Softball Looks Back at 2008-Part One
May 07, 2008 | Softball
The Wisconsin softball team competed in six weekend tournaments around the country prior to the Big Ten Conference portion of its schedule.
The Badgers opened the season at the BYU Red Desert Classic Feb. 8-10 and finished the tournament with a 2-3 record. Sophomore Katie Soderberg (Delta, British Columbia) led UW at the plate as she went 8-for-19 (.421) over the three days. In its fourth game of the season against Loyola-Marymount, the win was in sight for the Badgers as Soderberg delivered an RBI single to take the 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs, J.J. Hartung hit a three-run walk off home run to win the game 7-5 for Loyola Marymount.
The next weekend, UW went 3-2 at the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Feb. 15-17. After falling to Bradley in the first game of the weekend, Wisconsin put together a three game winning streak triumphing over Northwestern State, UC Davis and Cal-Poly in extra innings. The Badgers faced their first ranked opponent of the season when they played then-sixth ranked UCLA. Joey Daniels (Oakley, Calif.) recorded UW 's lone run against the Bruins in the 4-1 loss with her solo home run in the sixth inning. Daniels hit .571 (8-for-14) over the three day tournament and started a seven-game hitting streak which lasted until February 29 against then-No. 22 Texas.
UW then headed to Florida for the USF Louisville Slugger Tournament. The notable game during this particular weekend was the 2-1 victory over host-USF as the Bulls had received votes in that week's poll. Freshman Ashley Hanewich (Bradenton, Fla.) slugged her first collegiate home run to give UW the 1-0 advantage in the third inning. The Bulls tied the game at one run apiece as Cat Olnick hit an RBI double down the right field line. Daniels won the game as she capitalized on an error by USF's third baseman.
At the Texas Classic in Austin, Texas Feb. 29- March 2, Wisconsin faced Utah for the second and third time this season. UW dropped the second meeting 9-1, but was victorious in the third game with a 4-2 win, which advanced UW to the Championship Game. Senior Lynn Anderson (Neenah, Wis.) led Wisconsin at the plate in this tournament as she hit .455 (5-for-11) including five runs, two home runs and three RBIs. In the circle, Letty Olivarez (Newark, Calif.) recorded an ERA of 0.98 as she struck out 14 and only allowed nine hits in her 18.1 innings of work.
The Badgers traveled to California by way of Missouri for its Spring Break Training Trip. UW participated in the Tiger Invite in Columbia, Mo. before continuing west to northern California. Daniels once again led all Badger batters at the plate, going 5-for-12 (.417) including two doubles and an RBI. Junior Theresa Boruta (Chicago, Ill.) swung a hot bat as well as she finished 3-for-8 including her first career triple.
At the Stanford Invitational II in Palo Alto, Calif., Wisconsin won three of its five games. UW stifled a seven-game losing streak with its 3-2 win over Princeton. The Badgers looked to defeat BYU in extra innings as they were ahead 3-0 with a no-hitter against them, until a wild pitch from Leah Vanevenhoven (Kaukauna, Wis.) with the bases loaded gave the Cougars the 4-3 win in eight innings. UW capitalized on BYU fielding errors and bases-loaded walk to take the 3-0 lead. Valyncia Raphael (La Habra, Calif.) hit a three-run walk off home run to beat Princeton 3-1 in the final game of the weekend.
