Softball Fever

Here's a recap of one of my favorite UW sports games that I attended

Over my time at UW, I have attended many different sports games. This includes both socially popular games like football and socially unpopular games like softball. I’ve been football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, baseball, softball, and rowing.

One of my favorite sports to watch as a Husky has been softball. With me being a huge baseball fan, you could totally see that I would be into the sport from Day 1 as a Husky. However, it took me 2 years to actually watch softball. I have loved it since, going to 5 games last year and 2 this year.

Softball is a very similar yet different sport to baseball. It is similar through having 4 bases and a mound, having the same rules on hits, and. It is different as pitchers throw underhand, there is no mound, no infield dirt, the field and base paths are smaller(around little league size), games go 7 innings instead of 9, and infinite substitutions allowed.

You also have to talk about the differences in style. Compared to baseball, softball is very fast paced due to the smaller field and no dirt on the infield. It also is very passionate, with lots of chanting from the dugout. The In my opinion, it is much more fun to watch than college baseball. My opinion might be biased though, as UW baseball has been consistently mediocre during my time as a student.

Enough about the details of the sport. I know what you were here for. The damn game. I’ll get to that soon, but first we gotta talk about how this team was built.

HEATHER TARR.

The HUSKY SOFTBALL GOAT. Even though there has been a lot of change with UW over the years, there is one constant: Heather Tarr. She was born and raised in this glorious state, played softball here as an undergrad, and then returned as head coach in 2005.

As a coach, she has EXCELLED. 818 wins. 1 national championship. Consistent winning season after winning season.

Even the most successful had to deal with challenges, though. In 2024, she was dealt with a big one.

After a 32-15 season, UW softball suffered an early exit in the NCAA regionals. A strong season was mired by a grim ending. WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?

More like, WHAT WASN’T GOING To HAPPEN?

EVERYONE LEFT! Star hitters like shortstop Rylee Holtorf, right fielder Alana Johnson, center fielder Kinsey Fiedler transferred, catcher Sydney Stewart, and catcher Olivia Johnson left. Role players like Brooklyn Carter transferred. Stud pitcher Ruby Meylan transferred. Even benchwarmers like Sidne Peters transferred. Backup outfielder Piper Tedrow left the team. Veterans Lindsay Lopez, Avery Hobson, Brooke Nelson, and Jillian Celis ran out of eligibility.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, things were looking bleak for UW softball.

When all the transferring were done, only 4 players remained from that team. Catcher Jadyn Glab, catcher Haley Winckler, third baseman Giselle Alvarez, and outfielder Jing Gardner. And it was important to remind people that Winckler and Gardner were little used role players.

Heather Tarr had a TON of work cut out for her. She needed to find a way to BUILD this team back up!!!

SHE WAS U. She immediately got on the recruiting trail, trying to recover what was lost. She also tried her best to neutralize the losses in the transfer portal.

From the transfer portal, she got a quartet of pitchers in Sophia Ramuno(from Cal Poly), Stevie Hansen(from RIVAL Oregon), Rylee Rehbein(from Montana), and Madi Balk(from Florida State). For hitters, she acquired shortstop Riley Peschek(from Montana), outfield Alycia Flores(from Boise State), and utility player Charity Sevaaetasi(from Oregon State) from the portal.

She also went to the Junior College ranks to get outfielder Ava Carroll and catcher Tia Durst. From the recruiting trail she got first baseman Alexis DeBoer, second baseman Jade Bubke, center fielder Sophi Mazzola, shortstop Gabi Toney, pitcher Morgan Reimer, outfielder Addie Craig, and catcher Annika Ticen.

WELL DONE, HEATHER!!! Way to stay level-headed in times of chaos. What a legend!

The hard work translated to the field. Before Friday’s game started, they were an epic 26-9, while being on a 6 game winning streak!!! Many things can change in life, but one thing you can bet on is UW Softball being good

I’m pretty sure that you’re all bored enough of me talking about the backstory of this team. Time to get to the actual game.

THE GAME:

This game was something that I was looking forward to for a while. After watching the softball team win 5-1 versus Cal Poly SLO ten days ago, I wanted to see how the team performed against Big Ten Competition.

