Wisconsin's softball team will not have much time off during Spring Break as they prepare for a full slate of games.
The Badgers (7-12) will spend their spring recess on the road, participating in two events and 12 games in 10 days.
The Badgers' first tournament is the Tiger Invite in Columbia, Mo. During this event, Wisconsin will play five games in three days. Friday and Saturday evening Wisconsin will play a doubleheader against Missouri and North Dakota State, and Sunday morning the Badgers will play Missouri.
Host-school Missouri will be a tough opponent for Wisconsin. The Tigers are 20-6 on the season and undefeated thus far at home. After starting the season with a 9-6 record, Missouri has been scalding hot. The Tigers went without a loss during their last two tournaments, the Tiger Invitational and the USF Under Armour Invitational, and are now riding an 11-game win streak.
Missouri's recent success is capturing the attention of the nation. The Tigers just missed out on making the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 this week. After Virginia Tech, Missouri received the most votes without cracking the top 25.
Wisconsin may have a hard time getting the bats going against Missouri and their pitching staff. Junior Stacy Delany and sophomore Jana Hainey have a 1.33 and 1.73 ERA, respectively. They have combined for a 18-3 record this season.
For Wisconsin, North Dakota State will not be much easier. The Bison are 19-6 this season. North Dakota State won its first nine games, but the Bison have cooled off of late, losing three of their last five. The Bison have faced just one ranked opponent thus far, losing to No. 9 Stanford, 3-0. Nonetheless, this weekend should be a challenge for the Badgers.
After the Tiger Invite, Wisconsin will head west for road games against Pacific in Stockton, Calif., and Sacramento State in Sacramento, Calif.
Pacific, who the Badgers face on March 18, is 11-14 this season. The Tigers' last competition was the Diamond Devil Invite, in which they lost three out of five games. However, the Tigers were able to defeat No. 17 San Diego State. Pacific also faced the No. 1 team in the nation, Arizona State. The Tigers lost 10-3.
The next day, Wisconsin will face Sacramento State. The Hornets are 10-10 this season, and on a four-game losing streak.
Wisconsin will then get an off day, before heading south to participate in the Stanford Invitation II in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Badgers will play a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday against Princeton and Stanford, and East Carolina and BYU, respectively. Then Wisconsin will wrap up the long week by playing Princeton again Sunday.
Stanford will be Wisconsin's most difficult matchup. The Cardinal are 27-2 this season and ranked No. 6 in the nation. Stanford won its first 15 games of the season before falling to Texas on Feb. 24.
Junior pitcher Missy Penna has stood out this season for the Cardinal. The right hander is 17-2 with a 0.97 ERA. Offensively, sophomore catcher Rosey Neill leads the Cardinal with 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in, and is second on the squad with a .398 batting average.
Wisconsin will look to pick up a couple victories against Princeton. The unseasoned Tigers are 2-5 this year. BYU and East Carolina are 12-10 and 19-9, respectively.
The Badgers won just one of five games in the Texas Classic two weekends ago, which was their last event. Wisconsin is eager to pick up some victories, and they will have plenty of opportunities next week.
- uwbadgers.com contributed
to this report.
