After 35 straight road games, the Wisconsin softball team
will finally play their home opener Wednesday afternoon at Goodman Diamond.
Hosting the University of Chicago-Loyola for a double header, the Badgers are
just glad to finally be at home.

“It feels good, because we haven’t been on our field since
the fall,” senior Lynn Anderson said. “It is exciting because a bunch of
parents are going to be there, and it is always fun to play in front of your
home crowd.”

“It is really exciting to finally be home,” junior Theresa
Boruta added. “My parents are coming up, which is cool, and hopefully we can
get a couple of wins.”

UW (10-25) opened the Big Ten season last weekend and was
swept by both Northwestern and Michigan State. The Badgers have had trouble
putting together consistent performances this season and find themselves mired
in another funk.

“We are in a little bit of a slump, but we can’t let it get
to us,” Boruta said. “You can’t let it get to you because these games really
are anybody’s games. We can’t think, ‘Well, we have lost the first four, so
there is nothing to look forward to’ when there is so much to look forward to.
We just have to remain optimistic, and we will snap out of it.”

Part of the reason for the recent slump can be attributed to
a lack of offensive production. In the past four games, UW was shut out twice
and only scored five runs total. On the season, only two Badgers are hitting
above .250.

To have success Wednesday, Wisconsin must figure out how to
hit Loyola ace sophomore Amy Solava, who boasts a 2.96 ERA.

“The key to scoring more runs is execution,” Boruta said.
“When one runner gets on, we need to move her over and then have someone bring
her in with an RBI. We need to do simple things like getting bunts down, and we
have to execute the fundamentals and the basics.”

Loyola, on the other hand, is on a tear offensively and has
scored 29 runs in its past four games. It is led by sophomores Ellen Kresl and
Angie Funston, who are batting .394 and .356 respectively.

“We have to come in aggressive and keep the ball down,”
sophomore pitcher Letty Olivarez said. “Obviously I gave up a few home runs
last weekend because I let the ball get up in the strike zone. If you keep the
ball down, even if they hit it hard, it isn’t going to be a home run.”

Some of the players feel that slumps happen when everyone on
the team is too tight. As a result, Boruta has made it her mission to loosen
everyone up.

“Quite frankly I just like to lighten the mood,” Boruta
said. “I am the loudest person on the team, but I think if we take ourselves
too seriously we will put too much pressure on every game, and then we will
never get through it. I tell all the girls to have fun and joke around, because
that is why we first started playing this game.”