Mother Nature must have forgotten that the Wisconsin softball team was scheduled to take on Indiana this weekend at Goodman Softball Complex. With the recent snowy weather, Friday and Saturday's games against the Hoosiers have been moved to Monday, where the two teams will face each other in a doubleheader at 11 a.m. The team's doubleheader Sunday versus the Purdue Boilermakers, however, will still be played as scheduled.

Freshman pitcher Letty Olivarez, who pitched six innings and picked up the victory in the second game last Sunday, said the cold weather is old news for the team.

"A lot of us are used to the snow now," Olivarez said. "We played in the cold weather the other day (against North Dakota State). …We have to try and stay warm between innings."

"It's really tough," UW head coach Chandelle Schulte said of the weather. "We didn't have a spring break because we were in our Big Ten (schedule). …It's really draining."

Shortstop Lynn Anderson knows that the weather is something the team can't do anything about, and that they must come with the same mentality as they would for any other game.

"It's one of those things that you can't control," Anderson said. "We try not to let it affect us at all. We go into every game and try to be mentally prepared. Whether it's snowing or rainy or sunny, we've got to play hard."

The Badgers are coming off a split with the NDSU Bison, who shut down the Badgers in the first game of the doubleheader. Between games, Schulte gave the team a motivational speech and the players responded, coming out in the second contest and winning 6-4. Schulte hopes Wisconsin will continue to play like they did in the latter game as she and her staff continue to make improvements.

"We're still tweaking," Schulte said. "When you set up a lineup, you look at the opposing pitching staff and their strengths and weaknesses. …Honestly, right now we're just looking for chemistry."

Some of the tweaks that Schulte felt worked well for her team included moving outfielder Sam Polito to the second spot in the lineup and moving catcher Joey Daniels to leadoff.

"Sam Polito's really stepped up," Schulte said. "I think the two-spot's been good for her. Athena Vasquez has stepped up, both defensively and offensively, as has Lynne (Anderson) defensively. (Katie) Hnatyk offensively is still carrying her weight out there. And I think Joey Daniels has had some really good at-bats."

At the plate, Purdue is led by sophomore Katie Mitchell, who is hitting .378 on the year. Schulte compared the Boilermakers' Katie to the Badgers' Katie: outfielder and top hitter Katie Hnatyk. Mitchell has nine homers on the year, while Hnatyk has 10.

"You put it in her wheelhouse and she'll hit it," Schulte said. "The thing with those kinds of kids is you don't want them to win the game. You want somebody else to have to win the game. …Everybody's pitched around Hnatyk. We want to put our lineup in a situation where they can't pitch around Katie."

In the circle for Purdue, ace Brooke Baker is tied for the Big Ten lead with 16 victories on the season and carries a 2.59 ERA into Sunday's contest.

"We've faced her in the past, and I think she's having a year this year that she's had before," Schulte said. "She throws a screwball and she throws a rise ball. …We need to establish early that we're in control of the game. That means putting the ball in play."

The Boilermakers, at 21-25 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten, sit just behind the Badgers in the standings. Wisconsin boasts a record of 20-12 overall and 2-4 in conference.

With the records so close, Schulte knows anything can happen this weekend when the two teams meet.

"We've played a tougher schedule than Purdue has, and had some success against better teams," Schulte said. "But once you get into the Big Ten season, it doesn't matter. It's like football or basketball. I think it's going to be who[ever] hits wins."

"I expect us to come out aggressive," infielder Vasquez said. "We want to have pep in our step and just have a purpose out there."