TAMPA, Fla. – The Wisconsin softball team (9-5) split day two of the South Florida Showdown on Saturday, falling to Troy, 6-2, before bouncing back to beat Kent State, 8-0.

GAME ONE

Wisconsin fell in the first game of the day, dropping a game to Troy, 6-2.

The bats were stifled throughout the game, with the Badgers finishing with three hits.

Eden Dempsey's pinch-hit, RBI single scored the Badgers first run of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Alivia Bark came around to score later off a wild pitch. The seventh inning was the only time that the Badgers put two runners on base at one time.

Troy took the lead in the bottom of the third after producing three straight singles. The Trojans compounded their lead after that, tacking on three runs in the fourth inning, and another two in the sixth.

Kendra Lewis started the game for the Badgers, taking the loss on the day. She went 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out three batters. Molly Jacobson gave up four runs, three earned, in 2.0 innings of work. Freshman Jordan Felci came in to record the final two outs of the game.

Batting Cleanup

• Molly Schlosser went 1-for-3 with a double
• Eden Dempsey collected her second pinch hit of the season. Both hits have driven in runs, with the senior up to five RBI on the season.

GAME TWO

Wisconsin bounced back in a big way against Kent State, winning 8-0 in a five-inning, run-rule victory.

The Badgers scored in all five innings of the game, while shutting out the Flashes on the other side. Alivia Bark delivered the game-winning hit for UW, hitting a single in the bottom of the fifth inning to drive in Makenzie Foster from third.

Wisconsin's offense sparked through the run game, stealing eight bases. 

The third inning showcased the Badger's baserunning prowess to its full effect. Emma King reached first to lead off the inning, before stealing second, third, and eventually coming around to score on a bunt. 

While King moved around the bases, Emily Bojan stole second, then advanced to third on the RBI bunt. A well executed double steal allowed Bojan to swipe home, while Danielle Lucey moved up to second. Lucey added one more stolen base to bring the final total in the inning to six.

The Badger's lone runs in the fourth and fifth innings were set up by stolen bases as well. Hannah Conger stole second, setting up an RBI groundout from Brooke Kuffel in the fourth, and Makenzie's game-winning run in the fifth inning came off the back of a steal to second base.

The Badgers got the scoring going early on, Molly Schlosser roped a double in the first inning to score Bark. Two batters later, Kuffel singled to score Schlosser.

On the pitching side, Gabi Salo threw a stellar 4.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and no walks. Her record improved to 4-2 on the season. Jordan Felci pitched in the fifth inning, retiring the side and collecting a strikeout. 

The Badgers now move to 3-1 in the South Florida Showdown.

Batting Cleanup

• Molly Schlosser went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI. Schlosser has doubles in four of the last five games. She leads the team with four doubles on the season.
• Emma King, Emily Bojan, and Danielle Lucey each had two stolen bases in the game. It's the first time the Badgers had three players with multiple stolen bases in a game since at least 2014.
• The Badger's eight stolen bases are the second highest total in a game in program history. UW stole 10 bases against Florida Gulf Coast on 2/16/14.
• Rylie Crane went 2-for-3 with a double. After red-shirting last season, this is Crane's first multi-hit game and first double since 4/2/2023.
• Brooke Kuffel went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Kuffel is 9-for-20 in her last seven games.
• The Badgers recorded their second shutout of the season, previously doing so against Georgia State on February 9.
• The last time Wisconsin started off a season 9-5 or better was in 2019.

Up Next:

The Badgers finish the South Florida Showdown with another game against Louisville at 8 a.m. (CT). Live stats for every game are available on the Badger softball schedule on uwbadgers.com, and live updates will be given on the @badgersoftball Facebook, X, and Instagram pages.