Following a pair of defeats in Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Wisconsin Badgers remain winless in conference play at 0-8.
Wisconsin (10-24) lost a heartbreaking first game 1-0, and that disappointment may have spilt over into the second game, in which UW was thoroughly beaten 14-1.
“Some of us went up there already defeated in the second game,” senior starter Letty Olivarez said, after picking up her 17th and 18th losses on the season. “Instead of just playing our game we were trying too hard… and there was pressure to get things done.”
Something that remains consistent for the Badgers this year was wasting a solid effort by Olivarez, who has a record of 6-18, despite an earned run average of 3.76. The team has only scored nine runs in Olivarez’s last 30 innings of work.
With seven of those coming against lowly South Dakota State (10-26).
When asked about her lack of run support, she reluctantly let out a smile but admitted some dissatisfaction.
“It’s pretty tough. I thought we would come out with the win, we only allowed one run,” commented Olivarez. “I thought I did well, it sucks because we’re not always going to have our hitting, but it’s just one of those games where I wish we did.”
To waste such a tremendous start frustrates not only the Olivarez, but the rest of the team as well.
Olivarez, who had one of her best outings of the year in the first game, started the second game before being replaced by freshman Meghan McIntosh in the second inning.
However, both McIntosh and her replacement Kristyn Hansen proved ineffective, and Olivarez was forced to come back out and finish the last two innings.
“It’s really frustrating. Letty pitched one of her best games, she was amazing,” said freshman first basemen Molly Spence. “As an offense, we just couldn’t help her out, [and] that’s disappointing because when she’s pitching such a good game we wanna be able to help her out. It’s hard, but we tried our best.”
Unable to do much against a formidable Iowa lineup, both McIntosh and Hansen struggled to record outs.
As a result, Olivarez went back out there in the fourth inning, despite her fatigue from the first game.
“I told them I was ready at the beginning of the game, but it was more out of necessity,” added Olivarez. “Kristyn and Meghan needed me more than anything, I couldn’t leave them in there to hang to dry.”
Olivarez gave up only two hits and one run in the first game, and matched a season high with 10 strikeouts. The run, which scored in the third inning came on a hit that never left the infield.
“It’s slightly frustrating, but I put a lot of it on myself, if I wouldn’t have gave up that one run, we would have had more [chances]” said Olivarez. “It’s a tough situation, but it’s frustrating for everyone.”
She also pointed towards this team’s strong chemistry and camaraderie as a huge reason why she continues to play so hard for the team, even in the face of yet another losing season.
“I usually try to keep a good positive attitude, so I don’t really let that affect me because I have to be there for the rest of the girls,” commented Olivarez. “I just try to be strong for them.”
The Badgers continue to look for runs, having only manufactured two in their last 36 innings in conference play.
Spence, who leads the team in five major offensive categories but has struggled in conference play, shared the frustration of the team, but maintains the team does not lack the ability to get it done.
“We all have the fight in us, sometimes it doesn’t come out,” said Spence. “We all have that mentality, we all want to win games.”
Scoring early has been a strong indicator if the team will win, as the team is 9-4 when scoring first, but has a 1-20 record when the opposing team crosses home plate before they do.
Although she had not heard of the statistic prior to me telling her, Spence agreed that the team thrives off scoring early.
“We just needed one person to spark it in the beginning,” Spence said. “[Today], it just didn’t happen.”
