The University of Wisconsin women’s softball team is looking ahead to their last games of the season after having beat the University of Iowa two out of the three games this past weekend. The team is currently 23-17-1 overall and are in 6th place in the Big 10.
In a press conference Monday, head coach Yvette Healy said she was incredibly proud of the team’s performance this last week. As a growing team, this is one of the best weeks they’ve had as a coaching staff.
After a disappointing loss to Purdue at home, the team is keeping their spirits up as the season comes to a close. In the press conference Monday, Healy couldn’t stress enough how proud she is of how far the team has come.
“I think this team is making some really great strides,” Healy said. “From where we were at in the fall to where we are now, I think it’s been more than baby steps. It’s hard to get ranked wins, ever. This is one of those years where we’ve had some tough losses, but there’s been a lot of ranked wins.”
Going into the next 13 games, 11 of the teams are ranked in the top 50. This poses some concern with the coaching staff, but Healy is still immensely proud of what her team has already done.
Healy and the rest of the staff are always reiterating how to not get lost emotionally in those tough games. To get those ranked wins, they tell their team to keep up the work ethic and determination, as it will pay off in the end, she said.
Healy also reflected on how great the seniors have been this year. The work that Katie Christner, Macy Oswald, Taylor-Paige Stewart and Ashley Van Zeeland put in have really contributed to the success this season, she added.
Healy noted specifically on the drive of Stewart and the strides that she has made as a student athlete going into her senior season. Likewise, she also complimented the work that the younger players have been producing. In the end, she commented on the need for consistency.
“We went from really struggling last year to having great moments of greatness this year,” Healy said. “Of course every coach would like to be more consistent. We’ll have a big win, and then we’ll have a tough loss.”
With most of the season being played on the road, the team needs to take advantage of the remaining games they have left to be played at Goodman Diamond, as Healy commented on how much better the team plays when there are fans cheering the team on.
The next game is a double header against North Dakota State on Wednesday, and a three game series against Illinois follows on Friday. The next 10 games for the Badgers will be played at home at Goodman Diamond.
“If we could see more consistency that would be great,” Healy said. “But we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
