It wasn’t pretty. It might not have even been necessary. But it got the job done.
Karla Powell’s headfirst slide into first base allowed Jen Krueger to score the winning run as the University of Wisconsin softball team broke an 11-game losing streak with a walk-off win over Minnesota.
UW dropped the first game of the doubleheader before taking a 1-1 tie into the bottom of the seventh in the second game.
After two infield hits and a fielder’s choice, the Badgers had runners on second and third with two outs when Powell came up to bat. She hit a 2-2 pitch on the ground to the right side and managed to get a hand on the bag just before the throw made it there.
“I was just trying anything. We’ve just been in a slump lately… so [I] just had to dig down deep and find a way to get it through,” Powell said.
Although Powell ended the game, the true hero for the Badgers was pitcher Leah Vanevenhoven.
Coming off a tough-luck performance where she pitched all 11 innings in the Wisconsin loss to Ohio State Saturday, Vanevenhoven pitched both games of Wednesday’s doubleheader due to fellow starting pitcher Letty Olivarez dealing with flu-like symptoms.
The southpaw scattered three hits throughout the second game, the only blemish being a Sammie Howard home run in the first inning. Vanevenhoven finished the game with eight strikeouts and her fifth win of the season, as well as striking out a career-high 12 batters in the first game.
“They were swinging at my dropball a lot, and I was getting them with it a lot,” Vanevenhoven said.
Despite pitching 25 innings since Saturday, she said it got easier as she kept going.
“Surprisingly, it was [easier] — I felt really in control,” Vanevenhoven said. “Especially with my pitches and with the momentum of the game. I just kept going.”
“She took us on her back and that’s what we’ve been waiting for,” UW head coach Chandelle Schulte said. “The kid that threw against her is the strikeout leader in the nation.”
Minnesota pitcher Briana Hassett entered the series second in the nation with 355 strikeouts. She combined with Vanevenhoven to strike out 36 batters in the two games.
“Leah’s been pitching amazing. She got like 12 K’s the first game, 10 this game,” Powell said. “She’s just been on fire — everyone’s just in the zone right now. When our pitchers are on, we’re on.”
For all the excitement the Badgers (13-33) felt in finally winning another game, they did drop the first game of the doubleheader 4-0. Wisconsin managed only one hit in the loss and drew three walks.
The offense woke up in the second game, outhitting the Gophers six to three. UW put runners into scoring position in each of the first four innings, but managed only one run off of an error in the third inning.
Minnesota dropped to 23-26 overall and 6-8 in conference play. Only four Gophers got hits in the series.
The win marked the first time since April 1 that Wisconsin won a game. It was also just their second Big Ten win of the season, although they stayed in tenth place in the standings. Despite scoring just two runs in the series, it was enough for a win, and to take a load off of the team’s mind.
“The kids were like, ‘We haven’t seen you move that fast in forever,'” Schulte said of the team rushing the field following the win. “And I’m like, ‘I didn’t have a monkey on my back.’ It [was] so close. It’s just a great feeling. A really nice feeling.”
Despite how big the headfirst slide was in the win, Powell isn’t planning on making a habit of it. But if the situation calls for it, anything goes.
“You really don’t think about it when you’re running; it’s just the adrenaline is flowing,” Powell said. “Especially in that situation — bottom of the seventh and two outs — you just gotta dig deep and find it in yourself to get on base.”
