Following a double header sweep against the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix Tuesday, UW-Madison softball will finish up its home stand against Northwestern (20-23 overall, 10-7 Big Ten) in a three-game series.
The series will be the last home series for Wisconsin, who currently sits at seventh in the Big Ten standings, as they prepare for the Big Ten Tournament in May.
Last Time Out
Wisconsin (26-19-1 overall, 9-7-1 Big Ten) is coming off convincing wins over UW-Green Bay, which featured two mercy rule endings. The wins proved to be a confidence booster after a series loss to Illinois the previous weekend. The Badgers saw their bats come alive — scoring 16 runs in two games — and saw a phenomenal pitching performance from Taylor-Paige Stewart, who allowed only two hits and no runs in a total of eight innings between both games.
Keys to Success
Before the double header against UW-Green Bay, the Badgers were averaging 2.4 runs in their previous five games, but still managed to go 2-3 in that span due to the fact that they were only allowing 2.4 runs per game in the same five games. If Wisconsin can continue their effective pitching and build off of offensive slugfests much like the games against UW-Green Bay, they will find themselves in a good position this weekend.
Player to Watch: Andrea Filler
The Wildcats scored 19 runs in their last two games and are currently riding a four-game winning streak. A large portion of that has been from their senior shortstop, Andrea Filler. Filler drove in seven runs in Northwestern’s winning streak and is batting .354 on the year with 14 home runs, which could pose a problem to Wisconsin pitching that has surrendered 28 long balls this season.
Wisconsin has struggled at home this season only posting a 6-6-1 record, but momentum from the double header sweep could be enough to help them finish over .500 at home. The first game of this 2016 home finale three-game series is set for Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Goodman Softball Complex.
