It was a record day for the Badgers as Molly Spence set the single-game RBI record with seven, Jen Krueger set the single-season steals record for UW with 21 and pitcher Letty Olivarez tied the single-game strikeout record with 17.
They set these records in a doubleheader sweep over South Dakota; they won 5-1 in the first game with Olivarez’s dominating start and 10-2 in the second game thanks to seven runs from Spence’s bat, four coming on a fifth-inning grand slam.
Krueger broke out of a season-long slump, going 3-for-4 with a walk, scoring three runs and stealing two bases, breaking a 13-year record. Krueger is 21-of-25 on steal attempts this season and credits her efficiency to a new slide she developed.
“Last year I didn’t slide head first, this year I do,” she said. “It’s helped a lot, a lot, a lot. I get there a lot faster.”
Krueger reached base in four of her five attempts and scored three times.
But she is only hitting .239, and the team will need her on the bases far more often if they want to compete in a tougher stretch of games coming up against Big Ten competition. Even though she hasn’t reached base very often this year, she still is third on the team in runs (19), speaking to her speed and the productivity of the hitters behind her.
“It’s a big step for us because Jen’s our fastest player, and having her on base gives us a lot of advantage because we can get her to second, and anything we get out of the infield she’ll pretty much score so it’s a big deal for us,” infielder Shannel Blackshear said.
Olivarez, a senior, has been terrific for the team this year and has been the consummate leader for the team, which showed today.
She struck out the side in three separate innings, gave up only four hits and didn’t walk a batter, though she did concede a solo home to South Dakota’s best hitter. Olivarez went seven strong to pick up the win, taking her record to 9-20 and dropping her ERA to 3.17. She credits her great game to the spin she was able to put on the ball Wednesday.
“I went out there like I usually do. As the game went on, I focused on spinning the ball a lot more and trying to make it jump,” Olivarez said. “I don’t know. I was just kept telling myself that I wanted to take each person as a challenge, and we were working keeping the ball on the outside like I’ve been doing, and just getting my ball to spin.”
Spence was impressed by her pitcher’s performance.
“Letty threw great,” Spence said. “Letty was on point today. Every pitch was working for her, and she looked great, and she had the confidence out there. She gave up that one home run, but she bounced back really well and continued to fight through the whole game.”
Olivarez, though, didn’t even realize how well she had pitched or how many strikeouts she had.
“I was really excited. I didn’t know that I had that many strikeouts,” Olivarez said. “It’s kind of surprising to know that something like that happened for me, but I’ll always remember it.”
