The Wisconsin Badgers softball team took a road trip Wednesday to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a doubleheader, silencing the Gophers in the first game before losing the second.
Magnanimo tosses a no-hitter
After walking the first batter, starting pitcher Tessa Magnanimo retired the next 20 through a total of 83 pitches, winning the Badgers’ first no-hitter of the season 3-0. On top of Magnanimo’s six strikeouts, the rest of the defense had her back, completing an errorless game.
Relief pitcher Hilary Blomberg broke the ice for the Badgers in the third with a two-run RBI double. The scoring took a break until infielder Alivia Bark scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh.
Third baseman Skylar Sirdashney dove for the ball in the bottom of the seventh, securing the no-hitter and ensuring Magnanimo threw seven scoreless innings.
Splitting the DH
The adrenaline of winning their first game against Minnesota since 2016 wasn’t enough to prevent a 7-3 loss hours later. The Golden Gophers went up 3-0 in game two by the bottom of the second, with one run in the first inning and two in the second off starter Shelby Jacobson.
Wisconsin tied the game in the fourth at 3-3. The Badgers’ first run was an RBI single from outfielder Brooke Kuffel that brought home infielder Grace O’Brien, who hustled home from second. The next run came from outfielder Kate Linkletter, who raced home from third after a dropped third strike to continue on the streak of speed. The final Badger run of the inning and game was Bark’s sacrifice bunt that drove Kuffel home.
While the scoring ended for the Badgers, the Golden Gophers made a comeback. They scored three more runs in the bottom frame, extending their lead to 6-3 after a three-run slam. Jacobson allowed one more run in the fifth before Blomberg came in from the bullpen, cutting the game at 7-3.
Wisconsin improved their record to .400 and will head back home to take on Penn State on April 19-21 at Goodman Softball Complex.
