Despite a steady downpour and cool weather, the women's softball team continued in its quest to get back into the Big Ten race and a tournament bid. The Badgers (5-7 Big Ten, 25-21 overall) ended last weekend's series against Purdue with a split and look to rebound this weekend against Northern Iowa (4-12 Missouri Valley, 10-27) on Thursday before playing a weekend two game series against a top-seated Michigan (11-1, 39-7).
After a series of errors that led to some difficult losses, UW heads back to the basics using its game against the Panthers to perfect some of the fundamentals before taking on the Wolverines.
\I think everyone's really pumped to play Michigan, and I think we're going to use Northern Iowa to get mentally refocused and work on our fundamentals so that we're ready for Michigan,"" said junior catcher Boo Gillette, who scored her fourth home run of the season last weekend.
Head Coach Karen Gallagher continues to try and keep the team focused on the task at hand before looking too far ahead, junior right fielder Natalie Phillips said.
""You can't overlook teams like Northern Iowa,"" Phillips said. ""If you do that, we're going to be in a bad position, but I think we're geared up to play them and it will be a good prequel for the weekend.""
Nonetheless, the importance of facing a team like Michigan, currently ranked ninth in the nation over an unranked, relatively unknown team like Northern Iowa, makes staying focused on Thursday's game difficult, but a necessity, as the team tries to make a quick turnaround.
""The best thing to do is be prepared and never underestimate anyone,"" Phillips said. ""We can always say it's a team we never heard of ... but for the most part we go on the coach's opinion and what they think.""
Pleased with the team's defensive performance, Gillette said the teams continues to work on offensive tasks, specifically the tendency to leave runners stranded on base and getting ahead of the count. The frustration of the last five series ending in a split and costly errors in close games added additional motivation during the team's practices. Gillette said the team knows how close they have come to turning losses into victories.
""It's frustrating in the sense that Indiana, Purdue, I think we could have gone 4-0 this weekend, but it's also better than losing,"" Gillette said. ""But we'd like to be sweeping these teams instead of splitting because when it comes to the grit of who goes to the Big Ten Tournament and who doesn't. These games all count.""
Phillips said that many of the team's problems can be attributed to mental errors and the team needs to move past the level that they are comfortable playing at.
""I think it's more mental than physical with a lot of people. For me personally it's overcoming mental barriers ... going with an outside pitch, taking a pitch that might not be your strength and turning it into your strength.""
The pitching rotation has yet to be determined, Gillette said, with coaches making the decision just prior to the game, but the Badgers have seen solid outings from both freshman Eden Brock (10-9) and junior Katie Layne (12-9). Brock has a 1.68 ERA while Layne has a 2.93 ERA. In her last outing on Sunday, Brock allowed three runs and 10 hits in six and one-third innings.
With just 12 games left in the season, the importance of sweeping the three-game set remains at the forefront of the players' minds leaving the team energized to go, Phillips said.
""We're ready to go. It's at that point in the season where you realize you don't have time to sit back and relax anymore. It's got to be intense.\
