The first leg of the UW softball team's Big Ten road schedule was certainly an exciting one. In a weekend chock full of thrilling comebacks, offensive onslaughts and clutch performances, the Badgers (6-8 Big Ten, 20-20 overall) were able to snap their seven-game Big Ten losing streak and make it back to .500 as they took three out of four games from Purdue and Indiana.
The excitement began Friday afternoon when Wisconsin took on Purdue (6-6, 30-18-1). The Badgers took a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning with help from freshman Katie Hnatyk's solo home run. The Boilermakers, though, answered right back, tying the score in the bottom half of the sixth. The score remained even until the final inning, when UW put its rally caps on.
The Badgers exploded for five runs in the ninth to give senior pitcher Katie Layne the win. Hnatyk hit her second home run of the day to give her three hits, three runs and four runs batted in for the game. Freshman Ricci Robben and sophomore Athena Vasquez also added RBIs in the ninth to ensure the 8-3 victory.
Wisconsin would not have the same luck in the second game. Purdue struck quickly, scoring six runs in the second inning to take the lead.
The Badgers clawed their way back in the fifth to make it 6-3, but that was as close as it would get. A disastrous sixth inning sealed their fate, as the Boilermakers scored another four runs. A solo home run by Robben in the bottom of the sixth ended the scoring as Wisconsin fell 10-4.
The offensive assault continued Sunday when UW rolled into Bloomington to take on Indiana (2-12, 12-35). Wisconsin would take a 1-0 lead in the first, but that lead vanished as the Hoosiers took a 6-1 lead by the fifth. IU pitcher Mariangee Bogado was cruising until the Wisconsin offense awoke in the sixth.
Senior outfielder Anastasia Miller hit a two-run homer and an RBI single while Vasquez and senior catcher Boo Gillette added RBIs to the assault as the Badgers scored eight runs in the inning to put themselves up 9-6. Both teams scored one more run, but the lead stayed in the Badgers' corner, winning 10-7.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Wisconsin pitching reigned supreme for the first time. The Badgers gave senior pitcher Katie Layne five runs of support, including a home run from Gillette, but one run would have been enough. Layne dominated Indiana's hitters, throwing a complete game shutout to lead Wisconsin to a convincing 5-0 victory.
-Zach Kukkonen
