MADISON, Wis. – Stellar pitching and clutch hitting helped the Wisconsin softball team to a 7-1 win over Purdue Saturday evening at Goodman Diamond to even the series, 1-1.
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The Badgers (21-17 overall, 5-6 B1G) outhit the Boilermakers (13-33, 4-9) 7-2 en route to their seventh home win of the season. Freshman pitcher Haley Hestekin had a fantastic day, striking out a career-high seven batters while only allowing two hits.
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Taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth, Kelly Welsh and Taylor Johnson hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. The Badgers loaded the bases when Kelsey Jenkins reached on a fielder's choice. Brooke Wyderski made Purdue pay when she stepped up to the plate and sent a bomb over the left field wall for her first grand slam as a Badger to widen UW's lead to 7-0.
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Wisconsin got on the board in the second inning with a pair of runs off of a Purdue error. Melanie Cross got on base with a single up the middle and was replaced on the basepath by pinch runner Brianna Flugaur. She stole second and advanced to third on a Heather Rudnicki groundout. Kelly Welsh drew a walk to put Badgers on the corners with two outs. That's when Taylor Johnson created havoc and reached on the error that allowed Flugaur and Rudnicki to score.
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The Badgers tacked on another run in the bottom of the third when a passed ball gave Sydney Lawson just enough time to cross the plate for Wisconsin's third run of the day.
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Purdue didn't go down easy, loading the bases in the top of the seventh inning. A pair of hits and an error helped the Boilermakers score one run, but the Badgers nabbed the last out of the inning before they could do any more damage. Â Â Â Â
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Batting clean up: Four notes to know
- Freshman phenom Haley Hestekin allowed just two hits in the Badgers' win while striking out a career-high seven batters.
- Brooke Wyderski blasted her team-leading sixth home run of the season and led all players with four RBI.
- Junior Melanie Cross collected a game-high two hits.
- Kelsey Jenkins had a hit and a walk to extend both her hitting streak and on-base streak to 11 and 38 games, respectively.
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On deck
Get to Goodman tomorrow to catch Wisconsin's last game of its series against Purdue at 12 p.m.Â
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