The Wisconsin Badgers softball team (28-16) defeated out-of-conference North Dakota State on Wednesday in two mercy-ruling games to bring the win percentage to .619, outscoring their opponents 18-2.
Starting with a shutout
The afternoon started out slow with no score until the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore infielder Alivia Bark doubled to score the first run of the inning, igniting the fire within Wisconsin’s offense.
Hilary Blomberg and Kendra Lewis continued their strong seasons, each hitting a single to send a runner home to up the score 3-0. But Bark wasn’t done at the plate, hitting a single for Kate Linketter to slide home in the fourth inning.
Molly Schlosser followed Bark’s RBI single with her own and Brooke Kuffel acted right after, hitting a two-RBI single for an 8-0 lead. The game ended in five innings due to the mercy rule.
Gabi Salo kept consistent at the mound, throwing the whole game and shutting out the visiting team.
Ending with a bang
Graduate student Molly Jacobson started at the mound for game two, which started a bit quicker than the first. Senior infielder Ellie Hubbard homered for two runs at the bottom of the second to start the Badgers off. North Dakota started their fight back in the third inning, but could only get one run home before Schlosser’s diving catch to end the inning.
Blomberg and Kuffel gave the Badgers some wiggle room following the Bison run to up the lead to 4-1 in the third inning. Then, Kuffel came in with a huge hit that sent the ball over the fence for three runs, matching the 8 runs scored in game one.
Wisconsin kept it rolling when sophomore infielder Danielle Lucey upped the lead to nine with a two-run hit. Lucey’s at-bat solidified the 10-1 win for Wisconsin softball in five innings for the second time that day.
This weekend, border-rival Minnesota plays at Goodman Diamond in a three-game series starting on Saturday.
