CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – On day two of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Wisconsin softball team dropped a tough 6-5 decision to Pittsburgh in nine innings before North Carolina topped UW 9-7 at Anderson Stadium Saturday.
Wisconsin vs. Pitt
Although the Badgers (3-4 overall) battled back twice during regulation play to force extra innings, a Pitt (4-3-1) run in the top of the ninth handed UW its third loss of the season.
Junior Melanie Cross came up clutch in the bottom of the first, hitting her second-career grand slam to give Wisconsin a 4-3 lead after one inning.
Pittsburgh tied things at four apiece in the fifth inning and tacked on a go-ahead run in the top of the six to take a 5-4 lead.
The Badgers responded in the bottom of the sixth when Samantha Arents scored Brianna Flugaur on a sacrifice bunt. Arents' RBI knotted things up at 5-5 going into the seventh inning.
Pitcher Kaitlyn Menz was able to blank the Panthers in the top of the seventh despite the bases being loaded with one out and the game went into extras. Unable to match Pitt's run in the top of the ninth, the Badgers fell 6-5.
Wisconsin vs. North Carolina
The Wisconsin bats came to life in the bottom of the third after North Carolina (5-2) took a 4-0 lead in the top of the frame. Jenkins ignited the lineup in the leadoff spot with a single down the left-field line. Gabby Scherle reached base due to a fielding error on her sac bunt and Brooke Wyderski singled to left field. With all three in the top of the lineup on base, freshman Taylor Johnson hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Jenkins to score. Junior Stephanie Lombardo rocketed a two-RBI double to left field, bringing UW within one run, 4-3.
UNC quickly doubled their lead to 6-3 in the fifth inning. More trouble awaited the Badgers in the sixth as the Tar Heels added three more runs for a 9-3 advantage.
Cross' second homer of the day cut the margin to 9-4. She put the cherry on top by going yard with a three-RBI home run in the bottom of the seventh to help UW finish with seven runs in the game.
Notes to know
-Junior Melanie Cross hit UW's first grand slam of the season and first since she punished Princeton with one last season on March 4th.
-Senior Kelsey Jenkins had a good day at the plate overall, notching four hits with two doubles.
-Three Wisconsin pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts against Pitt with Haley Hestekin tying her career high with five, Menz notching another five and Morrow earning three strikeouts. Hestekin ended the day with eight strikeouts.
-Both Cross and Brooke Wyderski had three hits on the day.
On deck
The Badgers close out the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with their second game against North Carolina tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. CT. Fans can follow along via Twitter (@BadgerSoftball) or watch live on ACC Network Extra.
