Softball Ready For Home Opener
April 10, 2003 | Softball
With the temperature rising and the snow melting, the Wisconsin softball team is preparing to open its 2003 home season versus Michigan Friday at 6 p.m at the Goodman Diamond. UW also faces Michigan Saturday at noon and plays host to a noon double header versus MSU on Sunday.
Web hits: Follow the action on UWBADGERS.COM: If you can't make it to Goodman Diamond in person, log on to UWBADGERS.COM for the next best thing. Friday's home opener is scheduled to broadcast live via UWBADGERS.COM thanks to WSUM talent, while Sunday's first game is scheduled to air on WIBA in Madison. Live stats will also be available on UWBADGERS.COM. For radio and live stats, click on GAMEDAY on the left side of UWBADGERS.COM.
Home opener facts: The Badgers are undefeated (7-0) in home openers ... the earliest UW home opener was March 22 versus Loyola-Chicago in 2000 ... the latest home opener was the following year, an April 13 game versus Michigan State in 2001 ... the Badgers opened the 1999 home season and christened the Goodman Diamond with a 4-2 win over Loyola.
Climb the ladder: The Badgers will have a chance to jump up in the Big Ten standings this weekend with wins over Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan State sits in a tie for first place with Iowa, while Michigan holds the No. 2 spot in the league. Wisconsin is 7-11 against MSU and swept the Spartans last year. UW is 4-13 versus the Wolverines and split a double header in Ann Arbor, Mich., last season.
Going Yard: Seven different Wisconsin players have hit home runs this season, besting last year's total. This season's seven have accounted for 12 home runs so far (29 games), topping last year's 10 blasts over 53 games. Boo Gillette and Erin Barnharst share the lead with three, while pitcher Andrea Kirchberg hit her first collegiate shot versus Purdue Saturday.
Putting a scare into opposing pitchers: Sophomore Boo Gillette leads the Badgers in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, RBI, total bases and walks. She is tied for the team lead with three home runs. On Sunday versus Indiana, her two-run shot over the left field wall tied the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Indiana was intentionally walking Gillette when a wild pitch and an error allowed UW to score and win the game.
No Sophomore slump: Sophomore Kris Zacher, who led the Badgers in most offensive categories last season, ranks second behind Gillette in most categories this year. She leads UW with 10 runs and seven multi-hit games. Zacher hit .625 versus Indiana Sunday.
A glimpse at the Big Ten: Here's where conference schools fall after weekend No. 2: Iowa, MSU (4-1); Mich. (3-1); Minn. (4-2); UI, Purdue, PSU (3-3); OSU (2-2); Northwestern (3-5); Wis. (2-4); IU (0-6)
