64 // VARSITY April 3, 2014
INSIDE
SOFTBALL
Day by day, game by
game, Wisconsin improves
Badgers look to hit stride in Big Ten
BY CHRISTIAN BLATNER @BADGERSOFTBALL
N
ow 30 games into the
toughest schedule in
program history, the
Wisconsin softball team (16-
14, 2-4) has an above-.500
record and, in the mind of its
head coach, improves as each
game goes by. Playing most
contests with a starting lineup
split between both experi-
enced and inexperienced play-
ers has allowed the Badgers to
mesh on many fronts.
On a typical lineup card,
UW will boast three seniors,
three juniors, a sophomore,
two freshman and, depending
on the game, either another
senior or sophomore in the
pitcher's circle.
While the three seniors,
Mary Massei, Michelle Muel-
ler and Stephanie Peace, have
carried most of the load so far
by tallying 52 of the Badgers' 100 RBI,
freshmen Chloe Miller and Sara Novak
have filled their roles nicely.
Miller has started every game behind
the dish for Wisconsin, throwing out five
runners and batting .260 with four home
runs and 14 RBI.
Novak has been an asset at the utility
position for UW, making starts at short-
stop and second base and even appear-
ing in the pitcher's circle for the Badgers.
The Shorewood, Ill., native has made just
five errors playing a few of the toughest
positions on the field and lays claim to
the third-best on-base percentage on the
squad at .444.
"We've got a lot of youth out there,"
UW head coach Yvette Healy said after
last Saturday's doubleheader with Iowa.
"We're still making a lot of mistakes, a lot
of mental mistakes. We're just working
on teaching the game and eliminating
those errors and not beating ourselves."
And that's normally the name of the
game: not beating yourself. Wisconsin
hasn't beaten itself often in 2014, post-
ing a respectable .950 fielding percent-
age and averaging only a shade over one
error per game.
"We're still putting a lot of the pieces of
the puzzle together right now," outfielder
Maria Van Abel said. "We're all still work-
ing through some things individually in
the box. We're a young team, so we can't
get frustrated. We've made some big
improvements, some big strides, so it'll
come eventually. We just have to trust
the process and it will all come together.
"It just takes time."
SCHEDULE (16-14, 2-4)
THIS WEEK
Friday Minnesota 6 p.m.
Saturday Minnesota 1 p.m.
Sunday Minnesota 1 p.m.
