MADISON, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Madison softball team will head to College Park to play in its final away series of the regular season to take on the University of Maryland with its first game starting at 5:00 p.m. this upcoming Friday.

1. LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers had a hard time against the University of Minnesota losing both games of the doubleheader against the rival foes. In the first game, the Gophers put up nine runs in five innings and held Wisconsin to just five hits. Katie Keller had two of those five, both singles in the third and fifth inning. Minnesota got off to the same hot start in the second game and put up two runs in the top of the first. Katie Keller once again responded with a single, however, that was the Badger's only hit until the seventh inning. Peyton Bannon ripped a two-out double to give hope to Wisconsin but the 7-0 lead proved to be too much to come back from and Minnesota won the game with Bannon stranded on second.

2. KATIE KELLER KEEPS ON HITTING: Since being recognized as one the top performers in the Nebraska series, Katie Keller has just continued to shine on offense. Although the Gophers pitching staff held the Wisconsin Badgers to just seven hits in the doubleheader series, graduate transfer Katie Keller had three of those shots. In the first game, Keller had two singles, one of those coming in the seventh inning when the team leader attempted to get a rally going. The Illinois native now has 45 hits on the team and a .363 average, the highest on the team in both categories. Keller heads into the weekend with a seven-game hitting streak.

3. BANNON IS BOOMING: Junior Peyton Bannon also did well in the two recent games against the border battle opponent, despite the tough pitching. Bannon had two hits in the two games, the only other player to do that besides Keller. Also from Illinois, Bannon recorded her first hit in the second inning of game one on a single to left field. Her double in the final inning of the last game was exactly what Wisconsin needed to get something going while down by seven runs; however, the Minnesota pitching staff shut down the hopes for a run to be scored. Peyton Bannon has now gotten five hits in the last seven games to give her 24 on the year. 

4. SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The University of Maryland currently sits just below the Badgers at ninth in the Big Ten with a 7-10 conference record. In it's most recent series, the Terrapins put up just one victory over Penn State but lost the series against the Nittany Lions. Jaeda McFarland leads her team with a .376 average and has accumulated 53 hits, both her batting average and hits have placed her at eighth in the Big Ten in the two categories. The University of Maryland was scheduled to play the Maryland-Coppin State softball team on Wednesday, April 26, but the game was canceled, although the reason was not shared.

5. UP NEXT:  Following the series in College Park, Maryland the Wisconsin Badgers will return to Madison for its final home series of the regular season against the University of Iowa starting on Friday, May 5 at 5:00 p.m. The final game will recognize the seniors of the 2023 class for Wisconsin and all the work they have put into this program.