MADISON, Wis. – After opening its season in the Sunshine State, the Wisconsin softball team returns to Florida this weekend for the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational this weekend at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida.

All six of UW's games on the Gulf Coast can be seen live through the ESPN Family of Networks, including a pair of games live on ESPNU.

1. LAST TIME OUT: UW is coming off of a 3-3 weekend at the Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament in Leesburg, Florida, with all three setbacks coming at the hands of ranked teams in the opening-season tournament. The Badgers earned wins against Eastern Kentucky, Akron and UConn and outscored their opponents 27-25. Maddie Schwartz went 2-0 in the circle for UW, pitching a team-best 13 2/3 innings while recording 14 strikeouts. Sophomore Ava Justman was another stong presence for the Badgers on the mound, starting four of the Badgers' six games this weekend and finishing with 13 strikeouts with 14 innings pitched.

2. BACK FOR THE BADGERS: A pair of Badgers made their returns to the UW lineup after missing the 2021 campaign in Jolie Fish and Kayla Konwent. Fish hit a team-best .333 during the Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament, posted 8 RBI and was named to the all-tournament team. Konwent also made her return to the UW lineup after rejoining the program last month and hit .313, the second-best mark by a Badger hitter in Florida.

3. EXCELLENT ELLIE: UW freshman Ellie Hubbard enjoyed a stellar start to her UW career as she launched a double as her first career hit for UW. Her .278 batting average was the third-best on the squad as she started all six games for UW, appearing at second base and shortstop, and was tied for the team lead with hits with five while her three runs ranked second. Seeing the majority of her at-bats in the top half of the order for Wisconsin, Hubbard will serve as a veratile infileder and offensive weapon to the Badgers this season.

4. ABOUT THIS WEEKEND: UW will face four ranked teams in the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational this weekend as UW opens the tournament on Thursday against No. 24 UCF at noon before facing Notre Dame at 5:30 p.m. CT. Thursday's showdown with UCF can be seen live on ESPNU. The Badgers will face No. 25 Auburn on Friday at 10:30 a.m. before taking on No. 12 Clemson on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. UW's toughest test of the weekend comes Sunday against No. 3 UCLA, which can be seen live on ESPNU at 11 a.m., while the Badgers wrap up the weekend against USF on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.  

5. UP NEXT: The Badgers will be off next weekend before heading to Colorado for the Colorado State/Northern Colorado Tournament, March 4-6. UW will face Saint Mary's, Colorado State, Utah Valley and Northern Colorado during the three-day tournament in Fort Collins and Greeley.