The Wisconsin softball team is back on the road Wednesday to face reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Chelsea Lyon and the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
Although the Badgers (4-8 Big Ten, 24-19 overall) will have their work cut out for them as they face a tough pitching staff and a powerful Iowa (8-4, 26-17) offense, they are optimistic, according to freshman leftfielder Mary Massei.
""We're very confident,"" Massei said. ""We're just trying to do the best we can because we want to make it to regionals.""
Over the weekend, behind sophomore pitcher Lyon, the Hawkeyes beat first place Michigan with a 4-2 victory Saturday and came within one run of a series sweep on Sunday.
In Saturday's game, Lyon struck out seven Wolverines, while leading her team to its eighth Big Ten win of the season, good enough for third in the conference.
In the series finale on Sunday, Iowa freshman Kayla Massey held the Wolverines scoreless through the first six innings, before giving up three runs in the seventh inning.
The red-hot leftfielder, Massei is not intimidated by the set of threatening Iowa pitchers.
""I just like to stay in the zones in my at bats and know that no pitcher is better than me,"" Massei said. ""I'm going to just give the best I can.""
Since returning last Wednesday, after facial fractures forced her to look on from the dugout for almost a month, Massei has gone 6-for-12 in her last four games. She was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in Saturday's loss.
The Badgers enter their midweek road trip to Iowa, following a series split with Illinois over the weekend. The Badgers fell 4-2 in extra innings Saturday before edging the Fighting Illini 2-1 on Sunday in a pitcher's duel.
The key to the Badgers' recent success has been their ability to find ways to get on the board early. In their last two wins, the Badgers have scored the eventual game winning runs in the first two frames.
Freshman shortstop Stephanie Peace highlighted the importance of capitalizing early.
""I think it's a huge deal to score early,"" Peace said. ""You've got to come out and show you're ready to play right off the bat.""
The Badgers will also be going up against history when they face the Hawkeyes in the twin bill today.
Iowa possesses a convincing advantage in all-time meetings against Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes lead the series 37-7 and have taken the last six games from the Badgers.
Last season, the Hawkeyes humiliated the Badgers at their home field and outscored them by 14 runs in two games.
UW freshman pitcher Amanda Najdek is looking forward to grabbing some wins while beginning to balance out the record between the two teams.
""I'm excited to get the opportunity to throw against them and shut them down,"" Najdek said.
Najdek, who has been a key contribution to the Badgers' pitching staff this season, suffered the tough-luck extra inning loss on Saturday as she pitched her first complete game.
The first pitch is slated for 3 p.m. for game one, with game two beginning 30 minutes after the completion of game one.