On Friday evening, my desires came to fruition. I decided to make the trek down to Husky Softball Stadium to see how the Huskies did against the other UW, the Wisconsin Badgers.

It was a perfect day for some softball. It was finally starting to get nice and warm in Seattle after a cold, brutal winter. It felt like spring! I was thrilled!!

10 minutes after I arrived into the stadium, starting pitcher Sophia Ramuno stepped into the circle. Let the game begin!

TOP OF THE 1ST: Ramuno was in cruise control to start the game. Her fastballs were too fast and her breaking balls were too nasty for the top of Wisconsin’s lineup. They looked HELPLESS. By the time the half inning ended, Ramuno had struck out the side. What a start for the Huskies

BOTTOM OF THE 1ST: This is where things got INTEREStiNG. It all started innocently enough, with leadoff hitter Ava Carroll beating out an infield dribbler to shortstop and Alexis DeBoer drawing a walk to put two on with nobody out.

Next up came catcher Jadyn Glab. She had a prime chance to put the Huskies on the board. She tried her hardest against Wisconsin pitcher Gabi Salo. She delivered yet ANOTHER tough at bat, going to a 3-2 count. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get the job done, popping up to the first baseman. Now runners on first and second with one out.

Right fielder Alycia Flores was determined not to blow this scoring opportunity. After taking a couple of pitches, she ROPED a fastball the other way past Brooke Kuffel for an RBI double. It was 1-0 HUSKIES!!! HERE COME THE DAWGS!!!

Not so fast. Wisconsin’s coach decided to challenge the play. I was BAFFLED. It seemed like there was nothing wrong with that play.

Turns out the only thing wrong were my eyes(and knowledge of softball). I didn’t know that you couldn’t leave the base before the pitcher released the ball in softball. And even if I knew the rule, I didn’t see it happen from my view in the right-field stands.

By the time the umps were done reviewing the call, they had a shock for the Huskies.

RUN DOES NOT COUNT. AVA CARROLL OUT. ALYCIA FLORES BACK TO THE PLATE.

Flores looked DEMORALIZED for the rest of the AB. She battled hard, but couldn’t get any damage done versus Salo. She went down swinging to end a very dramatic inning.

TOP OF THE SECOND: Ramuno had a tall task at hand this inning. She was going to face the heart of Wisconsin’s order. She also had to keep Wisconsin from gaining momentum after a DISASTROUS end to the 1st.

Ramuno was up to the challenge. She retired the side in order, just like the 1st inning. The only good news for Wisconsin is that they actually hit the ball this inning. WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!

BOTTOM OF THE 2ND: Washington had a prime opportunity to seize some momentum here. Ramuno was dealing. Time for the offense to give her support!!!

Third baseman Giselle Alvarez was off to a solid start. On a 2-0 fastball, she blooped it into left for a single.

Charity Sevaaetasi was about to kill the momentum. On a 1-2 count, she dribbled a grounder to Wisconsin shortstop Ellie Hubbard. It looked tough to get two, but Wisconsin should at least get the force at second.

NOPE!!! CHAOS BALL REIGNS SUPREME!!! HUBBARD RUSHED THE THROW AND IT GOES INTO RIGHT FIELD.

By the time the play was over, the Huskies had runners on second and third with no out. It was a PRIME SCORING OPPORTUNITY.

Next up came center fielder Sophi Mazzola. All she needed to do was get something in the air and the Huskies would take the lead.

On a 0-1 pitch, Mazzola did exactly that. She skied it to shallow-medium center field, where Danielle Lucey made the catch. It seemed to bee too shallow to score the runner.

Giselle Alvarez didn’t care. She SPRINTED home in an attempt to score the first run. Lucey came FIRING and…

THE CALL WAS OUT! The throw was a bit off line but Wisconsin catcher Emmy Wells made an AMAZING tag as the throw went up the line!!! ALVAREZ DIDN’T EVEN SLIDE!!! WHAT WAS SHE DOING??!!!

Man, I was shocked by that decision. If she stayed at third, the Huskies still had two runners on and one out. Instead, they have a runner on second and two out. ABSOLUTE IDIOCY. WAY TO BLOW A PRIME SCORING CHANCE.

The light-hitting Huskies shortstop, Riley Peschek, tried to mitigate the damage. However, Salo’s stuff OVERWHELMED her. She went down looking, and the inning was over.

