[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]The University of Wisconsin women’s softball team will make its first ever trip to Valparaiso, Ind., today for a game against Valparaiso University. The game will be the first meeting between the two schools.

“We try to get out and play some different teams around the Midwest during the regular season,” Wisconsin head coach Karen Gallagher said. “We’ve never played Valpo before, so I think that it’s good to get out and play some different competition. I also think it is a good opportunity for us to get a win and a good way to work on things and play other players as well.”

The Badgers will have a golden opportunity to break their six-game losing skid, a streak that extends back to April 3, when Wisconsin beat Penn State in the first game of a double-header. Wisconsin has lost four of those six games by a single run.

Valparaiso (3-27, 3-9 Mid-Continent) has had a tough season, losing its first 22 games of the season before besting Western Illinois April 2. The Crusaders have since gone on something of a roll, winning two of their last three games, all last weekend against the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and were able to climb to fifth in the Mid-Continent Conference standings.

“It would be really good for us to win a game and get some momentum going,” sophomore pitcher Eden Brock said. “It’s easier to work on things in these [non-conference] games because they aren’t Big Ten games, which are more important, but these games still are important.”

Valparaiso has been below average in all three phases of the game this season. The Crusader offense has not been potent in its first 30 games, failing to score a run 14 times and scoring only 47 runs for the season, an average of 1.57 a game, while hitting just .185 as a team.

The Crusaders have not had much more success on the mound, posting a team ERA of 5.09 and having walked as many batters as they struck out. Brittany Atteberry is the top Crusader pitcher with a 2-5 record and an ERA of 3.56. Atteberry splits time with Chris Halstead, who is 1-14 with a 4.99 ERA and has surrendered 18 home runs.

The Crusaders’ 48 errors on the year also don’t speak well for the defense, which ranks toward the bottom of the conference.

Wisconsin will need to avoid overlooking a struggling Valparaiso club with a pair of home games against Big Ten opponent Michigan State this weekend. The Badgers believe they have a lot of work to do to get their own ship righted, and they see this game as an opportunity to improve.

“I think the bottom line is that we have to keep our mind-set the same as if we play any other game,” Gallagher said. “Whether we are playing [No. 1 Michigan] or Valpo or Michigan State, a game is a game, and we have to approach it the same way. I don’t know much about the team, but maybe that is good because we can just go in there and compete and hopefully get out of there with a win.”

Gallagher also hopes to see her team take control early and be able to hold the lead and play aggressively throughout the game, something Wisconsin has struggled to do consistently this season.

“When you play a less competitive team, you have a tendency to play down to their level, and we need to learn to play at our level all the time,” Gallagher said. “I’m hoping to see us approach the game in a very aggressive manner, really come in and play Wisconsin, Big Ten softball.”