The Badger softball team is getting an early reprieve from the snow and cold of Wisconsin before spring break. This weekend they return to the desert of the southwest to play in the Arizona State University Slugger Classic in Tempe. Wisconsin (2-3) will go against Iowa State, Utah State, Illinois State and host Arizona State during the weekend.
Wisconsin is coming off a weekend that showcased the Badgers against the top team in the nation, UCLA, and some of the other better teams in the country. Even though the team went 2-3 on the weekend and UCLA pitched a near-perfect game against them, UW coach Karen Gallagher was still pleased.
\What I really like about the UCLA game is that there was no fear,"" Gallagher said. ""They can beat ... top 10 teams 10 or 12 to zero and they beat us eight to zero. And it probably should have been a ... five run game.""
While the performance against UCLA was a disappointment, the entire weekend was not lost. Though the team came out of the weekend with a few losses, the wins still gave momentum for the next tough weekend ahead.
""This year we are playing more of a team and having so much more fun,"" sophomore shortstop Kris Zacher said. ""I think we came out more of a team. We learned a lot about each other.""
This weekend will be another tough series of play against ranked opponents. Since the preseason rankings, the No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes moved up a spot from No. 18; however, they have yet to play a game due to their wash-out in Georgia last weekend.
Utah State will be another team Wisconsin faces that has yet to play a game this year. The Aggies have a
