INSIDE SOFTBALL
BY ANNA POULTER-HENDRICKSON
@BadgerSoftball
SCHEDULE (14-3)
This Week
Saluki Invitational
Saturday vs. Belmont
10 a.m.
Saturday at Southern Illinois 2 p.m.
Sunday vs. UIC
9 a.m.
Sunday vs. Eastern Kentucky11 a.m.
Next Week
Louisville Classic
Mar. 15 vs. North Carolina
9 a.m.
Mar. 15 vs. E. Michigan 11:30 a.m.
Mar. 16 vs. Ball State
9 a.m.
Mar. 16 vs. E. Michigan 11:30 a.m.
Mar. 17 at Louisville
9 a.m.
Badgers (and Big Ten)
looking for respect
Signature wins lead to rankings and respect
W
ith more than 300
Division I softball
programs, being ranked in
the top 25 puts you in a special place. It's a place that
the Badgers are striving to
reach. Not only is Wisconsin
looking for signature wins
this season, it is also looking
to gain a little respect.
The Badgers were last
64 » VARSITY
MAR CH 7, 2013
ranked in the USA Today/
NFCA Division I Softball Poll
in 2002, coming in at No. 25
for three weeks in March.
Finding a place in the polls
would give the Badgers, and
the Big Ten, the respect it is
looking for.
This week's poll boasts one
Big Ten team, No. 14 Michigan. The league is looking to
change its place in the college softball landscape and it is slowly doing
just that. Nebraska, fresh off knocking off previously unbeaten and No.
2-ranked Oklahoma, was the top vote
getter and Iowa, coming off a weekend with a pair of wins over ranked
opponents, received two votes.
The Badgers face both Nebraska
and Iowa during conference play
and have the opportunity to play
Michigan in the Big Ten tournament.
More league teams ranked leads to
the possibility of more at-large bids
to the NCAA tournament and in the
end, more respect.
Badgers defeat No. 16 Stanford
» For the first time since the 2005
season, the Badgers defeated a
ranked opponent. UW shut out
No. 16 Stanford to earn its 12th
win of the season on March 1. The
win also marked the first time in
school history that the Badgers
posted a "W" against the Cardinal
as UW had fallen in four previous
matchups.
