INSIDE SOFTBALL
BY ANNA POULTER-HENDRICKSON
@BadgerSoftball
SCHEDULE (22-3, 0-0)
This Week
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
at Illinois
at Illinois
at Illinois
Next Week
Mar. 27 vs. Northwestern
Mar. 29 vs. Iowa
Mar. 30 vs. Iowa
Badgers roll into Big
Ten season on high note
UW currently on 10-game winning streak
W
ith the first half of the
season under their
belts, the Badgers are looking to take the success they
have accrued over their first
25 games and transition it
into Big Ten play.
UW opened the season
with an impressive 22-3
record — the best start in
program history — and now
52 » VARSITY
MAR CH 21, 2013
faces the task of continuing a
10-game winning streak into
league play.
UW's tough non-conference schedule — 25 games,
including three against
ranked opponents — was designed to prepare it for conference play.
"We are pleased with how
the season started," said UW
6 p.m.
2 p.m.
1 p.m.
3/5 p.m.
6 p.m.
1/3 p.m.
head coach Yvette Healy. "It is a really tough schedule to be on the road
for five weekends. We were able to
test some things out against some
phenomenal pitching and go headto-head with some great hitters."
With an all-time league record of
130-212-0, the Badgers still have a
lot to prove in conference, and being
able to win league games will only
strengthen their NCAA tournament
resume.
"Now going into Big Ten play,
it goes from not just facing talented teams to facing a big emotional
surge," said Healy.
The Badgers will have to be road
warriors ― with four of seven league
series on the road and the Big Ten
tournament at Nebraska ― and most
of their success will have to come
away from Madison.
"We know that heading into it, we
are going to be on the road a ton. Still,
it is going to be a lot about grittiness
now and taking what we learned and
adding it to try and make a run in the
Big Ten."
A new season starts on Friday
against Illinois, a season the Badgers
have been preparing all year for.