Wisconsin ended the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a devastating 6-5 loss to North Carolina State Sunday.
For a majority of the game at Dail Stadium, Wisconsin was playing from behind, as the Wolfpack took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning.
However, the Badgers’ luck finally turned when Kelsey Jenkins hit a grand slam, bringing home Gabby Scherle, Macy Oswald and Kelly Welsh.
With the score at 5-4, Chloe Miller responded to Jenkins’ home run with one of her own—her first hit of the day—and the Badgers were all square.
After Wisconsin was finally retired in the bottom of the fifth, both teams played a tense, scoreless sixth inning that resulted in the deadlock being carried into the seventh.
North Carolina State outfielder Maggie Hawkins then delivered the hit her team solely needed, doubling and bringing teammate Molly Hutchinson home.
The slender one-run lead proved to be enough for the Wolfpack, as the Badgers were unable to come up with a response thereafter.
Though Wisconsin didn’t get the end result it wanted, it deserves credit for managing to battle back into the game, especially with none of their players having multi-hit afternoons.
Despite the loss, head coach Yvette Healy seemed pleased with her team’s resilience after the game.
"When you get to face a home team that was in the Sweet 16 last year, you really just battle them the whole time and it's exciting for our program," Healy told UWBadgers.com. “Overall, it was a great weekend for Wisconsin and we will keep working on getting better."
With this loss, Wisconsin moves to 5-4 on the year, and will begin preparing for next weekend’s USF Tournament in Tampa, Fla.
UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
