[media-credit name=’Jill Peter / The Badger Herald’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

From the outset of each softball game Wednesday afternoon, Wisconsin’s outlook for remaining third in the Big Ten appeared rather bleak. Northwestern struck first in the opening inning of both affairs. It twice looked as if Wisconsin might drop another home game, but each time the Badgers settled in and each time they found themselves walking off Goodman Diamond victorious.

The pair of wins vaulted Wisconsin (35-9, 12-5 Big Ten) a few inches closer to second place – currently held by Nebraska – and a few inches further from Northwestern (25-18, 9-7), who stood in fourth place before dropping to sixth with the pair of losses.

With a total of just 10 runs scored through the two games, it was clear that either great pitching was plentiful or great hitting was lacking. In the end, it was a combination of the two.

Badgers’ pitchers settle in after shaky starts

It didn’t take long for Northwestern to scare Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon. With junior ace Cassandra Darrah toeing the rubber for the Badgers, the ever-potent Wildcat offense tabbed a quick run on the scoreboard when leadoff speedster Kristin Scharkey started the game with a triple and Mari Majam followed with a hit of her own.

It was nothing new for the Wildcats, who came in averaging nearly 10 runs per game throughout their then-five game winning streak. It was nothing new to Wisconsin either.

“I think they had lit us up for 10 or 15 hits a game the last couple of years,” UW head coach Yvette Healy said.

She became quickly impressed as Northwestern would tally just two more hits the entire game. Darrah settled in after a long first inning of work and kept Northwestern scoreless for the remaining six innings, earning her 20th win this season.

The same script unfolded in the second game of the doubleheader as the Northwestern offense jumped out to a quick start once more.

Wisconsin’s Game 2 starter Meghan McIntosh had trouble finding her spots within the strike zone in the first frame as Scharkey was on again, this time with a leadoff walk and stolen base. She advanced to third on what originally looked like an out, but was actually ruled an illegal pitch when McIntosh’s drag foot lost contact with the ground.

Seconds later, the UW senior took the mound for the redo and had trouble finding the zone, walking the next batter. An ensuing hit and error allowed two Wildcats to plate runs, putting the Badgers in an early hole once again.

“I think her tempo was a little off in that first inning,” pitching coach Tracie Adix said. “I think the illegal pitch kind of flustered her a little bit … I think that kind of gets to her a bit, then you get concerned of [the umpires] watching you constantly and you’re not necessarily focusing on the pitch.”

But as was the theme for the day, McIntosh settled into a groove of her own. Like Darrah, McIntosh only allowed a pair of hits after the first inning, going the distance like her teammate, allowing just the two runs and striking out six Northwestern batters.

“I just wasn’t hitting my spots in the first inning,” McIntosh said. “Then I adjusted with coming back and just letting the defense work … If they put the ball in play, then they put the ball in play. The defense behind me was great today.”

Meanwhile, the Wildcat pitchers were settling in themselves. Northwestern’s seven hits throughout the day came few and far between, but Wisconsin’s total of just eight meant the Badgers had to do a lot with a little in order to sweep the doubleheader.

Timely hitting continues to propel UW

After a weekend that saw Wisconsin win a pair of thrilling games in the Ohio State series, the Badgers needed a little more magic to top Northwestern, trailing by two runs in the bottom of the third.

The Wildcats had their infield pulled in, helping Mary Massei’s groundball squeak through the infield for a single. Just a few pitches later, senior  Whitney Massey tied the game with a wind-aided fly ball that stretched over the left-centerfield fence. Just an inning later, with the score still tied, the timing was perfect for another climatic Wisconsin strike.

Any type of hit would have been timely for senior first baseman Shannel Blackshear, who entered Game 2 having gone 0-for-11 in the Badgers’ last four games. With a pitch tailored toward her inside corner, Blackshear broke her slump with a rocketed line drive double to the base of the outfield fence.

She may have hustled her hardest to reach second base on the lightning double, but she could take her time reaching home once junior Michelle Mueller followed with her second home run of the day – this one putting the Badgers up for good, 4-2.

It was another timely hit from another Badger player. Last weekend, it was Massei and Massey; Wednesday, it was Mueller.

“The team has been doing a good job of coming through, and multiple people have,” Healy said. “Everybody is just staying positive and trying to get runners on base and give us a chance, so that we can come through with a bit hit.”