RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Wisconsin softball team finished the last day of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a tough 6-5 loss against North Carolina State after the Badgers had a dominant fifth inning to tie the game.
 
"The weekend was really an NCAA tournament, Big Ten Championship environment all weekend," head coach Yvette Healy said. "It was a great experience for our team to get to play on the road against two really strong NCAA teams."
 
The game was scoreless until North Carolina State (5-4) hit a home run in the third inning bringing in three runners. The Wolfpack was able to further their lead by adding another run in the both the fourth and fifth innings bringing the score to 5-0 in favor of North Carolina State.
 
Then in the bottom of the fifth, the Badgers (5-4) responded. After a fielder's choice, one hit and a walk, the bases were loaded for Kelsey Jenkins. Jenkins hit her first grand slam and Wisconsin's second of the season, allowing for Gabby Scherle, Macy Oswald and Kelly Welsh to score with her.
 
The Badgers were now down by one run, but that quickly changed as Chloe Miller hit a solo home run of her own to tie the game 5-5 in the fifth inning.
 
The sixth inning was scoreless but in the seventh, North Carolina State hit an RBI double which allowed a runner to score and ultimately win, 6-5, as UW struck out swinging in the bottom of the inning.
 
"I thought we pitched like a staff this weekend. Kirsten (Stevens) gave them a good mix and Taylor-Paige (Stewart) came out and threw like a senior, she was tough and competed," said Coach Healy. "These are two of the toughest offenses that we have seen in my last six years. For us to keep the ball in the park and keep the games close says a lot about our pitching staff."
 
Kirsten Stevens pitched five innings for Wisconsin allowing for six hits and five runs. In the final two innings, Taylor-Paige Stewart came in to relieve Stevens and let through two hits and one run.
 
In the end, the difference of the game was in the number of errors each team had. Wisconsin had six errors while North Carolina State had none.
 
Overall in the two-game series, the Badgers had more home runs than the Wolfpack, a program that just saw its 2014-15 squad mark the program's second-best total of 75 total home runs. In total, Wisconsin had two home runs, Jenkins and Miller, and North Carolina State had one from Hanna Sommer during Saturday's game.
 
"When you get to face a home team that was in the Sweet 16 last year, you really just battle them the whole time and it's exciting for our program," Healy said. "Overall, it was a great weekend for Wisconsin and we will keep working on getting better."
 
Wisconsin will continue to travel to Tampa, Florida, to take part in the USF Tournament next weekend with the first game against Kansas at 8:15 a.m. (CT) on Friday.