Behind the momentum of a five-game winning streak, the University of Wisconsin softball team (11-10) will begin Big Ten Conference play this weekend when it takes on No. 15/16 Northwestern (18-8) Friday and Saturday in Evanston, Ill., and Illinois (13-15) in a doubleheader Sunday in Urbana, Ill.
A 4-0 performance at the Capital Classic two weeks ago in Sacramento was led by sophomore catcher Joey Daniels, who was named to the all-tournament team after batting .462 with six hits, three runs, one home run, four RBIs, nine total bases and a .692 slugging percentage. She stands second on the team in both runs (10) and RBIs (10), and she is hitting .667 with bases loaded.
Junior pitcher Eden Brock improved her record to 8-5 on the season with three straight wins and an impressive 2.70 ERA, 66 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 80.1 innings.
The Wildcats boast two players on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List, including last year's Big Ten Player of the Year, Garland Cooper. The junior leads her squad with 11 doubles and is second with a .342 average and 18 RBIs. Northwestern is coming off a 3-2 upset over top-ranked UCLA Sunday.
Courtnay Foster, NU's other Watch List contender has a 10-4 record with a 1.96 ERA while fellow pitcher Eileen Canney has a 1.67 mark and already recorded a no-hitter this season.
Illinois finished with a 2-3 record in the Stanford Invitational last weekend. Senior first-baseman Jenna Hall sports a team-best .480 batting average with nine home runs and 28 RBIs.
The Illini pitching has struggled throughout the season, ranking last in the league with a team ERA of 5.73.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
Junior pitcher Eden Brock improved her record to 8-5 on the season with three straight wins and an impressive 2.70 ERA, 66 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 80.1 innings.
The Wildcats boast two players on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List, including last year's Big Ten Player of the Year, Garland Cooper. The junior leads her squad with 11 doubles and is second with a .342 average and 18 RBIs. Northwestern is coming off a 3-2 upset over top-ranked UCLA Sunday.
Courtnay Foster, NU's other Watch List contender has a 10-4 record with a 1.96 ERA while fellow pitcher Eileen Canney has a 1.67 mark and already recorded a no-hitter this season.
Illinois finished with a 2-3 record in the Stanford Invitational last weekend. Senior first-baseman Jenna Hall sports a team-best .480 batting average with nine home runs and 28 RBIs.
The Illini pitching has struggled throughout the season, ranking last in the league with a team ERA of 5.73.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
