Badger softball picked up their third straight series win [when], defeating the Purdue Boilermakers in two of their three games.
The Badgers started off the first game of the series swinging on Friday, with singles from Alivia Bark and Danielle Lucey, but stranded the bases loaded.
Shelby Jacobson was hot on the mound from the start for the Badgers, and struck out two Boilermakers in the first inning.
Wisconsin got on the board by the second inning. After Hannah Conger put two runners in scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, a single from Emily Bojan brought in the Badgers’ first run.
Kendra Lewis added to the lead with two more runs on a single to right field, giving the Badgers a 3-0 lead.
Wisconsin struggled behind the plate for the remainder of the game, but Jacobson helped Wisconsin keep their lead until the end, finishing with seven total strikeouts, allowing only three hits for Purdue to help Wisconsin win 3-0.
After being shutout the day before, Purdue completely flipped by the start of game two, driving in two runs in the first inning, with an RBI triple from Anna Moore and an RBI from Haley Painter.
The Boilermakers continued their offensive barrage into the second inning, bringing in four more runs. Moriah Polar’s double to left center field racked up three of them.
Down 6-0, Wisconsin home run leader Hilary Blomberg gave the Badgers some hope in the third inning with a two-run homer, her 12th home run of the season. Purdue answered at the bottom of the inning, with an RBI single from Khole Banks, expanding their lead 7-2.
Bark led off the fourth inning with her first home run of the season. Lewis brought in one more run for Wisconsin in the fifth, narrowing Purdue’s lead to 7-4.
Wisconsin continued to fight back in the sixth, as walks set the stage for an RBI groundout from Addison Wery. Conger caused some trouble with her bunt at the end of the inning, bringing home another run for the Badgers after a defensive error.
Purdue responded in the bottom of the inning, loading up the bases quickly. RBIs from Delaney Reefe and Kylie Franks brought in two more for the Boilermakers, taking over the game 9-6.
The Badgers opened the door at the top of the seventh, with Lewis, Bark and Lucey all on base as Jaclyn Showalter came up to the plate. The redshirt freshman delivered a bomb, clearing the bases and giving the Badgers their first lead of the game.
Wisconsin held Purdue for the final inning, taking the game 10-9 and completing their largest comeback win of the season.
The Boilermakers once again started off hot in game three. An RBI triple from Polar and a two-RBI home run from Painter got Purdue up 3-0 quickly.
Both teams were unable to make anything happen through the fourth inning.
Lewis finally got the Badgers going in the fifth inning with a base hit to bring in a run. Polar responded quickly for Purdue, hitting a double at the bottom of the inning to get in scoring position. Moore brought her in, making the score 4-1.
Showalter led off the sixth with another home run, cutting Purdue’s lead in half.
Down by two runs with two outs and two players on base, Showalter had potential to lead the Badgers to another comeback win. The first baseman struck out looking on full count, giving Purdue their first win of the series.
The Badgers will stay at home for a while, hosting Loyola Chicago in a match-up on Wednesday. Wisconsin will then take on the No. 9 Nebraska Huskers in a three-game series at Goodman Diamond.
