After almost two months on the road the Wisconsin softball team will make its home debut this week at Goodman Softball Complex, albeit later than the team thought it would.
The Badgers were scheduled to make their home opener Wednesday against Illinois-Chicago, but that game was postponed and no make up date has been determined.
After dropping a pair of games to Penn State this past weekend Wisconsin ooks to start its home campaign victoriously.
Refusing to dwell on last weekend's defeat, the Badgers are using their losses at Penn State as a learning experience, and motivation to move forward.
""It hurt really bad to lose those close games when we know we should have won them, but now we're just taking that as momentum,"" senior outfielder Jennifer Krueger said. ""We know we can play with the good teams in the Big Ten.""
The home opener will also mark the first home game in Madison for first year head coach Yvette Healy, who admits it will be special.
""It's always fun to play at home, you've got the crowd and the families so of course playing at home is extra special,"" Healy said. ""We're just looking for the team to come out strong, be really physical and aggressive, and just really send a message with how strong we're playing.""
Before coming to UW this year, Healy had been the head coach at Loyola since 2004, where she was named Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2007. Prior to that she was the assistant at her alma mater, DePaul, from 2002-2004.
Healy believes coaching at Wisconsin and living in Madison is a perfect fit for her.
""I love it here,"" Healy said. ""I love the people. It's a really competitive, athletic town. It's fun to live here.""
One thing the Badgers struggled with against Penn State was coming up with big hits when they had runners in scoring position. Overall, 18 runners were stranded in a series where Wisconsin was outscored by just four runs.
Capitalizing in a few of those situations could've changed the outcome of the series. Leaving that many runners on base is not especially worrisome to Healy, who believes it is only a strong point for her team.
""I think that stat's a big number for runners left on base,"" Healy said. ""It's a big tribute to how many runners we got on base.""
As the season progresses she expects the Badgers offense will be able to convert on those opportunities.
Krueger also emphasized the importance of her team coming up big in the most opportune situations.
""We need to have key hits in key situations,"" Krueger said.
If Wisconsin can follow through and come up with the big hits it needs, the team is bound to meet success. The Badgers' offense is backed by a set of stellar pitchers.
Freshman pitcher Cassandra Darrah boasts an ERA of 2.18. Despite suffering both losses at Penn State this past weekend she still boasts a 10-3 record.
Meanwhile, sophomore Meghan McIntosh is tied for eighth all time in saves at UW. The Wisconsin defense held a dangerous Penn State offense to just one run through seven innings Sunday.
Wisconsin will face Loyola Thursday for its home-opening doubleheader at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
