Coming off of their first home series of the year, the Badgers (1-7 Big Ten, 14-20 overall) have a shot at building on their first conference win. Wisconsin will play a doubleheader against non-conference opponent Valparaiso (2-6, 8-22), which has been struggling as of late.
Valparaiso has lost their last five games, failing to score more than four runs in any of the them. The struggling offense of the Crusaders should allow the Wisconsin pitching staff to regain their composure. Junior Taylor-Paige Stewart has really struggled as of late, losing her last five outings. The rest of the pitching staff hasn’t fared much better, giving up more than 10 runs in each of their last five games. This has made it difficult for the Badgers to win games, even when their offense is producing.
The struggling Crusaders offense is averaging only 4.76 runs per game, but they have two hitters who have remained consistent. Freshman infielder Stephanie Moreno and junior outfielder Kaitlyn Ranieri have contributed heavily, with both batting over .380 and combining for 22 runs.
Wisconsin struggled offensively for most of the season, but in last weekend’s games they showed some improvement. They scored eight runs in their first game against Penn State, following it up with a season-high of 14 in the second outing. The Badgers need their improved offense to take advantage of the struggling pitching staff of Valparaiso that has no starting pitchers with an ERA below 6.00.
With the struggles that this Valparaiso team is having, it is possible for Wisconsin to get a couple of wins and gain some momentum before starting up conference play again. First pitch of the doubleheader hits the mitt Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Goodman Diamond.
