The University of Wisconsin softball team defeated the Loyola University-Chicago Ramblers in both games of a doubleheader Wednesday, taking the first game 8-0 and winning the second 2-1. Both games were ended by junior shortstop Kris Zacher on the final at bat, though in completely different scenarios.
Wisconsin was near-perfect in the opening match, in more ways than one. The Badgers bested the Ramblers 8-0 in 5 5/6 innings and were never really challenged by Loyola. Freshman pitcher Eden Brock led the way, pitching six scoreless innings while giving up only two hits, retiring the first 16 batters she faced and carrying a perfect game into the sixth inning.
The Badgers gave trouble to Loyola starter Lindsey LaChiana early and often, forcing her to throw 47 pitches in the first two innings and scoring one. Wisconsin scored when senior left fielder Diana Consolmagno drove in senior first baseman Meghann Reiss in the bottom of the second to give UW an early 1-0 lead.
The game was kept at 1-0 for the next two innings as Brock continued to dominate and Loyola’s LaChiana seemed to settle down. In the Badger half of the fifth, however, Wisconsin broke the game open with one of the wildest innings of the season.
With one out in the inning, sophomore center fielder Sam Polito sent a bunt down the first base line and reached when Loyola second baseman Tricia Oberhaus was pulled off the bag while trying to cover first. Freshman Stephanie Chinn then chopped one over the pitcher’s head, and the throw from Rambler Keilah Williams got past first baseman Allison Scanlin, and Chinn advanced on the way to second on the error.
With runners on second and third, Zacher laced a single past first base and into right field to drive in Polito. Junior catcher Boo Gillette then popped out to the catcher, but the ball was almost dropped when Loyola third baseman Natalie Martin collided with catcher Becky Marx. Marx held onto the ball, but the game was delayed seven minutes, as Martin had to be tended to after the collision.
With two outs, the Badgers then strung together four-straight hits, including a triple from junior right fielder Anastasia Miller that drove in two runs. When the dust finally settled, the Badgers had scored six runs on six hits and an error and led 7-0.
Brock’s perfect game came to an end when with one out Loyola’s Sarah Lamkin dribbled a little grounder off the end of her bat toward third base where third baseman Athena Vasquez and Zacher both slipped going for the ball. After having her perfect-game bid spoiled, Brock gave up a single to the next batter, Mia Pangere, but then recovered to keep her shutout intact.
Said Coach Karen Gallagher of Brock’s game: “We had a very good performance by Eden Brock, she just took control of the game.”
The game was then ended by way of the eight-run mercy rule, when Zacher flexed her muscles again and sent a 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall, just over the 218-foot marker for her third home run of the year and second RBI of the game.
The second game of the doubleheader again came down to strong pitching for the Badgers. Sophomore Sara Gonzales started the game in the pitcher’s circle for Wisconsin and kept the Ramblers scoreless through the first two innings. Meanwhile, in the first, Gillette knocked home Polito with a long single to center, giving Wisconsin the 1-0 lead again early on.
In the third, though, Gonzales ran into trouble, and after giving up a run-scoring double she was bailed out by her second baseman, sophomore Emily Friedman, who made a diving stab to keep the score tied at 1-1.
Junior pitcher Katie Layne relieved Gonzales in the forth and went on to baffle the Ramblers the rest of the way, pitching four scoreless innings giving up only four hits and registering five strikeouts.
The score stayed knotted at one, all the way until the seventh inning, when Zacher had her second walk-off hit of the day when she smoked a single to right center, scoring Polito from second.
On the day, pitchers Brock and Layne shined, while Zacher collected three RBI, five hits and two steals. Polito notched four hits and scored three times, and Miller had two triples with two RBI.
With the pair of victories, Wisconsin climbs to 21-17 on the year (1-3 Big Ten) and once again has momentum going into Big Ten games. Wisconsin heads to Northwestern and Michigan State for games this weekend looking to get above .500 in conference play and put itself in position to make some noise down the stretch.
