UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Wisconsin softball team continued to work their way up the ranks of the Big Ten Conference with its fifth Big Ten series win of the season, going 2-1 on the weekend road trip to Penn State.
The Badgers split the Saturday doubleheader, taking game one 8-1 and falling on a walk-off in game two 4-3.
Game One
Unlike Friday night's 1-0, low scoring matchup, the Badgers jumped on the scoreboard early and often during game one of the Saturday double header.
Fiona Girardot started off the scoring with a solo home run to left field in the first inning.
Wisconsin totaled four runs in the second inning, capitalizing on three hits and two free bases from the Penn State defense.
Ellie Hubbard doubled to start the inning and
Skylar Sirdashney scored her on a bunt for a hit while
Kayla Konwent gained her two RBI's thanks to a single to the right side of the field.
With
Maddie Schwartz back in the circle for game two, the senior had another one-hit outing going four innings, facing 14 batters.
The Badgers brought the lead to eight with one run in the third off the bat of Hubbard followed by a
Lauren Foster two-run homerun in the fourth inning.
Tessa Magnanimo came in to close out the game, going thee innings with three strikeouts and capping off the Badgers win with a score of 8-1.
Game Two
The second matchup of Saturday afternoon featured another full game from Schwartz as the senior got all three starts of the weekend.
The Badgers struck first in the third inning with a
Morgan Kummer double up the left field line, scoring
Peyton Bannon – who ran for Konwent after the DP reached on a walk.
Penn State, finally making adjustments in the batters box after seeing Schwartz all weekend, put two runs up in the fourth inning to take the lead for the first time in the three-game series.
Wisconsin retaliated with a clutch hit from Girardot to regain the 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. After back to back hits to start the inning from Schlosser and Miklesh, the Nittany Lions were able to get two outs with runners on second and third. After intentionally walking Konwent to load the bases, Girardot singled to the 5-6 hole to score two.
But senior day at Penn State ended in a walk-off for the Nittany Lions as Penn State scored two off a double down the left field line to end the game.
Schwartz finished game two with five strikeouts, only allowing six hits.
Batting Cleanup
- The Badgers have won seven of their last eight games against Penn State.
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Ellie Hubbard finished a great weekend on the road going 6-11, including two doubles.
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Lauren Foster went,
Molly Schlosser and
Fiona Girardot all had four hits during the series win
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Maddie Schwartz posted a 0.34 ERA during the weekend, pitching 20 2/3 innings and had 14 strikeouts.
Straight from the Field:
Freshman second baseman Ellie Hubbard
"I had a lot of confidence at the plate this weekend and it really came from other people on the team swinging for their pitches and being aggressive on what they wanted to hit. Our defense was on lockdown too which gave us momentum going into our offense this weekend to pull out the series win."
Up Next:
The Badgers have a busy final week of Big Ten play. UW heads west for a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday against Minnesota. First pitch for the Border Battle doubleheader is at 1 p.m. in Minneapolis. The Badgers will return home for their final home series of the season as they host Michigan next weekend at Goodman Diamond. Game times are set for 5 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday as this year's seniors will be honored before their final home game.
