Friday, May 4
Madison, WI
5 p.m. CT
Northwestern
33-15, 13-7
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Wisconsin
26-19, 10-8
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Northwestern
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Photo by: S. J. Carrera, Inc.
Lewis Homers But Wisconsin Takes Series Opener, 7-1
5/4/2018 6:53:00 PM | Softball
MADISON, Wis. – In the opener of the final series of the 2018 regular season Friday night at Goodman Diamond, Rachel Lewis ripped her team-leading 17th home run of the year but Wisconsin gradually pulled away for a 7-1 win over the Wildcats.
Northwestern now is 33-15 overall on the season, 13-7 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is 26-19, 10-8 in the league.
The two teams meet again at noon tomorrow, Saturday, May 5, before concluding the series (and the regular season) at noon on Sunday.
Northwestern put two aboard in the top of the first, but it was Wisconsin which struck first in this game. Lewis was hit by a pitch and Morgan Nelson walked in the first inning, though neither was able to come around and score.
In the bottom half, Wisconsin put a pair of runs on the board on a two-run home run that snuck over the center-field fence against NU starter Kenna Wilkey. The Badgers then added another tally in the bottom of the second and two more with two outs in the third to take a 5-0 lead in the game.
Nicole Bond entered the circle in relief for Northwestern in the bottom of the fourth and threw a scoreless frame to keep Wisconsin off the board for the first time in the game. Unfortunately, the Badgers were able to scrap out another run in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to six, 6-0.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Lewis put the #B1GCats on the board with her 17th big fly of the season, making it a 6-1 contest. Lewis now has sole possession of third place on NU's single-season home run list, and is two big flies behind Adrienne Monka's first-year record of 19 set in 2009.
Wisconsin put one more on the board with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth. With the score 7-1 in the top of the seventh – the exact same deficit NU faced before mounting a monstrous comeback two weeks ago at Rutgers – the Wildcats were unable to conjure up the same magic this time around. Wilkey did rip a two-out single for her second base knock of the ball game in the top of the seventh, but that was all.
Wilkey (17-5) took the loss to break her personal 10-game winning streak. She threw 3.0 innings in the start, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Bond tossed 3.0 innings in relief, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks.
Northwestern now is 33-15 overall on the season, 13-7 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is 26-19, 10-8 in the league.
The two teams meet again at noon tomorrow, Saturday, May 5, before concluding the series (and the regular season) at noon on Sunday.
Northwestern put two aboard in the top of the first, but it was Wisconsin which struck first in this game. Lewis was hit by a pitch and Morgan Nelson walked in the first inning, though neither was able to come around and score.
In the bottom half, Wisconsin put a pair of runs on the board on a two-run home run that snuck over the center-field fence against NU starter Kenna Wilkey. The Badgers then added another tally in the bottom of the second and two more with two outs in the third to take a 5-0 lead in the game.
Nicole Bond entered the circle in relief for Northwestern in the bottom of the fourth and threw a scoreless frame to keep Wisconsin off the board for the first time in the game. Unfortunately, the Badgers were able to scrap out another run in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to six, 6-0.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Lewis put the #B1GCats on the board with her 17th big fly of the season, making it a 6-1 contest. Lewis now has sole possession of third place on NU's single-season home run list, and is two big flies behind Adrienne Monka's first-year record of 19 set in 2009.
Wisconsin put one more on the board with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth. With the score 7-1 in the top of the seventh – the exact same deficit NU faced before mounting a monstrous comeback two weeks ago at Rutgers – the Wildcats were unable to conjure up the same magic this time around. Wilkey did rip a two-out single for her second base knock of the ball game in the top of the seventh, but that was all.
Wilkey (17-5) took the loss to break her personal 10-game winning streak. She threw 3.0 innings in the start, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Bond tossed 3.0 innings in relief, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Haley Hestekin (15-6)
L: Wilkey, Kenna (17-5)
Batting:
HR: Lewis, Rachel 1
RBI: Lewis, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lewis, Rachel 1
CS: Lewis, Rachel 1
HBP: Lewis, Rachel 1
Batting:
2B: Melanie Cross 1
HR: Taylor Johnson 1
RBI: Kelsey Jenkins 1 ; Taylor Johnson 2 ; Stephanie Lombardo 1 ; Jordan Little 1 ; Samantha Arents 1
SH: Kelly Welsh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kelsey Jenkins 1 ; Taylor Johnson 1 ; Melanie Cross 1 ; Lauren Foster 1 ; Heather Rudnicki 1 ; Jordan Little 2
SB: Heather Rudnicki 1
CS: Brianna Flugaur 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
p/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ SoftballIF/C
/ SoftballP
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