It seemed only fitting that the UW women’s softball game was called early due to the eight-run rule in the bottom of the fifth inning. The offensive firepower the Badgers brought to the diamond was obviously way too much for the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers to handle.
The only other times the team has hit better were in their 17-3 and 10-2 wins against Lipscomb in the Frost Classic and against St. Mary’s in the Capital Classic Tournament. Both games were in early March.
Kerry Hagen led the Badgers at the plate, going a perfect one for two from the plate, with three RBI and two runs scored.
“I think I did very good adjusting to the pitching. Obviously the pitching was different today than Big Ten pitching,” Hagen said. “I think as a team we made adjustments to the different kind of pitching and as a whole did very well.”
Hagen, UW’s leadoff hitter, started out the game with a hard line drive just over Loyola shortstop Natalie Martin. The next inning, Hagen blasted a long line drive down the left field line that ended up being a sac fly that allowed Meghann Reiss to score.
Hagen was not done for the day; late in the third inning, she powered a double down the left field line that was only a foot short of leaving the park. Hagen’s hit scored Sheena Pavodan and Diana Consolmagno, bringing her RBI total to three.
“Kerry did great,” head coach Karen Gallagher said. “She looked like she was having fun at the plate. It was funny, she said, ‘I think I’m gonna hit one out today ,’ and she was within a foot from doing it.”
Hagen got some help at the plate from designated hitter Sheena Padovan, who went one for two with three RBI and a run scored.
“I felt good, like I was seeing the ball and making good contact,” Padovan said.
Not only did Padovan feel good about the game, she also thinks the team is starting to hit more consistently and hopes it will continue throughout the season.
“This last weekend with Michigan, we started to get the clutch hits at the right times,” Pavodan said. “Before, we would get the hits, but they wouldn’t be at the right times. This last weekend, we started to put the hits where they needed to be, and I think we just carried it on into today . . . I hope that it carries on into the season.”
Along with the strong hitting of Hagen and Pavodan, Anna Jones contributed offensively by going one for one at the plate, drawing two walks, scoring a run and tallying an RBI.
Coach Gallagher seemed pleased with her team and felt as though they lived up to her expectations for this game.
“They looked really loose at the plate today; they hit the ball well, they were loose and relaxed,” Coach Gallagher said. “They came out here and did what they had to do. It is nice to see them hit the ball and score runs early and take some pressure off of our pitching staff. This is what I expected them to do against competition of this level.”
