Badger softball racked up three more wins in their final road series of the season, silencing the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis. Wisconsin clinched their spot in the Big Ten Tournament with the sweep and helped surpass their 11-11 2025 conference record.
Minnesota has led in head-to-head matchups against Wisconsin (21-17) since 2009. Recently, the Badgers have narrowed their lead, winning six of the past seven games.
Going into their final series of the season, the Badgers are 12-9 in conference play and 28-17 overall.
The Badgers took advantage of The Gophers’ struggling defense in game one, and Wisconsin earned their first two runs of the series due to forced errors.
Both team’s bats stayed fairly quiet throughout the match.
Hannah Conger fueled Wisconsin's offense in the seventh by getting to first base on a fielder's choice, advancing Makenzie Foster to third after a defensive error by the Gophers. Conger was able to steal second with Emily Bojan at the plate.
A double from Bojan brought in Conger and Foster, extending the Badgers lead and ending game one with a score of 4-0.
Shelby Jackson dominated the mound for Wisconsin, racking up seven strikeouts and only allowing five hits — refusing to give up any runs. She earned her second conference shutout game of the season.
Kaylie Whidden opened up the scoring early in game two with a home run to deep left field in the second inning, bringing in two runs for the Badgers.
With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Whidden delivered for the Badgers, clearing the bases with a double to widen the deficit to 5-0.
Ava Parent came in to pinch run for Whidden and was able to get home on back-to-back wild pitches.
Danielle Lucey added to the scoring in the fifth inning with a single that brought in the run, bringing the Badgers’ lead to 7-0.
Minnesota earned their first run of the series and only of the game at the bottom of the fifth inning after a double from Jae Cosgriff brought in a run.
Jordan Felci pitched for the Badgers in the seventh, sealing the game with a 7-1 win.
Wisconsin’s offense stayed hot in game three, as Jaclyn Showalter hit a two-RBI double in the first inning to put the Badgers on the board. The redshirt freshman quickly circled the bases, stealing third and scoring after another Minnesota error.
Showalter delivered again in the third inning, grounding out to second base with runners in scoring position to bring in a run and give the Badgers a 4-0 lead.
Wisconsin ran into trouble at the bottom of the inning, giving up a run to Minnesota after an error that shortened the Badgers’ lead to 4-1.
Both teams struggled to get their bats rolling through the sixth inning. Showalter was once again able to make something happen, bringing in Wisconsin’s final run with her fourth RBI of the day.
The Gophers kept the Badgers on their toes at the bottom of the inning after a two RBI home run from Cassie Johnson narrowed their lead 5-3. Wisconsin’s defense stepped up, recording three back-to-back outs to close out the series.
