It was a rough weekend for the Wisconsin softball team (5-11 Big Ten, 26-19 overall) as it dropped four conference games on the road at Michigan State and No. 9 Michigan. Michigan State (5-8 Big Ten, 29-24 overall), now ahead of Wisconsin in the Big Ten standings, pulled off an 8-5 win Friday afternoon and finished the series with a 2-0 win Saturday. Michigan (11-3 Big Ten, 40-9 overall) triumphed in a doubleheader Sunday, capturing both victories with scores of 2-0 and 2-1.
In game one against Michigan State, the Spartans pounded 14 hits against senior pitcher Eden Brock and sophomore Leah Vanevenhoven. Seniors Dayna Feenstra and Nicole Merdado, along with sophomore Gina Mondo, each registered three hits for Michigan State. Feenstra also had a team-high four RBI and a home run on the contest. Brock dropped to 14-10 with the loss.
Offensively, Wisconsin had nine hits on the contest. None of these hits came from senior center fielder Samantha Polito, who ended her school-record hitting streak at 16 games. Junior Katie Hnatyk, as well as sophomores Ricci Robben and Alexis Garcia, earned two hits as Spartan pitcher Lesley Noel improved to 7-7 on the season.
In the second game, Michigan State's starting pitcher, senior Rachel Turney (9-9), threw a two-hit shutout, bringing an end to the series. The Spartans only got four hits themselves, but an RBI triple from Mercado and a home run from senior Meghan Darhower was just enough to tally the win. Wisconsin's freshman pitcher Letty Olivarez (9-7) got the loss.
Wolverine senior pitcher Lorilyn Wilson (21-5) struck out nine and only gave up three hits as Michigan defeated Wisconsin in game one of Sunday's doubleheader. Freshman third baseman Maggie Viefhaus went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Wolverines offensively. Wisconsin's Brock, who dropped to 14-11 after the game, only gave up five hits, but that was all Michigan needed to pull past the Badgers and enter game two with confidence.
Michigan's freshman pitcher Nikki Nemitz started the second game on the rubber for the Wolverines, giving up six hits in six innings before Wilson entered the game to collect the save. Nemitz improved to 19-4 on the season, and the game gave Wilson her fourth save of the season.
Wolverine sophomore left fielder Rebekah Milian went 3-for-4 and scored a run from the two spot. Rookie second baseman Angela Findlay also had a nice game, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.
These losses are a major concern for the Badgers. With only two games left in the regular season, they are on the borderline of qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament. Only the top eight teams qualify to participate and Wisconsin is currently in the nine slot. The Spartans won both games of their doubleheader against Minnesota Sunday to put them one game ahead of Wisconsin.
However, Michigan State must defeat Michigan this weekend in order to guarantee a finish above Wisconsin. The Badgers must secure victories in next weekend's two-game series against conference foe Minnesota (3-7, 21-20) to possibly stay alive.
—uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
