O
ne of the snapshots from the Big Ten
softball tournament was of Wisconsin shortstop Stephanie Peace and
her resiliency against top-seeded
Michigan in the semifinals.
After a grounder skipped through her legs, Peace
kept her poise, retrieved the ball and fired a perfect
strike to catcher Whitney Massey, who tagged out
a runner attempting to score from second.
It was the third out of the first inning and it kept
the Wolverines off the board. In the bottom half,
the Badgers struck for six runs ― highlighted by
Stefanni LaJeunesse's grand slam.
"Steph Peace has been a tough kid for us all year,''
UW coach Yvette Healy said. "Having a junior out
there goes a long way because she has that composure.
56 » VARSITY
MAY 16, 2013
"If she's not lighting it up with her bat or if she's
not making all the plays (in the field), she keeps
playing hard and never gives up. It's the kind of
mentality you need the whole team to embrace.''
The Badgers open play in the double-elimination Eugene Regional at 5 p.m. Thursday with
North Carolina (39-19), a team UW downed, 4-2,
on March 15 in Louisville, Ky. They'll get either
BYU or No. 3 seed Oregon on Friday.
Another snapshot from Wisconsin's first-inning
uprising against Michigan was of Macy Oswald and
her discipline at the plate with the bases loaded.
Oswald, who was pinch-hitting for Maria Van
Abel, fouled off pitch after pitch before finally
drawing a walk from Haylie Wagner, which forced
in a run.
The next batter was LaJeunesse, who was pinch-
