Box Score MADISON, Wis. – Completing the series sweep, the Wisconsin softball team took game three of its series versus Michigan State by a score of 8-0 in six innings.
The Badgers (23-11) now move up to 8-4 in Big Ten play.
Once again jumping out to an early lead, the Badgers (23-11, 8-4 Big Ten Conference) had three extra-base hits in the first inning to post two runs against the Spartans (21-23, 1-12 Big Ten).
Kayla Konwent got things started with a stand-up double, followed by a
Fiona Girardot triple and another double from
Lauren Foster.
Another two runs would come across for the Badgers in the third inning. With bases loaded and no outs, Foster tallied another RBI with a single to center field just before
Molly Schlosser brought in one more run with a SAC fly to right.
With
Maddie Schwartz holding the Spartans offense on lock down, Wisconsin added two more insurance runs, one in the fourth and one in the fifth. A fourth inning,
Ellie Hubbard triple setup
Ally Miklesh for another RBI on her dominant offensive weekend. In the fifth,
Christaana Angelopulos doubled to score
Morgan Kummer for a 8-0 Badger advantage.
Schwartz moved to 18-5 on the season with another dominant performance in the circle, finishing with seven strikeouts on only allowing six hits of shutout softball.
Wisconsin complete the run rule win by scoring two runs off an MSU error as
Molly Schlosser hit a ground ball up the middle, bouncing off the Spartan's pitcher's glove, rolling away from any nearby defender. Konwent scored from third while Miklesh took advantage of the confused defense to walk it off for Wisconsin.
Batting Cleanup
- Konwent went 6-7 on the weekend including being intentionally walked three times.
- Miklesh notched 6 RBI's in the series, including a 5 RBI performance on Saturday.
- This marks UW's second Big Ten sweep of the year as UW opened conference play with a road sweep at Iowa.
- UW sits in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings after four weekends of league play.
Straight from the Diamond
Head Coach Yvette Healy
"It is so hard to take three games in a series. I think it talks about the resilience of this team. It talks about having multiple people that can be the hero. We came out of the gates firing. I think everyone knew we had a better game in us. In that first inning to have three extra base hits on a really good pitcher just shows how much work we put in all weekend too. Everybody is watching their film, everybody is hitting extra because thy want it."
"What a weekend for Ally Miklesh had. She was so fun to watch. How fitting for her to be the one. I love this team that they were hungry for a shutout, run-rule win. I think any kind of win for a sweep is a big deal but to do it in that kind of fashion is really an exclamation point and we couldn't be more proud."
Senior Pitcher Maddie Schwartz
"I think it means so much to us to have our families here, especially on Easter. Sweeping a Big Ten team is a really big deal. Taking two is good but being able to really dig in and sweep a team is huge. Today my defense had me. I think I relied a lot on them and they were able to pick up my slack. Jolie's throw right away in the first inning I think set the tone for us. "
Up Next: The Badgers have five games coming up this weekend starting with a doubleheader on Wednesday at Minnesota. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. and the Border Battle will air live on Big Ten Network. UW will return home to Goodman Diamond next weekend to host Big Ten-leading Nebraska. First pitch on Friday is at 5 p.m. while action on Saturday and Sunday is at 1 p.m.
