Badgers proving to be pure fun this spring

The Wisconsin softball team is pure fun to watch this season. | From Varsity Magazine

There is one thing that is undeniable about the 2016 Wisconsin softball team: The Badgers are fun to watch.

One game is all it would take this team to quickly remind people why they love sports in the first place.

These are young, gritty and passionate Badgers who clearly are excited to be playing the game. It has been evident in almost every plate appearance this spring.

This team is going to fight no matter who they're up against, but give them a top-25 team on home turf and they'll show what the fight in an underdog really looks like.

It's a blast to witness SportsCenter Top 10-esque plays like senior Ashley Van Zeeland diving for a clutch catch and freshman Kelly Welsh smacking against the outfield wall for the final out in an inning.

Or freshman Melanie Cross blasting a home run in each game of last weekend's series vs. Ohio State, as well as Jenkins knocking one out of the park. And the team's reactions during those moments? It's worth going to Goodman just to see the raw emotions.

"Ohio State is in the Top 25 for a reason, so when you face a team like that and the wind is blowing the way it is, you know you just have to be in for a fight and that's what I'm most proud of," UW head coach Yvette Healy said Sunday after the Badgers finished a 1-1-1 weekend against the 24th-ranked Buckeyes.

"That's a win for us because the better team should win more games and on paper they're the Top 25 team, so for us to go one win and one loss and then a tie, I think the advantage goes to us," Healy said. "I'm pretty happy, you always get greedy and want more, but that's an awesome effort by the Badgers."

Wisconsin had five players with slugging percentages over .400 and three players with batting averages above .400. Three Badgers had four-hit weekends, with senior Macy Oswald leading the way with six.

Sunday's 9-9 draw marked the first tie for Wisconsin since the 1998 season. Ties in softball are rare; so rare in fact that Sunday's result was just the second stalemate Healy has seen in 607 games as a head coach.

The tie came about because the teams had agreed on a drop-dead end time of 5:15 p.m. to allow the Buckeyes to catch their flight home. Sunday's doubleheader stretched more than six hours before the second game was called due to time.

It was a heartbreaking result for the Badgers, who saw the clock hit 5:15 with the potential game-winning run in scoring position in a tie game in extra innings. The game was called mid-batter.

"Ohio State is in the Top 25, so that is awesome to play them at home and basically split with them and then get a tie," sophomore Kelsey Jenkins said. "It's a bummer that they have to catch a plane home and we can't finish that game.

"I think it's something that's tough but the fact that we came out almost winning the weekend is pretty great for the Badgers and the route we're going to."

Badgers proving to be pure fun this spring

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Players Mentioned

Melanie Cross

Kelsey Jenkins

Macy Oswald

Ashley Van Zeeland

Kelly Welsh

University of Wisconsin Athletics