The Wisconsin softball team (6-3 Big Ten, 28-6 overall) travelled to the Twin Cities this weekend to face off against conference foe Minnesota in a three-game series. The Badgers looked to build upon a hot start to their Big Ten schedule winning five of their first six conference games against Illinois and Iowa.
Poor weather prevented the teams from taking the field Friday but a doubleheader was scheduled for Sunday in hopes that the weather would cooperate better.
Despite a two and a half hour rain delay Saturday, the rain held off long enough for Minnesota senior catcher Kari Dorle to hit a walk-off double scoring sophomore shortstop Tyler Walker from second to knock off the Badgers 2-1.
Minnesota capitalized on a Wisconsin blunder in the third inning as junior center fielder Bree Blanchette lined a single up the middle driving in sophomore third basemen Kaitlyn Richardson for an unearned run. Richardson started off the two-out rally by punching a single into right field and advancing to second on an error by Wisconsin junior right fielder Mary Massei.
One sloppy inning wasn’t enough to put away the Badgers though, as they tied the score at one in the top of the sixth inning thanks to a Kendall Grimm RBI single. A leadoff double by senior first baseman Shannel Blackshear and heads-up base running by sophomore pinch runner Megan Tancill allowed Grimm to put the Badgers on the scoreboard.
Dorle’s late game heroics snapped a four-game win streak against Minnesota for the Badgers.
Both teams made up for any lack of scoring Saturday as they combined for a whopping 18 runs in two games Sunday. Oddly enough, each team also posted a shutout.
Behind senior Meghan McIntosh’s second no-hitter of the season and an explosion of offense from the Badgers, UW cruised to a 10-0 victory in six innings in the first game of the doubleheader.
Six runs came in the third inning as junior shortstop Stephanie Peace blasted a two-run homer, senior catcher Whitney Massey hit a solo shot, and junior third baseman Michelle Mueller had a base-clearing double driving in three more runs.
Massey tied Blackshear for the most homeruns on the team (seven) as she hit another solo shot in the fifth inning.
The Badgers tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning as they posted double digits for the fourth time this season.
McIntosh pitched six scoreless innings striking out eight and walking five.
A dominant pitching performance and success at the plate in Sunday’s first game was silenced in the final game of the series as the Gophers responded to beat the Badgers 8-0 in five innings.
Junior pitcher Cassandra Darrah was knocked out of the game with two outs in the third inning after surrendering eight runs on five hits. Freshman Taylor Paige-Stewart relieved Darrah shutting out the Gophers and giving up three hits in her 1.1 innings of work.
An early deficit prevented Wisconsin from generating any runs as they only reached base six times all game.
Despite a disappointing finish to the weekend the Badgers will finally take the field at home Wednesday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. as they welcome Northern Iowa to Goodman Diamond.
