With a pair of wins over Loyola-Chicago Tuesday at Goodman Diamond, the Wisconsin Badgers softball team swept a double header for the second straight day.
Led by strong pitching from senior Katie Layne and sophomore Eden Brock, the Badgers (3-7 Big Ten, 17-19 overall) breezed to two easy wins by scores of 4-1 and 10-3 over the Ramblers (5-5 Horizon League, 12-25 overall).
Playing without senior star infielder Kris Zacher who missed the double header due to injury, the Badgers jumped out to 1-0 lead in the first game, when senior catcher Boo Gillette scored on a wild pitch in the second inning.
Loyola responded in the fourth, tying the game at one run apiece, but after the run, Layne went into cruise control, allowing no runs over the final three innings. The Badger bats provided Layne with all the support she needed, adding one run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, respectively, to give UW a 4-1 victory.
\I think they really just came out with a lot of energy [in the first game]."" UW coach Karen Gallagher said. ""I thought Katie really was in command of her pitches.""
In the second game, Wisconsin picked up where they left off as freshman Katie Hnatyk drove in sophomore center fielder Samantha Polito in the first.
The Badgers' offensive effort was aided by the inconsistent pitching of Loyola senior Andrea Wise. In 4.1 innings of work, Wise walked eight batters and hit two more with pitches. The third inning was especially brutal, as Wise walked in three runs before Loyola coach Yvette Healy pulled her.
Gallagher was extremely pleased with the patience her batters showed at the plate.
""If you looked at their stats, they had a lot of walks,"" Gallagher said. ""I said 'You guys don't need to be helping them out,' and sometimes that's tough to do. ... But I thought our kids did a terrific job at being disciplined at the plate and looking for their pitch to drive.""
The 10 runs were plenty for Brock to work with. Aside from a rough spot in the fourth inning, Brock was nearly unhittable, dispatching her first 11 batters faced without allowing a hit and striking out three Rambler batters. Behind her, the defense was flawless, helping Brock to her second win in as many days.
""I was pretty relaxed and pretty confident,"" Brock said. ""Things were working well. ... And our defense played well, so it was a good game.""
The Badgers now head on the road to take on Purdue and Indiana before returning home to face Northern Iowa April 27.
