TAMPA, Fla. – The Wisconsin Softball team (13-10) competed in two games during day two of the USF tournament and went 1-1. The first game against tournament host, South Florida, ended in a 2-1 loss in extra innings. The Badgers were able to regroup and refocus to beat Iowa State 4-3 to close out the day.
 
USF
The Badgers and Bulls went back and forth between scoreless innings the entire game. After the completion of the seventh inning, the score was all tied up at zero, and the Badgers and Bulls would head into extra innings to find a decision.
 
Wisconsin was the visiting team in this game and was first up to bat in the top of the eighth with a runner, Tyra Turner, placed on second base to start. Turner advanced to third base when Jolie Fish hit a SAC hit to the pitcher. Due to an error by the South Florida catcher, Turner scored to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
 
USF answered by adding another in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave them the 2-1 decision over UW.
 
Kaitlyn Menz pitched all eight innings for the Badgers and had seven strikeouts.
 
Iowa State
Quickly after the extra-innings loss, the Badgers were able to bounce back and defeat the Cyclones for the second time this weekend.
 
Stephanie Lombardo was a huge contributor to the win, with her home run and an RBI double. At the bottom of the fourth inning, she had a solo lead-off home run that tied the game back up to 2-2.
 
In her next at-bat, she hit a double that scored Fiona Girardot from first base who hit a single to start the Badger bats. That run gave the Badgers a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
Jordan Little had a home run of her own in the bottom of the third inning. After the Cyclones scored in the top of the inning, she stepped into the batter's box and answered their score.
 
The other score for UW came in the bottom of the fourth after Lombardo's homer. Taylor Johnson hit a double to right field. She advanced to third base from a Tyra Turner SAC hit. Johnson would score to give the Badgers a 3-2 lead when Fish popped it up to the catcher and she ran past home plate on the Bull's catcher error.
 
Haley Hestekin pitched all seven innings for the Badgers in this win over South Florida. She struck out four batters on the day.
 
On Deck: The Wisconsin softball team will play in one final game of the USF Tournament on Sunday. The game time will be against TBD at a start time of either 9:00 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. depending on the outcome of the final game of the day Saturday.