Following two consecutive narrow defeats to Illinois over the weekend, the Wisconsin softball team had to put their shot at redemption on hold until the weekend, after weather concerns cancelled Tuesday’s home doubleheader against Western Illinois.
In an attempt to ascend from the bottom of the Big Ten standings, Wisconsin (19-25, 3-11 Big Ten) will host power-heavy Nebraska (26-19, 12-5 Big Ten) in a three-game weekend series.
For Wisconsin to make a charge and better position themselves for a deep run in the upcoming Big Ten tournament, it will need an offensive jumpstart to help end their recent inconsistencies at the plate.
In the past 12 games, the Badgers managed to score 10 runs or more in three of their victories. In their defeats, however, they failed to bring home more than five runs on four different occasions.
Well aware of Nebraska’s offensive threats, Wisconsin head coach Yvette Healy emphasized the need for power hitting against the high-scoring competition this season.
“People are scoring six plus runs a game in the Big Ten right now, which is crazy, I think, if you look at numbers,” Healy said. “It used to be a two-to-one ball game world, and now you’ve got to score six, eight, 10 runs to win a game, and you’ve got to hit the long ball, and that’s something that we’re committed to.”
Certainly not helping the cause for Wisconsin’s sporadic offense has been the lack of a power-hitting game. In their 44 games this season, the Badgers have only hit seven home runs combined with a measly .382 slugging percentage. While Wisconsin boasts six players hitting .300 or higher to complement a team on-base percentage of .403, the lack of extra base hits has left the offense prone to stranding base runners and leaving scoring opportunities off the board.
On the contrary, Nebraska’s top power hitter alone, Kiki Stokes, already has 10 home runs. Side-by-side with fellow slugger Marjani Knighten, the team’s leading hitter with a .439 batting average, the duo anchor a team with a formidable offensive lineup and a team-slugging percentage of .524.
Nebraska’s power-hitting prowess combined with Wisconsin’s vulnerability to the long ball (41 home runs allowed this season), could turn this weekend’s series into a slugfest for the Huskers if the Badgers’ pitching staff is off their game.
Wisconsin junior Taylor-Paige Stewart is the probable starter for game one Friday. Appearing in 27 of 44 games, Stewart has thrown 52 percent of the team’s total innings of the season. While Stewart was rattled to the tune of 12 runs in her previous road outing, she has thrived at Goodman Diamond recently, including a two-run, 11-strikeout performance against Valparaiso earlier in the month.
Likely taking the mound against the Badgers in game one will be Emily Lockman, who has delivered a season very similar to Wisconsin’s Stewart up to this point. Taking control as the team’s workhorse, Lockman has pitched over half of the Huskers’ total innings. Despite racking up 12 losses, she has consistently done enough to support her offense and keep her team in games this season, tallying 14 victories in the process.
If the Badgers can find a way out of their season-long power slump, Nebraska could be vulnerable, being a team that has given up 45 long balls already this season. If UW’s leading hitter Maria Van Abel (.393) and the rest of the starting lineup can continue to get on base consistently, opportunities to produce a game-changing home run should be plenty for Wisconsin this weekend.
Freshman Kelsey Jenkins could provide major problems for the Huskers’ pitching staff, as she finds herself in the middle of an eight-game hitting streak. In the Illinois series alone, she totaled seven hits in three games, and has raised her average up to a respectable .322 on the season.
Healy believes it is all coming together for Jenkins, whose plate discipline has allowed her to reach major improvements at the plate.
“She is really coming along,” Healy said. “Kelsey has been a kid that has benefited from that, but now she is starting to swing the bat as well.”
The three-game series will begin Friday at 5 p.m. from Goodman Diamond. Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. before the series finale starts Sunday at noon.
