BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Wisconsin softball team (3-1) went undefeated in day two of the FAU First Pitch Classic shutting out Bethune-Cookman, 8-0, before their win against NIU, 8-1.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN
The Badgers played in the first game of the day against Bethune-Cookman, where both teams were quiet in the first three innings holding each other tied at 0-0.
Right before the halfway mark, UW convincingly got on the board scoring four runs in the top of the fourth. Those runs started with a single from
Jolie Fish to right field.
Fiona Girardot would soon be on base after Fish when she was hit by the pitch.
Lauren Foster had the RBI swing to right side where Fish scored and Girardot advanced to third. Foster ended up on second base due to an error by Bethine-Cookman's right fielder.
Caroline Hedgcock and
Kayla Konwent were both walked by the pitcher back-to-back, allowing for Girardot to walk across home plate and leave off with the bases loaded. Johnson reached on an error which allowed for both Hedgcock and Foster to score, giving Wisconsin a 4-0 lead.
Girardot kept swinging in the top of the fifth and found herself on second with a double and forcing a pitching change for Bethune-Cookman. The change didn't rattle the Badgers, as
Stephanie Lombardo pinch hit for
Tyra Turner and homered to right center. UW still in the lead, 6-0.
Wisconsin left their final mark on the Wildcats in the top of the sixth inning.
Morgan Kummer had a sacrifice RBI where
Alli Clark, who pinch ran for Konwent, scored. With the help of an error from the Wildcat first baseman, Johnson scored to push the lead, 8-0. Bethune-Cookman couldn't answer the heavy hitting Badger squad and the game ended in six innings.
Senior
Haley Hestekin pitched all six innings for UW, recorded three strikeouts and holding them to four hits.
NIU
Wisconsin carried the momentum of the first game into the second and started hot. Konwent got on base with a single to left field, and Clark stepped in to pinch run.
Taylor Johnson sent Clark home with a double. Kummer had a single to left field that batted in Johnson and gave the Badgers an early 2-0 lead.
At the top of the fifth inning, Konwent and Kummer went back to back, with single-run homers making it a 4-0 lead for UW.
The Wisconsin defense shut down the Huskies with a double play in the bottom of the sixth.
At the top of the seventh inning, Konwent refused to let up and hit a double down the left field line. Johnson got on base and would eventually advance to third from a Herbst strike down the middle. The hit also allowed for Konwent to score, and an error from the NIU catcher brought Johnson home as well, making it 6-0.
Turner scored off an RBI from
Jordan Little, and Kummer scored on a passed ball. UW went into the bottom of the seventh with an 8-0 lead.
Kaitlyn Menz pitched the first six innings for the Badgers and recorded a lone strikeout.
Freshman
Tessa Magnanimo stepped into the circle in the seventh inning, making her collegiate debut as a Badger. Although she let a run slip by, she recorded her first strikeout and closed out the game with an 8-1 win.
Notes to Know
- Konwent went three for three from the batter's box in the second game, hitting a single, double and home run
- Sophomore transfer, Morgan Kummer hit her first home run as a Badger.
- Freshmen pitcher Tessa Magnanimo sealed the win in her first collegiate appearance.
On Deck
The Badgers will play their final game of the weekend tomorrow in the FAU First Pitch Classic against Bethune-Cookman at 10:15 a.m. CT.
