(UW ATHLETICS) UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Wisconsin softball team dropped its first game of the weekend versus Penn State, falling 14-8 behind strong offensive performances between both teams.
Senior Emily Bojan extended her on-base streak to 26 games right away, as the Chicago native barreled a double to the wall to set the table for the Badgers in the first. After the Nittany Lions recorded a pair of outs, junior Alivia Bark took advantage of an error, as Bojan hustled around the basepaths to score and put UW up 1-0.
Penn State (20-10,1-4 B1G) responded immediately, plating six runs in the first frame. Jordan George launched a grand slam to complete the scoring in the first, putting the Nittany Lions up 6-1.
The Badgers (15-11, 1-4 B1G) did not have an answer for Penn State on the offensive end, as the Nittany Lions tallied a run in the second and added three more in the third to make it 10-1.
In the fourth, junior Makenzie Foster earned the first triple of her collegiate career to drive in junior Danielle Lucey. One batter later, redshirt freshman Jaclyn Showalter followed it up with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 10-3. The bottom of the order continued to string together quality at bats, setting up Bojan once again. The right-handed slugger barreled a single to the outfield—driving in two more runs to secure her second consecutive multi-hit game.
Penn State did not go down quietly, tallying a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to get their advantage out to 11-5.
Wisconsin found a spark late, as Bark drilled a double down the third base line to drive in a pair of runs—earning her 10th multi-RBI game of the year. The Badgers scored three in the top half of the sixth to cut the deficit to 8-11.
The Nittany Lions responded with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth via the long ball, as Penn State finished the day with four. George and Breanna Hanik emerged as the main run producers, each accumulating a pair of home runs to put away Wisconsin.
UW threatened late, but it was not enough in the second game of the series, as the Nittany Lions secured the final out to earn a 14-8 victory.
Batting Cleanup:
- UW scored in the first inning for the 15th time this season.
- The Badgers racked up double-digit hits for the 15th time this season.
- Emily Bojan has reached base in every game this season, extending her on-base streak to 26 games. The leadoff hitter now holds the third-longest streak in program history, as Kelsey Jenkins (2017) streak of 31-straight games ranks second. Bojan earned her ninth multi-hit game of the year in a 2-for-5 showing.
- Alivia Bark notched her 10th multi-RBI game of the season in a 2-for-4 performance. The junior is now just one multi-RBI game away from entering UW’s top-10 for most in a single season.
- Makenzie Foster recorded the first triple of her collegiate career, plating a run.
- Danielle Lucey finished 2-for-4, good for her eighth multi-hit game of the year. The Cottage Grove native tallied her third outfield assist of the season as well, a team-high.
- Sydney Vitangcol made her first appearance in the circle in conference play, earning a career-best four strikeouts.
Up Next: The Badgers will wrap up their road trip in Happy Valley Sunday, as first pitch in the rubber match is slated for 11:00 a.m. CT at Beard Field. The game will be streamed on B1G+.
Comments