After a solid 4-2 tournament performance two weeks ago at the Texas A&M Corpus Christie Tournament, Wisconsin (5-6) will come off a bye week in the Alexis Park Resort Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.
The first game for the Badgers will come against Idaho State (6-8) Friday. The Bengals are a team that has had a good offensive start to the season, outproducing the Badgers this season 71-43. The best offensive player for the Bengals this season has been sophomore outfielder Kacie Burnett, who has a batting average of .488 and has scored 17 runs. The Badgers will hope to take advantage of an Idaho State pitching staff that has given up 64 runs this year.
UW will then take on New Mexico State who has started the season strong at 8-7. The Badgers’ pitching staff will be tested against an offense that has produced an average of seven runs per game this season. The Aggies have seven players with a batting average above .350, including the sister duo of senior outfielder Staci Rodriguez and freshman infielder Rachel Rodriguez. The struggling Badger offense will have the opportunity to get some runs against a pitching staff that has posted a 5.13 ERA.
The fourth game of the weekend for Wisconsin will come against a Louisiana-Monroe squad that has won 12 of its first 15 games this season. Every aspect of the Warhawks team has had a strong start to the season. Offensively, three starters — senior infielder Alexis Cacioppo, sophomore outfielder Rochelle Roberts, and junior infielder Faith Bohack — are batting over .400 on the season. The pitching for Louisiana-Monroe has also been a strong point with a team ERA of 2.95.
Wisconsin’s finale will come against the DePaul Blue Demons (6-8) Sunday. The Badgers’ offense will have a strong opportunity to manufacture some runs against a pitching staff that has struggled this season. DePaul’s starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 6.75 and have given up 96 runs. This should give the Badgers a good chance of winning the game if they can keep the Blue Demons’ potent offense in-check, which averages 5.29 runs per game and also features three starters batting over .400.
The Alexis Park Resort Classic looks to be another tough tournament for the Badgers, but if the pitching can hold up against some of the potent offenses, Wisconsin could come out of the tournament with a few more wins.
