Box Score

Box Score

March 15, 2015

Charleston, S.C. -- New Mexico got on the board early against the Wisconsin women's softball team Sunday morning, and those early runs were too much to overcome for the Badgers. UW (13-13) fell to the Lobos (15-12), 3-1 in the final round of the College of Charleston Invitational.

The Lobos struck first in the 8 a.m. matchup, scoring a pair of unearned runs off starting pitcher Mariah Watts in the first inning. New Mexico followed their first frame with another run in the second, thanks to a Brandi Heimburg double.

Taylor-Paige Stewart would enter the game two outs into the second inning and shut down the Lobos' offense the rest of the game. Stewart finished with four strikeouts while only giving up four hits in her 4.1 innings in the circle.

The Wisconsin offense managed six hits in Krissy Fortner's seven innings pitched, knocking in one run in the fifth inning. The Badgers relied on smart baserunning from Kelsey Jenkins to bring one across. The freshman started the fifth inning with a single back up the box before advancing to second on a wild pitch and third on Maria Van Abel's groundout to second. Jenkins then scored on Marissa Mersch's single to the right side.

Jenkin's had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-3, scoring the Badgers' only run. The freshman upped her batting average from .186 to .219 on the season.

The Badgers threatened again in the top of the seventh, with Megan Tancill leading off the inning with a single. The Badgers continued the rally with Jenkins' infield single and a walk by Maria Van Abel to load the bases with one out, but Wisconsin couldn't get a run across.

Wisconsin was excellent at putting the ball in play, going down on strikeouts only three times, compared to the Lobos' four.

The Badgers open Big Ten Conference play on Friday, traveling to Purdue for a 4 p.m. game from West Lafayette, Indiana.