Backed by 14 straight shutout innings from the Badger pitching staff, the Wisconsin softball team swept North Dakota in a Thursday double-header topping the Fighting Sioux 5-0 and 7-0.
Wisconsin (1-3 Big Ten, 19-14 overall) has established a reputation this season as a team that thrives on comeback victories, but the team never trailed Thursday and held the Sioux scoreless for the entire evening.
""We haven't had many wins all year where it's been a shutout win or we've had a lead the whole time,"" head coach Yvette Healy said.
In the first game of the doubleheader, freshman pitcher Cassandra Darrah threw six innings of shutout softball, holding North Dakota (10-24) to only two hits on the afternoon. Sophomore pitcher Meghan McIntosh pitched a scoreless seventh inning to secure the victory for Wisconsin.
With her performance, improved her season record to 11-5.
Sophomore infielder Shannel Blackshear noted the solid pitching performances made the job easier for Badger hitters.
""It always makes it easier because it takes a little pressure off of you,"" Blackshear said. ""We can feel free to go up there and hit the ball.""
Wisconsin struck quickly in the second thanks to a two-out RBI single by sophomore outfielder Whitney Massey to score sophomore utilitywoman Abby Gregory. Gregory pinch ran for Blackshear after she reached base on a single.
North Dakota threatened in the third inning, moving a runner to third base thanks to a single and two sacrifice bunts, but Darrah ended the threat by striking out sophomore outfielder Kayelee Schoeny for the final out of the inning.
The Badgers put the game out of reach in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to a three-run blast by Blackshear to make it 5-0. Before smacking her sixth home run of the season over the left field wall, Blackshear worked the count by fouling off a good number of pitches from sophomore Sioux pitcher Michelle Frank.
The script for the second game of the double-header closely followed that of the first.
McIntosh came back out as the starting pitcher for the second game of the doubleheader after pitching the final inning of the first game. McIntosh followed Darrah's efficient pitching performance in game one with an equally solid outing of her own, pitching a complete game-shutout. She struck out an impressive 13 batters in seven innings of work.
""I planned on going out there and hitting my locations,"" McIntosh said. ""They were swinging at balls off the plate so I just kept widening the zone.""
Like in the first game, Wisconsin jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and sealed the deal with a three-run homer. This time, it was freshman infielder Stephanie Peace who drove the ball over the left-field fence to give the Badgers a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Wisconsin tacked on two more runs in the fifth.
After committing four errors in Tuesday's loss to Notre Dame, the Badgers put a greater emphasis on defense and fielding this week in practice. The work seemed to pay off in Thursday's doubleheader, as the team committed no errors in both games.
The Badgers are scheduled to host Northwestern in their first Big Ten series of the home schedule this weekend. The Wildcats will arrive in Madison with an 18-9 record, but are the only team in the Big Ten without a conference victory. Wisconsin has a 3-2 record at home this season, and the team is looking forward to facing its first Big Ten opponent at Goodman Diamond.
""I'm very excited. We just have to go out there and do something special,"" McIntosh said.
First pitch for both Saturday's and Sunday's games against Northwestern is scheduled for noon at Goodman Diamond.
