – Abby Heitman (Sr.-St. Francis, Ill.) clubbed a three-run home run over the fence to tie the game and the Lakeland University softball team scratched out a tie in its non-conference doubleheader against nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Wednesday afternoon.

The Muskies and Titans played a pair of close games, with Oshkosh winning the first game 4-3 by scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh. The teams then finished in a 3-3 tie in the second game, which was ended after seven innings due to darkness.

Lakeland (10-9-1 overall) played very competitively against an Oshkosh team ranked No. 16 in the latest NFCA NCAA Division III top 25 poll. The Muskies led going to the bottom of the seventh in the first game and in the second game snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series to UWO.

Lakeland trailed 3-0 entering the sixth inning of the second game when Carlie Morrow (Sr.-Menasha, Wis.) walked with one out and moved to second while McKenzie Staudinger (Jr.-Manitowoc, Wis.) reached on a fielder's choice. Heitman then came up and blasted a fly to left field over the fence for her first collegiate home run and to tie the game at 3-3.

UW-Oshkosh (17-4-1 overall) had a chance in the seventh inning after Kelly Selzer walked with one out and Olivia Baugnet followed with a bunt single. Starter Lily Pettit (So.-Rewey, Wis.) came back into the game for reliever Addison Dierschow (Fr.-Sycamore, Ill.), and after a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up she got Emma Bohn to fly out to right field to end the inning and the game when it was called due to darkness.

The tie was the Muskies' first in over five years, since a 14-14 tie with Concordia University Chicago March 30, 2021.

The Muskies also produced some late-game heroics in the opener, coming from behind to take the lead in their last at bat. UWO led 2-0 entering the seventh, but Kendyll Holub (Jr.-Sturtevant, Wis.) and Maddie Raske (Jr.-Tinley Park, Ill.) both singled and Heitman then slashed a single to right-center to score Holub to make it 2-1, with Raske going to third and Heitman to second on the throw.

A pair of strikeouts kept the runners at second and third with two outs, but Callie Linders (Jr.-Griffith, Ind.) delivered a clutch hit with a smash past third base to score Raske and Heitman to give the Muskies a 3-2 lead. The margin would unfortunately be erased quickly in the bottom of the seventh, as Oshkosh's Olivia Ullman led off with a single, Bohn walked and Mary Kate Quade hit a one-out double to right field to score the tying and winning runs.

Rsske went 2-for-3 in the first game and both Raske and Holub finished with three hits on the day. Natalie Ziebell (So.-New Holstein, Wis.) and Jacie Jones (Sr.-Prairie du Sac, Wis.) split pitching duties in the opener with Ziebell throwing three shutout innings and Jones taking the loss, allowing four hits and three runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Lakeland is in action again tomorrow when it travels to face Milwaukee School of Engineering for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. in Milwaukee.