While many students went somewhere warm this week during UW-Madison’s spring break, the Wisconsin softball team settled for a quick road trip to Chicago to play three non-conference games.
The Badgers made the best of it, though, winning all three games by at least two runs each and registering their first doubleheader sweep of the season against Loyola Chicago.
Wisconsin (17-12, 3-3 Big Ten) started its road stand with a 5-0 win over UIC (15-17) on Tuesday afternoon. The game was scoreless until sophomore Stephanie Peace hit a home run in the top of the fourth inning to put the Badgers up 3-0. They then scored one run each in the next two innings to put the game away.
Sophomore Cassandra Darrah won the battle at the mound for the Badgers, allowing only four hits and one walk while registering three strikeouts in her 12th complete game and 5th shutout of the season. In addition to Peace’s three-run homer on the offensive side, sophomore Michelle Mueller went 2-for-3 while adding a run and junior Maggie Strange went 1-for-2 while adding 1 RBI.
Peace picked up where she left off in the first game of the doubleheader on Wednesday against Loyola Chicago (10-16), head coach Yvette Healy’s former team. After she recorded an RBI double to score freshman and Verona native Megan Tancill, she scored a run of her own to put the Badgers up 2-0 in the fourth inning. Junior Molly Spence then hit a leadoff homer in the sixth inning to give Wisconsin the 3-1 win. Darrah recorded her 11th win of the season in the first game. She allowed four hits and one walk for the second straight game but had seven strikeouts.
The Badgers had work to do in the nightcap after finding themselves down 4-1 after four innings of play. Spence hit a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to kick off UW’s rallying efforts, as the score was tied after the half-inning.
Although junior Whitney Massey was only 1-for-4 in the second game, the one hit she did have counted in a big way, as she recorded a grand slam in the top of the sixth to give the Badgers the lead and the win at 8-4.
Sophomore relief pitcher Amanda Najdek got the win, allowing only two runs on two hits, one walk and four strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched. Spence finished the second game going 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI while freshman Maria Van Abel went a perfect 3-for-3 while adding 2 runs of her own.
Up next for the Badgers is a quick turnaround and a three-game series with arch-rival Minnesota starting Friday at 1 p.m. at UW’s Goodman Diamond. The Gophers are coming off of a series win over Nebraska, winning the first two games before losing the third in extra innings. Although Minnesota has one of the top pitchers in all of college softball in Sara Moulton, the Badgers are 10-8 overall against the Gophers in Madison and lead the all-time series 16-15. The teams are both tied for sixth in the Big Ten with identical 3-3 conference records, so this is an important series for the Badgers.
In addition to Friday’s game at 1 p.m., Wisconsin and Minnesota will meet in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon.
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