Somehow, the score at the end of 2 was 0-0. I DON’T KNOW HOW! This team was playing my emotions with the amount of chaos in the first two innings. Time to give the a new nickname, the HEART ATTACK HUSKIES!!!

TOP OF THE THIRD: Huskies pitcher Sophia Ramuno was on a roll. SShe pitched another scoreless inning and added a 5th strikeout to her total.

Wisconsin’s offense was making baby steps, however. THEY FINALLY GOT ON BASE, thanks to Emmy Wells leaning into a Ramuno fastball. They also didn’t get the side retired.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD: The Washington offense had a change of heart this inning. Instead of giving their fans a heart attack, they decided to surrender to Gabi Salo’s will.

Except Ava Carroll. She ripped a Salo fastball up the middle for her 2nd hit of the day.

TOP OF THE FOURTH: The momentum was back in Wisconsin’s favor. Salo was dealing, and the offense was starting to see Ramuno better. The question was if they could turn this momentum into actual offense.

The answer was yes. Left fielder Molly Schlosser started off the inning by drawing a walk. Third baseman Hilary Blomberg followed that up by ripping a single to left. There were two on and no out! WHAT WOULD WISCONSIN DO?

SACRIFICE BUNT. On an 0-1 fastball, right fielder Kendra Lewis dropped a perfect bunt. It dribbled right in front of Giselle Alvarez, whose only play was first. Wisconsin had runners on second and third, one out

Wisconsin designated hitter Brooke Kuffel didn’t take this opportunity for granted. After falling to 0-2 in the count versus Ramuno, she drove a fly ball to deep left field.

Ava Carroll scampered to the ball and made the catch. But it was too deep to throw anyone out. Schlosser crossed home and just like that, WISCONSIN LED 1-0. OOF!!!

Ramuno stopped the bleeding by blowing a rise ball right past Danielle Lucey to end the inning. The Huskies might be down, but they were still in this game. All the offense needed to do was get SOMETHING going!!!

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH: This looked like another easy inning for Salo. She got cleanup hitter Alycia Flores to pop out and got ahead in the count against Giselle Alvarez. It seemed like easy pickings for here.

Yet, Alvarez wouldn’t give up. With 2 strikes in the count, Alvarez battled HARD, fouling off 4 pitches in a row. Eventually, Salo lost the zone, and Alvarez was able to reach first base via a walk.

For this accomplishment, she was pinch ran. Not by anyone, but by a PITCHER!!! MADI BALK!!! HUH??!

Next up came Charity Sevaaetasi. Taking inspiration from Wisconsin, she decided to deliver a SACRIFICE BUNT of her own, pushing the ball to the pitcher. Balk moved to scoring position, but there were now 2 outs.

Unfortunately, Sophi Mazzola couldn’t take advantage. In a 1-2 count, she was caught fishing at a breaking ball in the dirt. INNING OVER.

It was ANOTHER blown opportunity for the Huskies? The fans were asking, “CAN THIS OFFENSE DO ANYTHING?

TOP OF THE FIFTH: After struggling through the 4th Ramuno looked back to her typical self this inning. She caught Wisconsin designated hitter Emily Bojan looking at a breaking ball and got shortstop Ellie Hubbard to sky one to shallow right center for an easy flout.

Everything looked easy for her… Until she had to face Emmy Wells.

Wells showed off her OBP skills again, this time drawing a walk against Ramuno after a long, tough at bat. Here came the top of the order. WHAT WOULD RAMUNO DO?

On a 0-1 count, Wisconsin first baseman Alivia Bark ripped a liner to center field for a base hit. Wisconsin now has runners on first and second. TROUBLE IS LOOMING…

Until Heather Tarr noticed something. She saw Wisconsin pinch-runner Emma King leaving the base early. She IMMEDIATELY called the umps to challenge the play.

After a few minutes, the umps have decided Wisconsin’s fate.

EMMA KING OUT. INNING OVER.

The Huskies got bailed out BIG TIME here. Ramuno was starting to tire and Wisconsin was getting runners on with ease. They were very lucky that the score was only 1-0 and not something higher.

