SPORTS
Softball heads down south
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Friday, March 1, 2002
After winning the Silver Bracket consolation championship in the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic last weekend, the UW softball team looks to find more success at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The Badgers started last weekend strong as they defeated No. 18 Alabama 2-1 and Utah 3-0.
The team fared just the opposite Saturday as the day before, losing to No.4 Oklahoma 4-3 and to No.6 Washington 2-0.
Sunday proved to be yet another change of momentum for the Badgers as they first defeated Big Ten rival Penn State and then moved on to the Silver Bracket consolation championship.
Once again the Badgers faced the No. 4 team in the nation, Oklahoma. The Sooners took control of the game in the first inning and scored one run off of a pair of doubles.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth inning that Diana Consolmagno hit the game-tying RBI, allowing Anna Jones to even the game at 1-1. One inning later Mandy Liles scored the game-winning run with Erin Barnharst sending her home.
Junior Andrea Kirchberg pitched for the Badgers, allowing only four hits and striking out nine batters.
“I think you learn about a team more and you understand them better the second time you play them,” head coach Karen Gallagher said. “Andrea threw a heck of a game. She threw one of the best games I have seen her throw.”
Co-captain Consolmagno attributes the success to good team unity and concentration.
“We stayed up the whole game,” Consolmagno said. “The second Oklahoma game everybody was in it, and everybody wanted it and we got it.”
UW (7-4 overall) came out of the tournament extremely proud of the outcome of the weekend.
“It was an awesome performance,” Gallagher said. “We really had great pitching from Andrea and Katie. We played great defense and we had timely hitting — you can’t ask for anything more than that. I am pretty pleased about our performance, and I hope we can continue the journey we are on.”
Not only did the team gain valuable experience, but they also learned a lot about their own mental toughness.
“This was a very mentally challenging tournament because there wasn’t an easy game there,” Gallagher said.
“Every game we went into we really had to go to battle. These kids just showed a lot of mental resilience. Each game went down to the wire and sometimes the last pitch. These games prepare us for down the road. These games prepare us for the pressure situations whether it is the Big Ten Tournament or a big game or post tournament time. They just don’t give up; they play with a never-die attitude.”
This coming weekend, as the Badgers travel to Chattanooga, the team’s focus will change. Instead of playing the underdog role against ranked teams, UW looks to be the big fish in the little pond. Friday the team will face Baylor and Arkansas, Saturday Tennessee Tech and Virginia Tech, and Sunday Illinois and tournament host Chattanooga.
“We are probably going into this tournament being the toughest team there,” Gallagher said.
“We want to go down there and show them that we are the best team there. I would like to win this tournament. We haven’t won a first-place trophy, and winning one would be another first for this program. We are capable of winning all our games if we set our minds to it and play our own game and stay consistent.”
It is no secret the Badgers are setting their sights high and will not settle for anything less.
“We want to win the tournament; we want to go 6-0, and I think we are capable of doing it,” said Consolmagno.
