Around the Horn: UW plays in neutral site conference series

Thursday, March 20

Oklahoma City, OK

4 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

Purdue

Ellie Hubbard and Hannah Conger against Illinois

Photo by: Ashley Steltenpohl

Around the Horn: UW plays in neutral site conference series

March 18, 2025 | Softball

Wisconsin plays Michigan and Purdue over four days

By: Jake Ross

Venue	Devon Park \| Oklahoma City, OK
Live Stats	Purdue (G1) \| Purdue (G2) \| Michigan (G1) \| Michigan (G2)
Game Notes	Wisconsin
Stream	Purdue (G1) and Michigan (G2): Big Ten Network \| Michigan (G1): B1G+
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin softball team (18-9, 2-1) looks to continue a strong start to conference play, with a four-game lineup against Michigan and Purdue at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Wisconsin faces Purdue on March 20 and 21 at 4 p.m. (CT). Thursday's game will air on the Big Ten Network.

The Badgers then face Michigan on March 22 and 23 at 4:30 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. respectively. Sunday's game will air on Big Ten Network.

1. ILLINOIS RECAP – Wisconsin opened up Big Ten play with a series victory over Illinois at the Illini's Eichelberger Field. The Badgers took two-of-three games, starting off the series with a huge 15-4 run rule victory. After falling in game two, 9-6, the Badgers bounced back for a 8-6 victory. Wisconsin hit 11 home runs in the series, and averaged 10.7 runs per game. It's the first series victory for Wisconsin against Illinois on the road since March of 2013.

2. KENDRA'S KILLER SWING – Leading the Badgers over the weekend was freshman Kendra Lewis. The two-way player raked at the plate in all three games, collecting multiple hits in each day, and going 6-for-11 in total. Lewis homered in each game and totaled eight RBI. In addition to her showing in the batter's box, the freshman logged 2.1 shutouts innings during game two of the series. For her efforts, Lewis was honored with a Big Ten Freshman of the Week selection - the first Badger freshman to receive that distinction since Molly Schlosser in 2022.

3. HOME RUN HEAVY – Lewis was not the only Badger to go yard over the weekend, as Wisconsin's offensive onslaught was aided by 11 team home runs. Alivia Bark, Molly Schlosser, Emmy Wells, Emily Bojan, Hilary Blomberg, Brooke Kuffel, Dani Lucey, all went yard against Illinois, with Wells being responsible for two of them. The Badgers 11 home runs are the team's most in a three-game span since at least 2016. Game one of the series saw Wisconsin knock five pitches over the wall - the first five home run game for UW since a 9-0 victory over UMASS on March 8, 2020.

4. WHAT TO MAKE OF THE BOILERMAKERS – Devon Park in Oklahoma City will host Michigan, Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin over four days beginning on Thursday. Each team will play two other teams twice, with Wisconsin's first opponent being Purdue. The Boilermakers are 15-12 to begin the year, most recently being swept by No. 6 UCLA in the team's first conference series of the season. Sophomore Moriah Polar leads the way offensively with a .517 average, the highest mark in the conference. The Badgers trail Purdue in the all-time series 35-31, but swept the Boilermakers the last time the two teams faced off in 2023.

5. WOLVERINE WATCHING – Wisconsin's next two games after Purdue will come against the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan is 20-8 on season, and will begin conference play against Maryland before taking on the Badgers. The Wolverines sport the third-best ERA in the Big Ten at 2.39 and lead the league with 10 shutouts. Senior Lauren Derkowski is following up an All-Big Ten First Team selection last year with another great season on the mound. She has a 1.76 ERA in 83.2 innings. The Badgers and Wolverines faced off just once last season, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, where Wisconsin fell, 6-4.