Badgers back on the road
By Adam Nelson, Sports Writer
While most students will head home this weekend for Easter, the UW women’s softball team is going back out on the road for doubleheaders against both Northwestern and Michigan State.
The Badgers opened up the home portion of their schedule Tuesday after a month and half and 35 games on the road. They fell to the Illinois-Chicago Flames 3-4 in 10 innings. The Badgers’ overall record fell to 19 wins and 17 losses.
Wisconsin opened up Big Ten conference play last weekend, dropping two close games at Penn State and splitting a double header with Ohio State.
Yet head coach Karen Gallagher remains optimistic about the team’s performance so far this season.
“I feel like we can compete with any team in the Big Ten at this point,” she said. “I feel good about where we are at. Yes, 19 and 16 isn’t the best record. I think we could easily be at 28 and 12 or so at this point”
With their 19 wins this season, the Badgers have already equaled their win total from last season, when they went 19-26. With their Big Ten record now sitting at 1-3, however, the Badgers realize the need to have a strong showing this weekend on the road to remain competitive in the conference race.
The Badgers will begin the weekend facing Northwestern in Evanston Friday afternoon, and will then play the Wildcats again Saturday afternoon. Northwestern comes into the two game set in a similar spot as the Badgers.
The Wildcats, 16-11 overall, have opened conference play with a 1-3 record, splitting a doubleheader with Illinois and getting swept by Iowa last weekend.
The Wildcats have been led by the play of outfielder Erin Mobley, who has posted a .375 batting average in addition to 12 RBI and 16 runs. The Badgers will also face a solid Northwestern pitching staff led by the duo of Courtnay Foster and Eileen Canney. The two have combined for a 2.39 ERA and 217 strikeouts.
After Friday and Saturday’s games, the Badgers will travel to East Lansing for a doubleheader Easter Sunday with the Spartans. The Spartans, 19-13 overall, currently stand even with the Badgers at 1-3 in Big Ten play. Like Northwestern, the Spartans were swept by Iowa in two games and split a doubleheader with Illinois last weekend.
The Spartans rely on the heavy hitting of Natalie Furrow, who leads the Spartans at the plate with a .455 average in addition to a team-leading 27 RBI and 12 doubles. Pitcher Jessica Beech is an offensive and defensive threat for the Spartans, currently holding a 15-9 record with a 1.92 ERA while hitting at a .350 clip with three homers and 17 RBI.
The importance of this weekend and its contests with two teams with similar conference records is not lost upon Gallagher and the rest of the team.
“We have our work cut out for us,” Gallagher said. “I like what some of our players are doing. I think we really need to have a good week, quite frankly in order to continue our success this year.”
While the Badgers may be rebuilding from the team that went to the NCAA tournament in 2001 and 2002, Gallagher remains upbeat about the performance of the team this season.
“You have to love the fact that these kids are eager, they are hungry and they want to learn,” she said. “They want to be out there. I love working with athletes that have that momentum and that type of motivation. You know when you have that, good things happen. These kids come out every day and they are the same, and they play hard.”
