SPORTS
Big Ten powerhouses on deck for Schulte, UW softball
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Also by Ben Voelkel:
- Rocky trip Outback for UW (January 1, 2008)
Related Stories:
- Badgers make push for Big Ten Tournament (May 4, 2007)
- Badgers host Spartans in Big Ten matchup (April 15, 2005)
- Homecoming will be sweet for road-weary Wisconsin (April 7, 2006)
- UW to face red-hot Flames (April 19, 2006)
- Michigan up, Michigan State on deck (April 11, 2003)
by Ben Voelkel
Friday, April 14, 2006
Scoring runs will be at a premium for the Badgers this weekend, as Wisconsin (16-15, 2-4 Big Ten) welcomes two of the top three pitching staffs in the conference to Goodman Diamond.
Weekend play begins today with a game against Michigan State at 6 p.m. The Badgers and Spartans will hook up again Saturday at noon, followed by a UW doubleheader against No. 12 Michigan scheduled to start noon on Sunday.
Wisconsin, which struggled to score runs last weekend against Big Ten cellar-dweller Minnesota and lowly North Dakota State, will need to capitalize on opportunities when presented with them — something UW has failed to do recently — if they are to be successful this weekend.
UW head coach Chandelle Schulte believes the reason for the Badgers' struggles has been a passive attitude towards the game.
"It's not just offense, it's also defense," Schulte said of the team's approach. "It's a whole attitude of playing the game."
"Certain people are up there in situations looking for a walk when they should be looking to get a hit. It's called offense for a reason, we need to be offensive," Schulte went on to explain.
It is that type of passive approach that could very well doom the Badgers this weekend.
MSU and UM carry staff ERAs of 1.50 and 1.04, respectively.
Michigan State (28-12, 6-0) enters play having won 12 of its last 14 games. They are led on the pitcher's mound by the three-headed pitching monster of Lesley Noel, Megan Hair, and Rachel Turney. The trio has combined to post a 1.00 ERA in conference play, along with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 2:1.
Offensively, MSU is no slouch, either. The Spartans lead the Big Ten in batting with a .286 average. When UW is in the field, the Badger defense will be seeing double, as MSU is lead offensively by twin sisters Nikki and Traci Nicosia. The sophomores carry the two highest batting averages amongst MSU's regulars and, according to Schulte, will be looking to run whenever they get on base.
Schulte and assistant coach Barb Sherwood know all about the Nicosia twins, as each recruited the twins out of Plantation, Fla. At the time, Sherwood was an assistant at Troy University and Schulte was the head coach at College of Charleston. The twins wanted to play together — something Schulte couldn't offer — and wound up at MSU.
The doubleheader against defending national champion Michigan should bring a new level of excitement to Goodman Diamond. UW will have its hands full, but historically have held their own against defending champions, going 1-2.
UM (25-10, 5-1) struggled somewhat early in the season, but they have since regained their swagger and had won 12 consecutive games before losing the second game of a doubleheader to Purdue last Sunday. The Wolverines will play a two-game series against Iowa on Friday and Saturday before coming to Madison.
Schulte and her players have made it no secret that playing UM is something more than a regular game.
"You don't always get [to play a national champion]," Schulte said. "I think they want to come out and show Michigan that Wisconsin can play some softball."
Outfielder Katie Hnatyk echoed Schulte's sentiments, "There definitely is some extra excitement, because they are the national champions. Hopefully, going out and playing well against them and maybe even pulling off an upset would be a huge boost to us."
The upset-minded Badgers will have to contend with UM's version of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" in Jennie Ritter and Lorilyn Wilson. The two have combined for an ERA of just over 1.00 and opponents are hitting a measly .149 against them. Ritter hasn't tasted defeat in nearly a month.
Schulte, who grew up in Michigan a fan of "Big Blue", thinks the Badgers stand a chance in the batters box, however.
"We tend to hit good pitching," Schulte said. "The thing with those teams is they are only going to make one mistake [per] at-bat. If we take advantage of that, we'll be successful; if not, they will control us."
