In an effort to rebound from a disappointing weekend and make one last push before the postseason, Wisconsin took to the field Tuesday eager to not only beat Green Bay, but do it twice.
However, the Badgers fell short of that goal, splitting their doubleheader with the Phoenix. Wisconsin earned a 6-2 victory in the first game, but Green Bay swang back with a 15-9 romp in the second game.
In the first game, the Badgers struck blood in the bottom of the first inning courtesy of an RBI double off the bat of junior Ashley Van Zeeland, which brought home sophomore Chloe Miller. Soon after, senior Megan Tancill reached safely on an infield single that scored senior Marissa Mersch to give UW a quick 2-0 lead.
Green Bay responded in the next frame with a run of its own to trim the lead in half, but Wisconsin quickly regained its two-run lead after Miller laced a single into the left-center gap, plating home junior Katie Christner.
Six batters came to the plate in the next half inning for the Phoenix, resulting in one run off of two hits. The Badgers were clinging to a 3-2 advantage heading into the bottom half of the fifth inning.
Van Zeeland later built separation by scoring Wisconsin’s fourth run, stealing home on a wild pitch.
UW relied heavily all game on freshman pitcher Mariah Watts and she delivered a gem in return. Over seven innings, Watts allowed just five hits and two earned runs while striking out four. Of her 108 pitches, 71 were thrown for strikes. Watts’ accurate pitching backed with a solid game at the plate was the recipe for a 6-2 Badgers win in the first game.
Ask head coach Yvette Healy what the most challenging aspect of the season has been, and there is a good chance she mentions the team’s inconsistent play between consecutive games. This recurring theme took shape again in a six-run loss in the backend of the doubleheader.
UW jumped ahead early, tallying five runs in the first two innings. However, Green Bay countered with three runs each in the third and fifth innings. As a result, UW trailed 9-8 heading into the top half of the sixth inning.
From there, it was all Phoenix.
The nightmare of an inning for the Badgers began by allowing the first two Green Bay batters to reach base. After retiring two of the next three batters, Wisconsin appeared poised to escape the inning with limited damage. That was until a walk, a single, and a grand slam all but sucked the life out of Goodman Diamond.
Despite adding a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Badgers would go on to drop the second game of the doubleheader by a score of 15-9.
Wisconsin will look to be more consistent this Friday when it travels to Champaign to square up against a sizzling hot Illinois squad that has won 10 of its last 11 games.
