LINCOLN, Neb. – The Wisconsin softball team split its action with Nebraska on Saturday at Bowlin Stadium, falling 9-4 in game one before bouncing back with a 4-3 win in the second game.
Despite seeing their six-game win streak draw to a close, the Badgers (14-17) have won nine of their last 11 games and five of their last six against the Huskers (16-15) in Lincoln.
Game One
UW got off to a great start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Badgers captalized on a pair of Husker fielding miscues to load the bases and
Abby Herbst singled through the right side to score
Peyton Bannon and
Fiona Girardot.
Nebraska answered in the second with two runs to tie the game at 2-2 before taking a 3-2 lead in the third.
The Badgers scored twice in the fourth inning to regain a 4-3 lead. After
Ally Miklesh got on thanks to a bunt single, Bannon sent her home with a triple to tie the game at 3-3. Bannon later scored after Girardot grounded out to short.
The Cornhusker offense came to life in the bottom of the fifth, scoring six runs to take control of the game.
Haley Hestekin got the start for UW, pitching 2 1/3 innings before Herbst pitched 1 2/3. Freshman
Ava Justman pitched two scoreless innings to close the game out for UW.
Game Two
The second game was the
Megan Donahue show as she had four RBI for the Badgers.
UW scored in the first inning Donahue singled to left field, scoring Bannon and Girardot to give UW an early 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Donahue launched a bomb past the centerfield fence, her fifth XX of the year, propelling UW to a 3-0 advantage.
In the top of the fifth, Donahue again singled to left, scoring Bannon to lift the Cardinal and White to a 4-0 advantage.
Nebraska scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, capitalizing on a pair of UW errors, but UW held on for its 14th win of the season.
Junior
Maddie Schwartz was dealing in the circle en route to picking up her eighth win of the year. Schwartz allowed three runs, only one earned, while striking out three in the complete-game effort.
Batting Cleanup
- Donahue now leads the Badgers in RBI with 20 on the season while her five home runs are tied for the team lead.
- Bannon scored four runs today, bringing her team lead up to 24 runs on the season.
- Schwartz has won her last five starts for UW
- UW is now outscoring opponents 22-6 in the first inning of play.
Up Next
UW goes for its third-straight series win on Sunday with a 1 p.m. tilt against Nebraska. Fans can watch the game live on Big Ten Network or online via the Fox Sports App.
