After an impressive showing at the Palm Springs Classic last weekend, the Wisconsin softball team readies to battle in another tourney this weekend when the Badgers (3-3), head to Tulsa, Okla., to compete in the Embassy Suites-Tulsa Invitational.
Last weekend, the Badgers posted three wins at the Palm Springs Classic, a tournament boasting three top-25 squads. UW successfully defeated No. 23 Long Beach State 1-0, Cal State Fullerton 3-1, and Utah 9-5. No.18 Oregon and No. 3 UCLA handed UW its second and third losses of the season. Senior left fielder Anastasia Miller was named Big Ten Player of the Week after going 8-for-13 (.615) with two home runs and four RBI in five games at the Classic. She also hit a game-tying home run against Oregon State and another in the win over Utah.
Head coach Karen Gallagher hopes to carry the momentum from the Classic to Tulsa this weekend.
“I think it’s going to be a nice tournament to go into from our last tournament,” she said. “We played a lot of hard, ranked teams, a lot of competitive teams, and it’s going to be a good tournament to see where we are at. I think we really improved on our team’s strengths this weekend, but we still have work to do.”
Gallagher is also anticipating the number of games the Badgers will play this weekend. She is hoping the number of games will allow her team to become closer together and gain more experience.
“The more games you play the more your team will gel together,” she said. “Our focus is to get our starting line-up gelling together and to get everyone healthy.”
Though none of the teams the Badgers will face this weekend are ranked, there will still be plenty of competition. The Badgers open the tourney Friday against Louisiana-Monroe (6-12). The Lady Indians are coming off of a 1-3 record at the Arkansas Lady Back Invitational last weekend. The Badgers won the only previous meeting with the Lady Indians 5-0 in 2000. Following that game Wisconsin will square off against Wichita State (6-4). This will be the first meeting between the schools.
UW will take on Oklahoma State (11-6) and Tulsa (9-11) Saturday. The Cowboys are currently receiving votes in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. They will probably provide the most competition for the Badgers this weekend. The Cowboys recently upset No. 3 UCLA 2-1, in last weekend’s Palm Springs Classic. Left fielder and power hitter Megan Carey will be one to watch against UW. She batted .357 last weekend at the Classic, and ranks in the top 10 in school history for career home runs and RBI.
The Badgers will play Tulsa again at the Florida Atlantic Tournament March 19. Gallagher hopes a win will provide an advantage over the Golden Hurricanes for their next meeting.
“I think it’s good to set a tone with the team,” she said. “They had a great year last year, and whenever you can get an advantage over a team and hopefully beat them the first time around, that’s always important.”
UW will conclude the weekend tourney against North Texas (3-12). The Mean Green got off to a tough start under the direction of new head coach Kelly Burns. Last weekend, UNT cancelled all of their Sunday games in their home tournament after posting a 1-2 record at the start of the tournament.
So far this season, the Badgers have won all of their games in which they have scored first. UW also posts a 3-1 record when out-hitting their opponents and a 3-1 record playing games during the day.
“It’s going to be a good tournament. There are no easy teams across the nation; there is an incredible parity, and you like that,” Gallagher said. “Each team prepares you differently, and each game you have you take something different out of. So we are looking forward to getting back down to playing, and I hope we can continue the success from last weekend.”
