[media-credit name=’UW Athletic Communications’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Badger softball team opens up Big Ten play this weekend at home against a couple of tough Big Ten opponents. Wisconsin’s Goodman Diamond will play host to Ohio State (16-8) Friday and Saturday and a doubleheader against Penn State (18-11) Sunday.

Wisconsin is coming off a tough spring break in which the team went 3-6 in the two tournaments it played in. The Badgers finished the break on the right note, however, winning their last game against Siena by a score of 8-5.

Wisconsin not only wants to improve its season record this year, but they would also like to improve on their Big Ten record of a season ago. After beginning the year 23-14, the Badgers were a disappointing 6-14 in conference play and finished just one game above .500, missing the playoffs once again.

This year, having lost to graduation only their starting left fielder, Diana Consolmagno, the Badgers are an improved squad. Despite the expectations, the Badgers haven’t seen results. The team has struggled in the field, committing 34 team errors and sinking to the next-to-last position in the Big Ten in fielding percentage.

“Now that we’re into the Big Ten, we kind of all know each other’s weaknesses, and you try to exploit them as much as you can,” said head coach Karen Gallagher. “So that [defense] is something we just need to work on, and hopefully the kids step up.”

The Badgers will have to pick up the defense against the Buckeyes this weekend if they hope to come away with some wins. Ohio State has emerged this season as an offensive powerhouse, leading the Big Ten in team batting average (.323), on base percentage (.409) and triples (12). Their 21 home runs may only be good for fourth in the conference, but their .512 slugging percentage is just second behind conference powerhouse Michigan.

The Buckeye offense is led by Meghan Schwab, whose .443 batting average and .886 slugging percentage are tops in the Big Ten. She also has 7 home runs and 28 RBI to add to her impressive stat list this season.

Joining Schwab is double-threat and last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week Jamee Juarez. Juarez lit it up two weeks ago at the Buckeye Invitational, hitting .556 in that tournament, and is currently hitting at a .383 clip. On the mound Juarez has been equally tough to hit against, posting a 1.85 ERA.

The Buckeyes’ weakness, just as the Badgers, is their defense. Ohio State has fielded only slightly better than Wisconsin this season with a .951 fielding percentage, and they have tallied the same number of errors.

From Penn State, the Badgers can expect to see some of the best pitching they have had all season. Junior Missy Beseres just pitched her second career perfect game Wednesday night and has been lights out all season long, with a 1.20 ERA, 129 strikeouts and a 9-6 record. Behind her, freshman Ashley Esparza has held her own on the mound, throwing for a 1.71 ERA and holding opponents to a .186 batting average.

Penn State can also hit the ball, though with very little power. The Nittany Lions are third in the conference with a team batting average of .302, but they have only 11 home runs. They are led by Jen Acunto, who has hit for an average of .416 this season with 21 RBI and 4 homers. Esparza, who can hit as well as pitch, is close behind with a .400 average.

Leading the offensive charge into conference play this weekend for the Badgers will be catcher and third baseman Boo Gillette. Gillette has come on strong this season, hitting .369 with 14 RBI and 4 home runs. At shortstop, Kris Zacher has battled back from an early season injury to hit .375, with 4 dingers. Possibly the biggest surprise of the season though, has been the play of freshman Ricci Robben. Robben has knocked in 12 runs and hit 3 homers, playing every game so far this season.

The Badgers have also seen solid hurling from their pitching corps. Eden Brock leads the team with a 2.03 ERA and a 7-4 record, while teammate Katie Layne is close behind with an earned run average of 2.30.

Even with a sub par non-conference season, the Badgers can still make the playoffs with a strong showing in the Big Ten. They will have to prove themselves this weekend against two tough conference opponents who will also be out to show people what they’ve got.