The Badger softball team plays host to Loyola-Chicago tonight in a doubleheader, the team’s second twinbill in two days. The Badgers (15-19, 3-7 Big Ten), fresh off a pair of wins against North Dakota State Monday, are ready for a Loyola (12-23, 5-5 Horizon) team that dropped two of three against Illinois-Chicago last weekend.
Wisconsin has had Loyola’s number in past years. The Badgers are 15-1-1 lifetime against the Ramblers, who last came to Madison for a doubleheader last season, losing the first game 8-0 in a six-inning affair and dropping the second 2-1. The last time Loyola won against the Badgers was during the 2000 season, and Wisconsin has taken the last five meetings between the teams.
The Loyola matchup will be another in a long stretch of home games for the Badgers, who have played all of April in the friendly confines of Goodman Diamond, with the exception of two games at Illinois-Chicago and Valparaiso.
The home stretch hasn’t been as kind to Wisconsin as expected, though. The Badgers have gone 3-7 so far at home, including a stretch of seven straight home losses that ended last night against NDSU.
The Ramblers have a new look this season, with a new coach at the helm. First year coach Yvette Healy has brought an optimism to a club that has been in the middle of the pack over the years, and although their struggles have continued this season, a reversal of fortune might be in the future for Loyola.
The Ramblers returned 10 letterwinners from last year’s squad, including seven starters. That turnaround might have been evident in the meeting between the Badgers and the Ramblers in fall, a game that Wisconsin lost.
“They beat us in the fall, and we want to get them back for that,” pitcher Eden Brock said of their offseason loss.
Loyola brings with them some talent on offense. They are led by senior Keilah Williams and freshman Kristen Cefalu, who are both hitting above .300. Williams leads the team with a .320 batting average, and she has also hit two homers this season. Cefalu is hitting .317, but she has only 3 RBI and no home runs. Allison Scanlin’s bat has come alive of late, having been named Co-Horizon League Softball Player of the Week April 12. She leads the team with 21 RBI and four home runs.
The Ramblers have struggled on the mound this season, however. Their most worked pitcher Katie Shupback holds just a 3-9 record with a 4.66 ERA — unhealthy statistics at the Division I level. The overall team ERA of 5.92 poses a big problem for a squad looking to get outs against a red-hot Badger offense.
The Wisconsin bats have had some pop this season. They continue to build on their team record of 32 home runs, already passing the previous record of 23 set in 2003. They have also averaged 0.93 home runs per game, which is 22nd in the country.
The offense is led by Kris Zacher who is hitting .400 and has recently seen time at the leadoff spot in the lineup. She is not only a deep threat, where she has hit five homers already this season, just missing out on number six yesterday, but she is a threat on the base paths as well. Zacher has stolen nine bases in nine attempts this season.
“I think we can score early with Kris [Zacher] leading off for us at this point because she’s going to steal a base for us; she’s so quick,” explained head coach Karen Gallagher.
There are others in the lineup who are equally formidable. Catcher Boo Gillette has been the slugger for the team, hitting seven dingers and 22 RBI, but she can also hit for average, as her .347 mark bears out. Anastasia Miller, after her amazing performance in yesterday’s first game, is hitting .326 with eight home runs and 21 RBI.
The Badgers have seen the pitching they need this season as well. Katie Layne and Eden Brock got the job done yesterday with both pitchers going the distance in their games without giving up an earned run. In games against conference powerhouses Michigan and Northwestern, it was the pitching that kept the Badgers within striking distance in three out of those four contests.
But the thorn in Wisconsin’s side continues to be their fielding. Although the Badgers lead the Big Ten with 15 double plays, they haven’t made the routine plays that have been the hallmark of this club in years past.
“It’s mental,” Gallagher said of the team’s defense. “Kids do this every day, and they can throw and catch in their sleep, and when it comes down to it, we’re making throwing and catching errors.”
Wisconsin will have to put it together soon, though, as the Ramblers have shown they can beat the Badgers.
“We really just want to win. We’ve had some losses lately, and we’re not too happy about it,” Anastasia Miller said. “We want to get those back and get our record in a better place and just feel better as a team.”
