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Thursday, March 28, 2024
UW prepares for the Mayfair Tournament

UW prepares for the Mayfair Tournament: After losing to Drake last weekend, the Badgers are looking to get back on track in the Mayfair Tournament starting Friday.

UW prepares for the Mayfair Tournament

The Wisconsin softball team (5-8-0) will see some familiar faces this weekend, playing in the Mayfair Tournament at Long Beach State University in Long Beach, Calif. 

 

Wisconsin continues its spring road trip of tournaments before Big Ten Conference play begins in late March. The Badgers enter the tournament having won three of five games last weekend in the New Mexico Invitational in Albuquerque. 

 

After a weekend where the offense of the Cardinal and White finally came to life, the Badgers have the opportunity to push their record above .500 for the first time this season. In the process, Wisconsin will face a tough slate of competitors, including the Cougars of Brigham Young and the Matadors of Cal State Northridge. 

 

Moreover, the Badgers will face familiar opponents in Long Beach State and Fresno State. Wisconsin played the 49ers of LBSU, as well as the Bulldogs of Fresno State in their first tournament of the season, the Cathedral City Kickoff in Palm Springs, Calif. In Palm Springs, the 49ers and Bulldogs soundly defeated the Badgers, shutting them out in two games and collectively outscoring Big Red 12-0. Wisconsin started off the season 0-4. Since then, it has posted a winning record. 

 

Wisconsin pitching will once again face the potent offense of Long Beach State (7-7-0). The 49ers' lineup includes four hitters with batting averages of .300 or higher, including junior Kristen Pocock and senior Jennifer Griffin, a duo which lit up Badger hurlers in Palm Springs. And LBSU holds home-field advantage over Wisconsin and all other teams in the tournament. 

 

In the vein of potent offenses, Fresno State (6-3-0) brings a strong lineup of its own to Long Beach. In a different tournament in Palm Springs last weekend, the Bulldogs strung together three solid victories, outscoring their opponents 9-3. However, those victories were bookended by two crushing losses to the Florida Gators and the UCLA Bruins, who collectively outscored the Bulldogs 18-2. A revived Wisconsin offense will look to capitalize off of Fresno State's inconsistency and avenge the shutout loss to the Bulldogs earlier this year. 

 

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Wisconsin cannot overlook the Cougars of Brigham Young (7-9-0). After winning four of their first six games, tournaments in Las Vegas and Palm Springs have tamed the Cougars, who have dropped seven of their last 10. But BYU won its last game against Tennessee Tech in impressive fashion, 8-0, and the Badgers must prevent the Cougars from riding their momentum into Long Beach as the two teams square off first on Friday. 

 

During the Palm Springs tournament, Wisconsin's game with Cal State Northridge (4-6-0) was rained out. This weekend, the Badgers get two shots at the Matadors. Cal State Northridge comes off of winning three of five games in bizarre fashion in the UTEP Tournament in El Paso, Texas. A Jekyll-and-Hyde team, the Matadors outscored opponents 25-8 in victory, but were outscored in defeat 17-2. Wisconsin pitching will look to shut down the bats of sophomore Tracy Allen and junior Christina Saenz. 

 

The Badgers' two games with the Matadors are also a family affair of sorts. Wisconsin senior Valyncia Raphael will get to face her younger sister Krystal, a sophomore at Cal State Northridge. The sisters grew up playing softball in La Habra, Calif., not far from Long Beach. 

 

""I'm really excited that we can be on the field together, even though we are on different teams, one more time before my career is over,"" Valyncia said. 

 

The tournament runs this weekend, Feb. 27 to March 1. Big Red begins tournament play on Friday with games against BYU and Cal State Northridge. Saturday is rematch day for the Badgers, with games against LBSU and Fresno State. Wisconsin closes out tournament play on Sunday with game two against Cal State Northridge. 

 

—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.

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