TAMPA BAY, Fla. – The Wisconsin softball team posted impressive back-to-back victories on Thursday evening, securing a 3-1 win over No. 20 South Florida before blowing by Binghamton, 9-1, at the USF Softball Stadium.

The Badgers (6-0) did not shy away from their first ranked foe of the season, pulling off the win over USF (3-2) in extra innings.

After seven scoreless frames for both teams, senior Sara Novak stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth and delivered for the undefeated Badgers. A two-RBI single brought home Jenkins and Miller for the 2-0 lead, while sophomore McKenna Heim scored on a sac bunt to widen the gap, 3-0.

USF tallied a run in the bottom of the eighth, but the rally was too little too late as the Cardinal and White secured the upset victory, 3-1.

A short turnaround before facing Binghamton (0-1) didn't faze Wisconsin, putting up nine runs and clinching a run rule victory over the Bearcats.

With a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, sophomore Stephanie Lombardo slammed a three-RBI homerun to widen Wisconsin's advantage. Sophomore Kelly Welsh and Jenkins teamed up for the final run to close out the game, 9-1.

Heim put the Badgers on the board in the second inning, scoring on a BU error, but Binghamton would tie it back up in the third, 1-1. Wisconsin regained a 2-1 lead in the fourth frame when junior Samantha Arents batted in sophomore Gabby Scherle.

Not satisfied with a one-run advantage, junior transfer Brooke Wyderski set up three runs in the fifth inning to give the Badgers a 5-1 lead. Wyderski singled, then advanced on a wild pitch to score Miller and Jenkins. Novak then earned her third RBI of the night, singling to score Wyderski.
 
Notes to know
-Freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Menz improved to 4-0 on the season with the win over USF, dealing five strikeouts and allowing six hits. Menz has allowed just one run in 27 innings.
-Senior Kirsten Stevens earned her second win of the season. She pitched 10 strikeouts, marking a career high at Wisconsin.
-Lombardo's homerun marked her sixth career hit, but is her only hit that has not been a single.
-Freshman Kayla Konwent earned her first career start against USF, recording four chances at bat.
-Jenkins went 3-for-3 at bat against USF, leading all Badgers in hits for the day.
-Sara Novak had a season-high two hits against Binghamton, recording at least one hit in each of Wisconsin's games this season.

Talk from the dugout:
"South Florida is really good, so if you can beat any team that goes to the NCAA tournament every year and has been to the world series at their place, it's exciting for the program. We had a lot of people contributing and I think that's the fun part, up and down the order people were chipping away with hits, playing defense and stealing bases.

"It all kind of started in the circle with Kate (Menz) throwing another great game. It wasn't easy for her when she started but she got better as the game went on, she threw a lot of pitches early on and then started grinding. She looked excellent in the eighth."

"It was Lombardo's first home run, we're really proud of her. She wasn't really seeing it in the first game but she regrouped when a lot of kids would've been done for the day after struggling in game one and she stayed the course and came through at the end.

"I thought Chloe (Miller) had an outstanding day, she played really good defense, she managed the pitchers and had a couple of huge hits that she drew out. We're just getting a ton of leadership from her. Sara Novak has just been squaring up balls and hitting the ball hard every time she's up there. I think it makes scary to throw against the offense when she's like that. It was also fun to have Kayla Konwent in the lineup today, she did a really good job today.

"You hope your seniors have that maturity and consistency, [Sara Novak] has shown a lot of composure at the plate right now. She's swinging like a senior and that helps.

"Kelsey Jenkins was the one who was getting hits off the USF pitcher. You go through the lineup once and nobody gets a hit but she's a true hitter. She played really good defense for us but she's someone who when nobody is hitting a kid, she's the one who is getting multiple hits off her and it makes everyone else believe that they can."

-Head coach Yvette Healy
 
Up next
The Badgers will stay in the Sunshine State, traveling to Clearwater, Florida for the Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Foundation Tournament at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. The Badgers will face St. Joseph's at 10 a.m. (CT) on Saturday, then return to the field at 12:30 p.m. to take on No. 14 James Madison. UW wraps up the weekend on Sunday with an 8:30 a.m. matchup with Hofstra.