(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – The No. 9 seeded Wisconsin softball team (33-21, 11-11) fell in its first round matchup to No. 8 Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament this Wednesday, taking a 3-2 loss.
Michigan’s Lauran Derkowski limited the UW offense, with Wisconsin struggling to string together hits. Five of the team’s seven hits came with two outs in the inning, with the team’s lead off runner failing to reach in any of the seven innings.
UW’s best chance to come back in the game was in the fifth inning. Trailing 2-0, Alivia Bark hit a one-out solo home run to cut the deficit to just one run. A Molly Schlosser double, and a Kendra Lewis intentional walk and steal put two runners in scoring position – but the team did not push anymore runs across in the inning.
Another solo home run gave the Badgers a chance in the top of the seventh inning, when Schlosser went yard for her third hit of the game. The rally ended there, however, as the Wolverines held on to win the matchup, 3-2.
The Badger pitching staff held Michigan to three runs on six hits. Starter Molly Jacobson (12-6) pitched the majority of the game, going 4.2 innings and allowing two earned runs. The Wolverines first struck in the first inning with a solo home run, before adding another run in the bottom of the third.
Gabi Salo came in relief for Jacobson during the fifth inning, finishing the game with one earned run allowed in 1.2 innings. Her one run allowed came in the bottom of the fifth inning – a Wolverine solo home run that made it 3-1.
The Badgers backed up the pitchers with solid defense. The team committed just one error, turned a double play, and catcher Emmy Wells caught a runner attempting to steal second base.
Batting Cleanup
- Molly Schlosser went 3-for-4 with a home run, and a double. Schlosser is the seventh Badger in program history to hit 17 doubles in a season and the third to score 51 runs in a season.
- Alivia Bark hit her third home run on the season.
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