The offense came early and often for the Wisconsin softball team last night against Illinois-Chicago. The Badgers jumped on UIC starting pitcher Mercedes Lovato for four runs in the first inning and lit up the scoreboard in every inning the rest of the way in an 11-0 shellacking of the Flames that could have been much worse.
The game was ended after 4 1/2 innings of play, as the Badgers were up by more than eight runs, qualifying them for a run-rule victory.
Wednesday's game was, at least for UW, a sharp contrast from last week's contest at UIC. In that game, UW was only able to tally two runs on five hits. In the first inning alone Wednesday, UW pushed four runs across, batted around the order, and left the bases loaded.
"We took advantage of their mistakes, and that's something we've really been struggling with," UW head coach Chandelle Schulte said.
Sophomore outfielder Katie Hnatyk got the offensive barrage going, slamming the first pitch she saw from Lovato over the wall in left-center field for a two run homerun. The towering shot was a sign of things to come. Hnatyk blasted another monster homerun to put an emphatic ending to the Badger scoring.
"When pitchers make mistakes, she is able to capitalize on them and she hits it pretty far," second baseman Theresa Boruta said, joking, "I think the second one cleared the second fence out there." The second fence Boruta was referring is some 300 feet beyond the outfield wall.
Schulte wasn't too surprised by Hnatyk's five RBI performance, "She did well in batting practice, so you could kind of see it coming," Schulte said.
A key to the offensive explosion was patience at the plate. UW drew eight walks and a hit by pitch, giving plenty of RBI opportunities to the rest of the line-up.
The middle of the order was especially patient, as the four and five hitters — Joey Daniels and Alexis Garcia — drew three walks apiece. Daniels registered a 0-1 day, but still came around to score twice, and Garcia scored once and picked up an RBI when she walked with the bases loaded in the third inning. Garcia also collected an RBI double in the second.
The success could be at least partially attributed to a good scouting report on the Flames' pitchers.
"They said she predominately throws screwballs, so I backed off the plate and the first pitch was there so I took advantage of it," Boruta said of her second inning double.
When Schulte went to her bench late in the game, the offense didn't miss a beat. Freshman Stephanie Doyle had only 35 at-bats on the year and hadn't recorded a hit since March 4, but when called upon the pinch hit for Lynn Anderson in the fourth, she lined an RBI single to right field. The RBI was the first of her career.
"It was such a relief to finally get up there," Doyle said. "[Schulte] keeps giving me chances and I finally came through [for the team].
"I'm back," Doyle said when asked what she was thinking after her single. "Finally after a season of not getting it done, I finally have my confidence back."
According to Schulte, confidence was Doyle's problem. "She just needs confidence, so we try and get her into situations where [she can gain confidence]. She's a great hitter, but she has struggled with live pitching. Hopefully this can do something for her."
Schulte sent another pinch hitter up after Doyle reached. Super-sub Liz Klemp singled and eventually came around to score.
All told, UW sent at least seven players to the plate in each of their four offensive innings, and 21 of 33 batters who came to the plate reached base, 11 by way of a base hit. Even with this success, UW stranded 10 runners on base.
Moving on Up: Hnatyk's two dingers gave her nine for the year and 18 for her UW career, moving her into third place on the UW career home run list. She is only two behind the all-time mark held by Boo Gillette and Kris Zacher, and figures to eventually become the most prolific homerun hitter in school history.
No Sweat: After two years of not getting an at-bat, Klemp has worked herself into the role of go-to pinch hitter. She has appeared in 25 games, coming as a pinch hitter in each one. Her single in the fourth raised her season average to .350.
