Wisconsin Badgers
Michigan State University
Around the Horn: Wisconsin will take on Michigan State to start Big Ten play
March 20, 2023 | Softball
The Badgers will get back on the road and head to East Lansing
| Venue | Â Secchia Stadium | East Lancing, Mich. |
| Live Statistics | Â Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Watch (B1G+) | Â Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Game Notes | Â Wisconsin |
| Social Media |  Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin softball team will start Big Ten conference play against Michigan State following a week off. However, before the bye week the Badgers had a dominant weekend at the Bevo Classic going 3-2 and beating No. 13 Alabama.Â
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW:
1. LAST TIME OUT:Â Wisconsin came away with a winning record in Texas at the Bevo Classic spanning over three days from March 10-12. The Badgers first faced Texas State on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. and secured the 4-2 win in nine innings. No. 9 Texas then challenged Wisconsin and the Big Ten team fell to the Longhorns 1-5. Saturday brought a rematch of Friday's two games and the same results transpired. The Badgers narrowly beat Texas State with a score of 4-3 before losing to the Longhorns for the second time that weekend, 4-7. Wisconsin came out on Sunday with something to prove and played an intense back-and-forth game ultimately leading to a 7-6 victory.Â
2. WISCONSIN IN THE RANKS: Before heading into the Badgers week off, Wisconsin was ranked No. 30 in the RPI poll. The team now sits at No. 39 out of 206 NCAA D1 teams. Individually, Gabi Salo is number eight in the nation for her earned run average of 0.68 and Maddie Schwartz has the same ranking at tied-8 for saves. Katie Keller leads the nation in active career doubles with 77 as she currently has five on the year, and 5th overall. Wisconsin is one out of seven Big Ten teams currently in the RPI top-50. Two Big Ten teams, No. 8 Northwestern and No. 20 Michigan, hold spots in the top-25.Â
3. KNOCKOUT KONWENT: Grad student Kayla Konwent has been superb in her fifth season with the Badgers. Konwent is currently second on the team with a .333 batting average and leads the team in home runs (5), hits (21), RBI (17), slugging percentage at .647%, and is tied for first with Katie Keller with an OBP of .432. During the Badgers time in Texas, Konwent hit .500 in the last two games against Texas and Alabama going 2-for-4 and hitting crucial home runs in both.Â
4. SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Michigan State has slightly struggled in their first twenty games of the season with a record of 8-12. Most recently, the Spartans were in San Diego, California for the Torero Classic and had started the weekend strong with a 12-6 victory over Yale before the rest of the tournament was canceled due to heavy rain. The Big Ten team has played five ranked opponents thus far and holds a 0-5 record against them. Michigan State is paced by senior Jessica Mabrey who holds a .373 batting average with 19 hits. Junior Ashley Miller appears to be the Spartans go-to on the mound with 12 starts and six wins. Michigan State holds the upper hand against the Badgers all-time with a 30-19 record. However, Wisconsin has won four straight games dating back to the 2021 season.
5.UP NEXT: After Wisconsin's first Big Ten series of the season, the Badgers will host in-state opponent Green Bay for a double header on Tuesday, March 27 with the first game starting at 3 p.m. central time and the second scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Later that week the Badgers will host the University of Illinois for the second Big Ten series of the spring.
