The University of Wisconsin softball team makes its third out-of-state trip this weekend to compete in the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic in Atlanta.

Much of UW's success thus far is due in large part to the red-hot stick of junior outfielder Katie Hnatyk. Hnatyk absolutely pummeled opposing pitchers in El Paso, Texas last weekend at the UTEP Invitational, going 11-for-14 (.786) at the plate, with 13 RBI and four home runs in four games. In the process, Hnatyk became UW's all-time home run leader with 24, surpassing the previous record of 20 held by Kris Zacher and Boo Gillette. She now stands at five homers on the year.

For her performance, Hnatyk was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time in her career.

"Katie's just a phenomenal hitter," assistant coach Barbara Sherwood said. "There's not really a day that goes by that you don't just say 'Wow.' She's that type of hitter."

Freshman Letty Olivarez's four-hit gem propelled the Badgers to a 3-0 win over UTEP Saturday night, but the Miners came out ahead in the rematch, pounding the Badgers 9-2 Sunday.

"It's always hard to beat someone twice," Sherwood said. "They came out with a vengeance. They wanted revenge against us. They were able to adjust to our pitching a little bit, but we just didn't bring the same level of intensity."

While the Badgers returned from Texas with a winning record, they were far from satisfied.

"Overall we played well," Sherwood said. "Coming out with three wins was good. [Second baseman] Ricci Robben is hitting the ball, our pitching is starting to come around, but all in all it's been a bunch of ups and downs so far."

Robben was 7-for-13 (.538) at the UTEP Invite, with two home runs and six RBI, and is second on the team with a .393 batting average.

The upcoming Georgia Tech Buzz classic is a round-robin tournament with five pools of five teams playing each other Friday and Saturday. The top teams from each pool will then compete in a single-elimination tournament to be held Sunday.

Wisconsin's first-round pool will consist of Morehead State (5-4), Florida A&M (1-12), East Tennessee State (3-7) and Georgia State (9-6).

Georgia State has won eight of its last 10 contests and should provide Wisconsin with the toughest first-round match up. The Panthers' offensive attack is led by freshman Danielle Roddy (.415) and sophomore Nichole Griffin (.435), who is the primary power source for GSU with 20 RBI on the year. Griffin, however, swings a heavy bat, tending to swing and miss frequently; she has struck out in over 30 percent of her at-bats.

This is good news for UW pitchers Eden Brock and Letty Olivarez, who have proven to be a formidable one-two punch for opposing hitters. Olivarez is sixth in the Big Ten with a 1.66 ERA.

Wisconsin kicks off round-robin play at 11 a.m. today against Moorhead State.