The UW softball team finished on top in both games of a double-header Wednesday against the Loyola Ramblers and in the process won its first two home games of the season. While the margin of victory in the first game reflected the Badgers' superior performance, the second was much more closely matched.
With her near perfect performance, freshman pitcher Eden Brock set the tone for the Badgers in the opening game as they trounced the Ramblers 8-0, ending the game in the sixth inning. Taking down the first 16 batters she faced, Brock maintained throughout the game and notched her fifth shutout of the season.
The Badgers scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning with sophomore utility player Kaitlin Reiss crossing home plate after senior captain and outfielder Diana Consolmagno connected on a single to right field. With the Badgers aggressively swinging their bats in the bottom of the fifth inning, they advanced their lead with six hits and six runs, increasing their lead to 7-0.
Heading into the sixth inning, Brock carried not only a no-hitter, but also a perfect game by not allowing a single Rambler on base to that point. However, in the top half of the sixth, Loyola junior outfielder Sarah Lamkin hit a grounder which passed the gloves of both freshman third baseman Athena Vasquez and junior shortstop Kris Zacher, notching Loyola's first hit and in the process ending Brock's perfect game. Putting an additional runner on base, the Ramblers had the makings of breaking through Brock's brilliant performance, but in the end, the freshman pitcher for UW settled back down, tallied the final couple outs and handed the ball back to her offense.
The Badgers were able to end the game earlier than normal, in the bottom of the sixth, when Zacher stepped up to the plate and hit her third home run of the season. The long ball gave the Badgers an 8-0 lead and terminated the game due to the margin of victory at hand.
Heading into the second game with spirits raised, UW Head Coach Karen Gallagher hoped her team would continue playing at the same level they had in the first game.
\I felt we should have went into that second game with the same momentum at the plate,"" Gallagher said.
She was disappointed, however, when the second game turned out to be a much lower scoring game and closer match between the two teams from the get-go.
Sophomore pitcher Sara Gonzales opened the second game pitching for the Badgers, but was unable to deliver even one one-two-three inning as Brock did in the first game. Nonetheless, the Badgers offense stepped up and scored first in the first inning behind a double from junior catcher and captain Boo Gillette, sending freshman outfielder Samantha Polito home. Gillette's 12th double of the season tied her for first place in the Big Ten in two-base hits.
After Gillette's run batted in, the Badgers offensive play slid and they were unable to score for quite some time. In that time, the Ramblers took advantage of UW's sluggish play and tied the game in the third inning when sophomore catcher/utility player Becky Marx hit a double scoring freshman outfielder Tara Miller.
In the fourth inning, junior pitcher Katie Layne relieved Gonzales due to a reinjured knee and immediately came in and struck out two batters in her first inning pitching. She increased her strikeouts to five by the end of the game.
With the game tied going into the seventh and final inning of regulation, the Badgers won the game in exhilarating fashion, when once again Zacher had the game-winning RBI single scoring Polito.
""It's always exciting finishing a game like that,"" Gallagher said. ""Especially because Kris has really been an offensive leader for us.""
For the day, Zacher tallied five hits, one home run and three RBIs for UW.
The Badgers now head for the road this weekend on a positive note, facing Northwestern April 9-10, and Michigan State April 11.
""These two games and these two wins going into this weekend is a big thing for us,"" Gallagher said.
