CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After numerous rain delays that pushed back the start time more than four hours, the Wisconsin softball team fell to Illinois, 7-2, in the opening game of the weekend series.

The Badgers (28-13 overall, 7-11 Big Ten) set the tone right away against the Illini (35-11, 13-3) in the first inning. After Chloe Miller drew a walk in the top of the first, Brooke Wyderski set up a perfect situation with a hit to shallow right center. Sophomore Stephanie Lombardo sliced a hard hit down the right field line that rolled fair, scoring both Miller and Wyderski.

Senior Sara Novak made a spectacular play and snagged a sharp lineout to third for the first out of the bottom of the first. But she wasn't the only one making big defensive moves as Miller came all the way back to the wall for a catch in foul territory for the second out.

However, the Fighting Illini weren't folding that easily and responded with a two-RBI double from Stephanie Abello to left center that knotted the score at 2-2.
Miller gave UW a good opportunity when she powered a double down the left-field line in the leadoff spot in the top of the third but the Badgers left her stranded on the basepath.

Illinois posted back-to-back doubles to lead off the bottom of the third inning, giving the Illini a 3-2 lead after three innings. The Badgers turned the perfect pickoff with two runners on the base in the bottom of the third as Miller connected with Lombardo to pull the Badgers out of a sticky situation.

The Illini exploded in the fifth inning with four runs off of two hits with one runner left on base. A leadoff walk by Annie Fleming in the bottom of the fifth inning and a double from Nicole Evans to center field put two on before Stephanie Abello drew a walk, loading up the bases for the Illini. A hit by pitch scored the lead runner but a double from Leigh Farina pulled in two additional runs. The Illinois scoring was capped off by Maddi Doane who drive in the seventh and final run, scoring Sam Acosta.

Notes to Know:
-Illinois tallied five hits while the Badgers put up four. IU had one error while Wisconsin had no errors for the 12th time.
-The Badgers allowed a season-high five doubles.
-Sophomore Gabby Scherle notched a team season-high two sacrifice hits.
-Chloe Miller recorded her 53rd career double to lead off the third inning, tying Mary Massei for the program's all-time career doubles record. Miller also drew a game-high two walks.
-Stephanie Lombardo led all Badgers with two RBI
-Kaitlyn Menz (19-7) threw 4.1 innings, throwing two strikeouts and allowing five hits


Details from the Dugout:
"They were tough. Our pitchers did a really nice job of limiting the hits but when they did hit it, they were extra-base hits. So when you can hold them to five hits in that game, that's a really good job. But their hits were big ones. We kept it in the park which was good but we gave them a couple extra base runners so that made it easier for them."

"I think we just have to be ready to play. It's a great situation to get to play a top-25 team. When you see Illinois, they worked so hard to get the game in, so the opportunity is there. We just tell the players to be ready. We saw that from Kirsten Stevens, she came in in relief and she was ready when she came in and was really strong and did a nice job. So that was a nice breath of fresh air. I thought the team came out strong too, to put up two right away from the start is a good thing."

"A win would be huge. This time of year if you can play against a top-25 team on the road and steal a win, it's big deal. Illinois is very good and their hitters were really impressive so we know we have our work cut out for us but there's opportunity. If mother nature can help us out a little bit and just give us a chance to play these games, it gives you a chance to find out how to be better. I'm impressed, they're a strong ball club and they play with a lot of passion. It was great right out of the gate that they did the honoring of Coach Zymkowitz and saying what a great player she was. I think it's a fun place to play."

-UW Head Coach Yvette Healy
 
Up Next:
The second game of the series is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. CT but is subject to change due to weather conditions. Immediate updates on game time changes can be found on Twitter (@BadgerSoftball).