The Wisconsin softball team will open its home schedule with a doubleheader today against non-conference opponent Loyola-Chicago at 4 p.m. in the Goodman Softball Complex.
The Badgers (10-25 overall, 0-4 Big Ten) are coming off a nightmare weekend in which they lost all four of their games. Wisconsin faced Northwestern and Michigan State in its first four Big Ten match-ups of the season.
Wisconsin has struggled with both its bats and its pitching thus far this season.
Junior Leah Vanevenhoven has a team-high 18 starts this season. The pitcher has a 3.94 earned run average and a 4-12 record but has often been a victim of poor run support.
Sophomore Letty Olivarez has made 16 starts for the Badgers and is also 4-12. She has a 4.27 ERA and has allowed 106 hits and 62 walks in just 99 innings.
Offensively, senior catcher Joey Daniels leads the way. Daniels' .275 batting average, 17 runs, 25 hits and six doubles are all team-highs.
Besides Daniels, the Badgers do not have another player batting over .250. And Wisconsin, which has a team batting average of .204, is getting poor production from several everyday players.
Sophomore outfielder Katie Soderberg has started 34 of Wisconsin's 35 games and has 13 hits in 80 at bats, equaling a .163 batting average.
Additionally, junior outfielder Ricci Robben has a .200 batting average with 20 hits in 100 at bats. Ricci has also started 34 games this season for Wisconsin.
Loyola, which plays in the Horizon League, is 9-12 this season. The Ramblers enter today's game with a three-game win streak after sweeping conference rival Youngstown State in a three-game series last weekend.
Sophomore outfielder Ellen Kresl leads Loyola with a .394 batting average, and senior Kat Krause has a team high five home runs.
Sophomore pitcher Amy Solava has started 11 games this season and has a team best 2.96 ERA, 71 innings pitched, nine complete games, three shutouts and 58 strikeouts. So far, Solava has a 6-6 record this season.
After its meeting with Loyola, Wisconsin will resume its conference schedule with home games against Purdue and Indiana this weekend. The Badgers will play the Boilermakers Friday and Saturday and then wrap up the weekend with the Hoosiers in a Sunday doubleheader.
