The Badgers have had a tough start to the 2008 season, and sophomore Letty Olivarez has shared in those struggles. But in the past few games, Olivarez has emerged as one of the bright spots on the team.
Perhaps her hot streak has something to do with the recent Wisconsin heat wave. Maybe it reminds her a little of home in Newark, Calif. Whatever it is, Olivarez's sizzling performances turned into wins for Wisconsin yesterday.
Last Sunday, Olivarez hit lead-off home runs in each game of Wisconsin's doubleheader against Illinois. In doing so, she became the first player in Badger history to hit lead-off homeruns in consecutive games.
Olivarez carried that fire back to Madison Wednesday night and, with senior shortstop Lynn Anderson, propelled the Badgers to 6-1 and 4-1 victories. In the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against in-state rival UW-Green Bay, Olivarez batted 2-for-3 with one RBI.
In the second game, Olivarez added pitching to her duties and fueled her fire just a little more. On the mound, she made the Phoenix batters look like a team of high schoolers. She struck out 10 batters, setting a new season high.
She missed tying her career high in strikeouts by two. In her freshman year, Olivarez struck out 12 batters against UW-Green Bay.
But Olivarez said she was not doing anything special in Wednesday's outing.
We just go out there and have fun"" she said. She was not afraid to show that she was having fun either. Olivarez flashed a big smile after every strike she threw.
""[Olivarez] is on fire. I thought that was her best pitching performance all year,"" head coach Chandelle Schulte said.
However, pitching was not the only part of Olivarez's game that she brought to the table Wednesday. Her two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning in the second game provided the icing on the cake, not to mention a little breathing room for the Badgers, who then enjoyed a three-run lead.
In the end, it was Olivarez that lit the fire that consumed the Phoenix - only in this tale, there was no resurrection. Olivarez sent the Phoenix back to Green Bay with two losses.
