It took an eight-run sixth inning and a lot of waiting around thanks to multiple weather delays, but the Wisconsin softball team claimed its first Big Ten victory of the season with a 10-4 win over Michigan State Sunday in East Lansing, Mich.
The Badgers (1-3 Big Ten, 17-13 overall) salvaged a split in the weekend series after the Spartans shut them out 8-0 Saturday. That game was the first ever played in Michigan State's new Secchia Stadium.
The start of Sunday's game was pushed back by more than an hour due to rainy and snowy conditions.
Once things got underway, Michigan State (1-3, 19-14) struck quickly with a three-run homer from Lauren Kramer off sophomore pitcher Meghan McIntosh for a 3-0 lead in the first. Freshman Amanda Najdek relieved McIntosh after she gave up two more walks following the home run.
Bad weather struck again in the top of the second and the game was delayed another hour and 34 minutes. Following the delay, sophomore infielder Shannel Blackshear stepped up to the plate to finish her at-bat, facing a 1-2 count. She hit the second pitch she saw out of the park for her sixth home run of the season, cutting the Badgers' deficit to 3-1.
Najdek kept the Spartans' offense at bay, allowing only one run over a career-high six innings. Her stellar outing kept the Badgers in the game and set the stage for Wisconsin's sixth inning offensive explosion.
Still trailing 3-1 heading into the sixth, the Badgers used small ball to tack on eight runs in the top of the inning. Wisconsin had five hits in the inning, four of them singles and also benefited from three Michigan State errors in the frame.
The Badgers added a tenth run in the top of the seventh, and freshman pitcher Cassandra Darrah came on in relief in the bottom of the inning to seal the first victory for the Badgers.
Najdek earned the first win of her career and evened up her season record at 1-1. She struck out four Spartan batters on the afternoon.
Saturday was a much different story for the Badgers, however, as the team mustered only one hit against Spartan pitcher Cassee Layne, a single to sophomore infielder Whitney Massey in the third inning.
Darrah had her roughest outing of the season for Wisconsin, allowing eight earned runs in four and two thirds innings pitched. The Badgers kept it close until the bottom of the fifth, however, when Michigan State broke things open with a six-run fifth inning to extend its lead to 8-0, Spartans. All six runs were scored with two outs for Michigan State. The game was called after five innings due to the mercy rule.
Wisconsin will be back in action at Goodman Diamond Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Notre Dame, the first contest of a seven-game homestand.
—Uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
