INSIDE SOFTBALL
BY ANNA POULTER-HENDRICKSON
@BadgerSoftball
SCHEDULE (4-1)
Last Week
Feb. 8
at Charlotte
W, 12-3 (6)
Feb. 8
vs. Presbyterian
L, 3-5
Feb. 9
vs. Notre Dame
W, 1-0
Feb. 9
vs. Presbyterian W, 8-0 (5)
Feb. 10 vs. Notre Dame W, 6-5 (11)
Coming Up
Feb. 22 vs. Ga. Southern
Feb. 22 vs. Boston Univ.
Feb. 23 vs. Boston Univ.
Feb. 23 vs. Ga. Southern
Feb. 24 vs. Ga. Southern
UW���s opening weekend
proves a thrilling one
Badgers slug way past Notre Dame twice
T
he Badgers hit the road
for an early-season test
last weekend and returned
to Madison with a passing
grade. UW opened its season
with a 4-1 record at the First
Pitch Classic in Charlotte,
N.C., but it was two big wins
over Notre Dame that stood
out.
One swing against the
58 �� VARSITY
FEB R UA RY 14, 2013
Irish on Saturday proved to
be enough offense, and the
Badgers took home a 1-0
shutout. It was just the third
win in program history over
the Irish and the first since
2009.
As if Saturday���s win wasn���t
exciting enough, the Badgers
posted an outing on Sunday
that will forever be remem-
1:30 p.m.
3:45 p.m.
11:15 p.m.
3:45 p.m.
8 a.m.
bered by the team, fans and coaching
staff.
After staving off multiple Irish
scoring opportunities, UW forced extra innings. Down 2-0 in the eighth,
Katie Christner found the perfect
time to hit her first career home run,
tying the game 2-2.
Trailing by two again in the ninth,
Shannel Blackhear tied the game
with her first homer of the season.
Down once again, this time by one
run in the 11th, Mary Massei capped
off the thriller with a two-run home
run to win the game for the Badgers.
���Any time you get two wins against
a team like Notre Dame, it���s fun������
said head coach Yvette Healy. ���We
have so much respect for what they
do and we are really proud of our
girls for coming out and fighting.���
In the books, the Badgers probably
shouldn���t have won. UW recorded
just four hits in the game ��� three
were two-run home runs in extra innings ��� but, the Badgers proved that
a little bit of fight can go a long way.
The win was a thrilling finish to a
great opening weekend.
