Wisconsin (1-7 Big Ten, 12-28 overall) dropped a pair of games to the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-6, 13-18) over the weekend. The Badgers lost a 2-1 game to the Lions Saturday 2-1, and were shut out 4-0 by Penn State Sunday. Wisconsin now returns home on short rest for a doubleheader with Notre Dame this Tuesday.
Head coach Chandelle Schulte's squad entered University Park, Penn., looking to get its offense going after scoring a mere two runs over the last four games (0-4). Penn State came into the weekend on a two-game winning streak in Big Ten play.
Junior Letty Olivarez got the ball in game one against Lion sophomore Jackie Hill. All of the scoring occurred in the first three innings of the game. Penn State struck immediately, as doubles from seniors Danielle Kinley and Sam Hovanec gave the Lions a 1-0 lead.
The Badgers tied the game in the second inning with a solo home run from freshman Karla Powell. But Penn State regained the lead in the third when senior Christana Crivellaro hit a solo home run of her own. Despite a solid performance pitching in relief by senior Leah Vanevenhoven, Penn State won, 2-1.
Wisconsin could not get its offense going in game two. Vanevenhoven and Hill faced off in the circle, and once again Penn State got the scoring going early, plating runs in the first and second innings to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
Penn State's Hill dominated Badger hitters Sunday, pitching a complete game and giving up only two hits and four walks. Wisconsin stranded five runners on the base paths, and Penn State added an insurance run in the fifth, winning 4-0. Senior Theresa Boruta, the only Badger highlight at the plate, recorded Wisconsin's two hits in the game, going 4-for-6 on the weekend.
Wisconsin will now prepare for a doubleheader Tuesday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-3 Big East, 25-13 overall). The Badgers and the Irish met in mid-February in the Bama Bash Tournament in Tuscaloosa. Wisconsin recorded one of its better wins of the season that day, as Olivarez and Vanevenhoven combined to allow zero Irish runs on only three hits, en route to a 2-0 victory.
The Badgers will face a very potent Irish offense Tuesday, a lineup with a well-balanced mixture of underclassmen and veterans. Notre Dame has eight players with batting averages over .300, and the Irish have nearly doubled their opponents' totals in doubles, triples and home runs.
Wisconsin pitchers will look to shut down freshman Dani Miller and sophomores Erin Marrone and Sadie Pitzenberger. Junior Christine Lux and seniors Beth Norway and Linda Kohan also provide a threat for the Irish. Norway and Kohan played vital roles in Notre Dame's 12-4 victory against Big East rival Connecticut Saturday, as Kohan doubled and Norway recorded a solo home run.
The Badgers will expect to face a pair of winning pitchers in sophomore Jody Valdivia and senior Brittney Bargar. Valdivia and Bargar have thrown every pitch for Notre Dame this season, and both have nearly double as many wins as losses.
The Badgers faced Valdivia and Bargar in February. Bargar shut out the Badgers in 2.2 innings of work, but Wisconsin managed to score on Valdivia, getting two runs on three hits and a walk in 3.1 innings.
Wisconsin and Notre Dame will face off Tuesday at the Goodman Softball Complex at 4 p.m., with game two slated to start at 6 p.m.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
