Wisconsin Badgers
Rutgers
Comeback bid foils Badgers at Mizuno Classic
March 13, 2010 | Softball
March 13, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. – The Wisconsin softball team jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two innings, but Rutgers rallied for seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings, including six in the sixth inning alone, to prevail with an 8-5 victory at the Mizuno Classic.
Rutgers, which scored once in the first and once in the fifth, scored six runs in the top of the sixth to turn a 5-2 deficit into an 8-5 lead.
With the bases loaded and one out, back-to-back walks cut the Wisconsin lead to 5-4. Mandy Craig then rocked a bases-clearing double to left center to give Rutgers a 7-5 lead. The eighth run came on a subsequent RBI single.
Trailing 1-0, the Badgers sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring five runs before all was said and done.
Junior Jennifer Krueger had the key hit to give UW the early lead.
Sophomore Karla Powell and freshman Kendall Grimm each singled to start the frame. After a foul out by senior Letty Olivarez, junior Ashley Hanewich was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Krueger stepped to the plate and with the outfield playing shallow, launched a shot to right field that just missed clearing the fence. All three runners came around to score as Krueger notched her first triple of the season. She would then score on the next at-bat, coming home on an illegal pitch.
A fifth run came in as freshman Whitney Massey hit an RBI single after sophomore Jordan Skinner walked and freshman Shannel Blackshear was hit by a pitch.
Freshman Molly Spence singled in the bottom of the seventh to extend her hitting streak to 13 games.
The Badgers close out the Mizuno Classic on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. (CT). Wisconsin faces the loser of the Oklahoma State-Prairie View A&M game from Saturday night.
