Wisconsin Softball Headed to NCAA Tournament

Wisconsin softball is headed back to the NCAA Tournament this weekend

Badger softball earned an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.  Wisconsin finished the regular season 32-14 and .500 in conference play good enough for 6th place.

The Badgers head to the NCAA Tournament having gone 6-5 in its last 11 games including a pair of contests in the Big Ten Tournament.

Wisconsin blanked Iowa 3-0 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament before losing a tight matchup 3-2 to THE Ohio State in the next round.  Minnesota completed the season double cruising to the regular season crown and knocking off the Buckeyes in the title game.

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The 64-team field was established from 32 automatic qualifiers with the other half given to at-large teams.  Only the top 16 teams were given seed protection.

"UW opens regional action against Missouri on May 19 at 8 p.m. CT at Jane Sanders Stadium and the game will be live on ESPN. Oregon, the tournament’s No. 3 overall seed, will play UIC. The four teams will compete in a double-elimination format, with the winner advancing to the Super Regional round."

For the season, Wisconsin hit .286 (.432 slugging) as a team while allowing opponents to hit just .247 (.322 slugging).  The Badgers outscored opponents 265-159 while outhitting opponents 366-321.

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Badger pitching posted a team ERA of 2.64 with 209 strikeouts against 134 walks.  Kaitlyn Menz led the rotation with a 23-10 record pitching 215.1 of the total 329 innings pitched.

Wisconsin also received some good news on Thursday as pitchers Menz and Chloe Miller, along with shortstop Brooke Wyderski were given honors from the “National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes Region.”  Miller and Wyderski were picked for the 2nd Team while Menz made the 3rd Team.

Wisconsin had an unusual approach to batting practice in advance of the NCAA Tournament.  Lets see if it bears fruit.  I hope they used some marionberries in advance of the trip to Oregon.

https://twitter.com/BadgerSoftball/status/864882566993784832

Wisconsin has a program record of 5-10 in NCAA Tournament games.  Best of luck to Badger softball in what could be a tough environment likely facing #3-Seed Oregon in the second round.  Of course, Oregon might not want to see Bucky in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament given what Badger basketball did to the Ducks in 2014 and 2015.