CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The Wisconsin softball team (7-6) competed in its second day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classis and split a pair of games. The Badgers won in a 9-6 game over the UC Davis Aggies to start the day. They later took the No. 1 UCLA Bruins to an extra-inning but lost 3-1 on a walk-off.
UC Davis
It was a huge fifth inning for the Badger bats against the Aggies who extended their 5-3 lead to 9-3 and gave UW a cushion that would end the game in the seventh.
There were four hits and four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Those hits included a double from
Caroline Hedgcock, a single from
Ally Miklesh and
Fiona Girardot and a double from
Kayla Konwent.
Jolie Fish and
Jordan Little were both walked, and both put Wisconsin in scoring position and made it to home plate.
The other big inning for the Badgers was in the bottom of the third, where the offense responded to a one-score inning from the Aggies.
Ally Miklesh would make it home from a UC Davis error after making her way around the bases from being walked.
Jolie Fish,
Stephanie Lombardo and
Alli Clark all scored off a double from
Lauren Foster. This gave Wisconsin a 4-1 lead at the end of the third inning.
The other run for UW came from a sole score in the fourth inning. With
Jordan Little on third base, a single from
Kayla Konwent gave the badgers a four-score lead.
Although the Aggie bats got hot late in the game, scoring 3 runs in the top of the sixth, Wisconsin was able to shut them down and pull out the 9-6 win.
Starting in the pitcher's circle for the game was senior,
Kaitlyn Menz. She pitched a total of five innings, striking out the Aggies six times.
Maddie Schwartz came in as the closer in the final two innings and won the game with two strikeouts.
#1 UCLA
After holding a one-score lead until UCLA tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, the Badgers lost in extra innings to a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth.
UW took the early lead in the top of the first inning. The lead-off hitter for the Badgers,
Kayla Konwent, hit a single to get the game going.
Tyra Turner would go in to run for Konwent, and the speedy sophomore stole second base.
Before the inning was over,
Stephanie Lombardo hit a double to right center that sent Turner home for the early score against the No. 1 team in the country.
The Badgers found ways to get on base in the innings to come, but solid pitching from the Bruins left runners on base with no scores.
Junior,
Haley Hestekin, played a solid role in the tough Badger defense that held UCLA scoreless until the fifth. She totaled four strikeouts, throwing 79 strikes on 118 pitches.
Up next:
The Badgers play in their final game of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic tomorrow against No. 3 Oklahoma. The start time is 11 a.m. CT.
