The Wisconsin softball team (0-2 Big Ten, 9-19 overall) looks to win its first two home games of the season Wednesday in a doubleheader against the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota.
The week before spring break, the Badgers played in the Chevron Spring Fling tournament at the University of Hawaii, going 2-3. Wisconsin notched victories against the host Hawaii and Radford, but lost close games to St. John's, Cal Berkeley and Utah.
""Our pitchers did really well in Hawaii,"" said Wisconsin head coach Chandelle Schulte.
However, the Badgers could not carry their solid pitching and clutch hitting into their Big Ten opener. This past weekend, Wisconsin opened up conference play with a pair of games against the Purdue Boilermakers (2-0 Big Ten, 16-8 overall) in West Lafayette, Ind. They dropped both games as the Boilermakers shut out the Badgers 11-0 in the two games.
Purdue jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in game one on Saturday. The Boilermakers' sophomore hurler Suzie Rzegocki allowed only three Badger hits in a complete-game effort. Purdue tacked on two insurance runs en route to a 5-0 victory.
Sunday's game played out in similar fashion. Purdue scored early again, and again the Badgers were unable to respond. Badger senior Theresa Boruta was the only Badger to record a hit in both games.
Schulte expressed concern for the lack of offense against Purdue.
""You got to hit to win,"" she said.
North Dakota (2-19) comes to Madison on the heels of a nine-game losing streak. The Sioux recently dropped a pair of games to Loyola Marymount, getting outscored by the Lions 11-1 over the two games.
Wisconsin pitching will look to shut down North Dakota sophomore Hannah-Rose Peters and senior Nicole Puerling, the Sioux's top two hitters. Peters and Puerling, along with junior Abby Rehberger, are the Sioux's only players with a batting average of .300 or above.
North Dakota is in its first year of play at the Division I level.
Despite the need to rebound from the Purdue sweep, Schulte said that Wisconsin's games with the vulnerable Sioux are about more than just winning.
""Two victories are important, but honestly, we're trying to get some consistency,"" she said.
Wisconsin will look to establish that consistency both in the circle and at the plate. Badger junior Letty Olivarez and senior Leah Vanevenhoven have the opportunity to erase rough outings against Purdue. After solid performances in Hawaii, Olivarez and Vanevenhoven allowed 11 runs on 15 hits against Purdue. Moreover, the pair collectively struck out only six batters in the two games against the Boilermakers.
The Badger offense stranded eight runners on the base paths against Purdue. Wisconsin hitters must work to extend innings against the Sioux to push runs in—and to give their pitchers breaks between innings.
""If we can score runs, we'll be fine,"" Schulte said.
Game one begins at 4 p.m. at the Goodman Softball Complex, with game two slated to start at 6 p.m.
