The University of Wisconsin softball team had a successful Saturday — picking up two wins at the 20th annual Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California. UW was one of 31 teams participating in the tournament, including No. 1 ranked Oklahoma who beat UW Friday, 10–2.
But, the Badgers rebounded from that morning loss and defeated San Diego University later that night, 8–0. The team carried winning energy into the next day, facing and defeating Long Beach State University and No. 20 ranked University of Utah. The group came back to Madison having gone 4-2 in the tournament.
Against a lowly Long Beach State squad, doubles were the theme on offense. The Badgers struck first, with a pair of hard-hit doubles from catcher Emily Bojan and shortstop Ellie Hubbard in the home half of the second inning.
The stalwart third baseman Skylar Sirdashney made it a two run lead with an RBI single. Sophomore Ava Kuszak cracked a double to leadoff the third and freshman Alivia Bark knocked her in with another double just over the head of the left fielder.
UW tacked on one more run in the fifth, after backup catcher Eden Dempsey smacked a leadoff double and senior Peyton Bannon pinch-ran for her, eventually scoring on a Bark sac fly. The four total runs were a nice showing for a potent Badger offense — but in this specific game, they were unnecessary.
After a single in the first, no Long Beach State batter could muster a hit off pitcher Shelby Jacobson, as she finished with a one-hit complete game shutout. This dominant performance was Jacobson’s first win of the season and certainly was a bounce back after she suffered the loss in the Oklahoma game the day before.
A couple hours after that win, UW faced off against Utah. Pitcher Tessa Magnanimo stepped into the circle for the Badgers — looking to continue the pitching brilliance. But, the Utes jumped her for a run in the second inning when a Kaylah Nelsen single came around to score.
Though she gave up nine hits, Magnanimo was able to work out of every jam she was in. Like Jacobson, she also pitched a complete game — striking out five. Yet it looked like Magnanimo’s efforts would be for naught.
The Badger offense was sluggish — going scoreless in the first four innings. Their first run came on a bunt back to the pitcher from Sirdashney. The Utes’ Mariah Lopez made an errant throw and sophomore Bree Mitchell flew around the bases to score from first. UW got back to driving the ball in the next inning, with a lead-off triple from Bark, followed by catcher Hilary Blomberg’s single to center to make it a tied game.
After two strikeouts, it seemed like the momentum UW built would go unused. That was until graduate student Fiona Girardot came up to pinch hit for outfielder Brooke Kuffel. Girardot wasted little time—sending the second pitch of the at-bat deep into the California night sky—clearing the left field fence for a two-run go-ahead home run.
Girardot’s pinch-hit homer gave the Badgers a 4–2 lead. That turned into the final score when Magnanimo struck out Utah sophomore Karlie Davison to give UW their fourth win of the tournament and their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
UW will look to continue their winning ways in Utah next weekend at the Utah Tech Invitational. They will play two games against Utah Tech and three games against this same Utes team.
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