For the Badger softball team, the bats had better continue to come around this week as the team heads into a crucial four-game stretch, with two coming against UW-Green Bay (4-8 Horizon League, 8-30 overall) and two against the University of Minnesota (7-6 Big Ten, 35-17). The Badgers (9-6, 28-17) are feeling strong after taking both games of a double-header against Northwestern on Sunday, but they face a Phoenix team that defeated them last week. The Badgers know that they need to keep the momentum for their weekend series versus Minnesota that could potentially eliminate them from the Big Ten Championship.
The last time the Badgers met the Phoenix, the Badgers jumped out ahead to take an early 1-0 lead and went on to win 4-1.
The second game of the double-header didn't end as well for the Badgers. They fell into a 2-0 hole in the first inning and despite a rally in the fifth inning, in which they evened up the score 2-2, they fell to the Phoenix 5-4.
\If we can get a couple of runs for Andrea and get them early and take the momentum right away, that's really a key for us,"" Head Coach Karen Gallagher said.
The Badgers hope to repeat the success they had in the first game in order to head into the tough Minnesota series with full confidence.
Wisconsin must take at least one of the two games from the Gophers to guarantee a spot in the Big Ten Championship, but the Badgers could still gain an entry into the Championship with two losses versus Minnesota and some losses by other Big Ten competitors. Gallagher, however, doesn't want to count on any team but her own.
""We don't want to depend on any other Big Ten team to knock out a team and have it be contingent upon what they do,"" Gallagher said. ""We want to go and take care of business.""
Yet Gallagher knows that Minnesota is going to pose a considerable obstacle to the team's goal.
""Minnesota's a tough, competitive team. They're scrappy; they play hard. We've had their number the last few years, so they've got something to prove,"" she said.
Minnesota still has a chance of reaching the championship as well, so Gallagher expects them to be especially primed for a big game.
The offense is going to have to continue its timely hitting if the Badgers plan on moving past Minnesota. Gallagher says that the hitting has improved since the beginning of the season. ""[The] hitters are really starting to come around. ... [They're] coming up with big hits when we need them.""
Gallagher also feels that the team can depend upon junior pitcher Andrea Kirchberg to win big games if they can provide her with some run support early in the game. Kirchberg doesn't appear worried about the team scoring some runs, despite the fact that no one player has truly dominated with the bat.
""I don't think any one person has been leading because when one person hasn't been doing it, somebody else has,"" Kirchberg said.
She believes the team as a whole has started hitting the ball well the last few days and that with the improving offense they are primed to have a good four games.
With a spot in the Big Ten Championship on the line, Gallagher believes that her team will come through and that they have high hopes of a long postseason.
""These kids believe that they can win a World Series, win a Big Ten Championship,"" she said. ""That's the type of kids we have.""
Women's tennis Head Coach Patti Henderson was named Big Ten Coach of the year for her efforts in the past season. Henderson led the team to a 9-4 conference record, the best in three years.
Senior Vanessa Rauh and junior Linde Mues also earned top honors, as they were named to the All-Big Ten team.
