The softball season swings into action today with two games in the Fiesta Bowl Classic. The five-game weekend event will be the first time the Badgers have touched a field since October. “We’re not even used to being in cleats right now,” junior pitcher Andrea Kirchberg said.
There won’t be any grace period to allow the team to get adjusted. Wisconsin will take on three ranked teams, including top-ranked and defending national champion Arizona, this weekend.
“My philosophy is to go out there and play the best and see what things we need to work on,” sixth-year head coach Karen Gallagher said.
This is the first of five road trips over the next seven weeks that the Badgers will make. Travel is a necessary evil because of the weather; the Badgers will explore the warm parts of the country with tournaments in Georgia, Tennessee, California and Florida.
“It’s tough on our kids,” Gallagher said. “We have to be mentally tougher than the next guy. Traveling is not easy.”
Fans won’t get a chance to see the team in action until Mar. 29 when Purdue comes to town for the Big 10 opener.
Seven starters return from the 2001 squad that advanced to the school’s first ever NCAA tournament. That team went 33-27 and finished sixth in the Big Ten with a 9-11 record.
Leading the group is Kirchberg. Last season she went 22-13 with 279 strikeouts and a 1.18 ERA. Those numbers were slightly down from a sensational freshman year that saw her earn third-team All-American honors.
“She is very key,” Gallagher said. “When she’s healthy and pitching — well, nobody can beat her.
“She’s one of the best in the country.”
Freshman pitcher Katie Layne will be the No. 2 pitcher and will see plenty of action as well. “If she pitches like she did against our team, she’ll go far,” Kirchberg said.
Offensively, the team will retain much of its flavor from a year ago. Sophomore Meghann Reiss and junior Anna Jones, the top two hitters from last season, are back in the lineup. Reiss, who was second-team all-Big Ten last year, led the team with a .305 batting average and 26 RBIs. She also had three home runs and 10 doubles. Jones hit .267.
In addition, junior Nicki Starry returns to her catcher position. Last season she hit three home runs.
Senior Kerry Hagen, along with sophomores Sheena Padovan and Diana Consolmagno, round out the returning starters from a year ago. These veterans — in addition to a strong freshman class headed by powerful Boo Gillette and Kristin Zacher — will add depth that didn’t exist a year ago.
“I remember having a conference with coach, and I asked her, ‘Who [is] going to be on the field? Who are we going to put in the lineup?’ Everybody is so good,” Kirchberg said.
The added offense should boost run production, which was a problem at times last season, according to Kirchberg.
“In terms of talent, we have our best team ever,” Gallagher said.
