It was supposed to be the day Wisconsin finally played its first home game of the 2010 season. But the weather Wednesday forced the Badgers to wait.

The UW softball team was slated to make its home debut yesterday in a doubleheader against South Dakota State. Instead, rain forced both contests to be postponed shortly before the scheduled start time of the first game.

Madison was hit with a three-day storm that pounded Goodman Diamond with rain and forced game officials to reschedule the games for a later date.

As a result of the delay, the Badgers will be playing a lot of softball over the next few days, with their regularly scheduled games against Penn State to be played Saturday and Sunday, and the doubleheader against the Jackrabbits will be replaced with one game Thursday and another Sunday following the Penn State game.

It was yet another weather-related bad break for the Badgers, as they have plenty of experience with rain delays so far this season. Wisconsin had five games cancelled in tournaments earlier in the year.

The final three games at the Gaucho Classic in late February were called due to rain, as were the final two in the San Diego Classic in early March.

Barring an unexpected storm or the inability to prepare the field, the team should make its home debut Thursday at 1 p.m.

It is a home game that has been a long time coming for Wisconsin. The Badgers have already played in 28 games, traveling to five tournaments in four states before playing four other two-game road series.

If Thursday’s game goes according to plan, it should be nice for the team to finally play in a familiar setting and in front of their home fans.