I also can’t state how much I HATE the runner leaving early rule. THIS IS COLLEGE SOFTBALL. NOT LITTLE LEAGUE. THE RUNNER SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO WHATEVER SHE WANTS!!! ALL THIS RULE DOES IS CAUSE CONFUSION AND RUIN FUN MOMENTS OF THE GAME!!! PLEASE GET RID OF IT, NCAA SOFTBALL!!!

Here came the 5th inning stretch. Time to sing a fun song and ponder if the Huskies offense will do anything!!!

BOTTOM OF THE 5TH: Washington needed to do SOMETHING here!!! They were down 1-0 and losing momentum! They only had 3 innings to get that PESKY run on the board!!!

Things looked bleak. Washington shortstop Gabi Toney, who came in for Riley Peschek, got ahead 3-1 in the count. However, she rolled a soft grounder right to shortstop Ellie Hubbard. It looked like the first out of the inning.

TONEY HUSTLED DOWN THE LINE AND HUBBARD THREW IT TOO HIGH! IT WENT PAST ALIVIA BARK’S GLOVE AND INTO THE DUGOUT!

The Huskies now had a runner on second and nobody out! ANOTHER PRIME SCORING OPPORTUNITY!!!

Next up came Washington second baseman Jade Bubke. Not known as a masher, there was a decision to be made: SACRIFICE BUNT.

On the first pitch, she did it to PERFECTION, deadening the ball right in front of catcher Emmy Wells. Wells only play was first, and she threw a strike to get Bubke.

The Huskies had a GLORIOUS SCORING OPPORTUNITY! They had a runner on 3rd with only one out. Ava Carroll already had two hits against Salo today. GOOD THINGS WERE COMING FOR WASHINGTON.

Carroll did not mess this up! After taking the first pitch for Ball 1, she whacked a fly ball to deep left field, catchable for Molly Schlosser.

That is all that she could do. Toney raced home and the GAME WAS TIED AT 1!!!

That was all the Huskies got that inning. First baseman Alexis DeBoer got jammed on a Salo fastball, and Wisconsin right fielder Brooke Kuffel made a nice running catch. Time to move into the sixth, all knotted at 1.

TOP OF THE SIXTH: Head Coach Heather Tarr had to make a tough decision this inning. Sophia Ramuno was effective early on, but more hittable recently. She was at 87 pitches. Time to give Wisconsin a new look.

IN COMES FRESHMAN PITCHER MORGAN REIMER.

Reimer CRUISED through the top of Wisconsin’s order, garnering two strikeouts around the way. She stood out through her pinpoint location and diverse array of pitches.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH: Things are looking good for the Huskies. Reimer was DEALING. The heart of the order was coming up. They could win it here.

Catcher Jadyn Glab tried to start a rally. On a 0-1 breaker, she pulled it off and blooped it into left field. This could be what the Huskies need to get the rally started!!!

THEN WISCONSIN LEFT FIELDER CAME IN AND DOVE TO MAKE THE CATCH!!! WHAT A PLAY!!!

Alycia Flores followed with a popout, and things were looking bleak for the Huskies.

Giselle Alvarez battled YET AGAIN and won when a 3-2 breaker from Salo clipped her arm. It was a good time to start a rally!!!

Wisconsin catcher Emmy Wells said otherwise. On a 1-0 pitch, Alvarez tried to get into scoring position. Wells threw a CANNON to second. ANOTHER TOOTBLAN FOR ALVAREZ. INNING OVER.

That’s INEXCUSABLE for Alvarez. It was her SECOND base running mistake of the game. I understand wanting to steal in that situation, but you HAVE TO GET A BETTER JUMP. She’s a talented young player, but needs to fine-tune stuff like that to optimize her potential.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH: Reimer was poised to continue her reign of dominance. She started off the inning by catching Kendra Lewis looking at an outside fastball.

Right fielder Brooke Kuffel was a much bigger challenge for Reimer. The wily vet put some nerves in the true freshman with her mere presence. Four pitches later, and Kuffel was standing on first. Wisconsin looked BACK IN CHARGE!!!

If that didn’t fire up Wisconsin, the next play did. Hannah Conger came in as a pinch runner, and soon after…

VROOM. She timed Reimer’s delivery perfectly. Glab had no chance to get her. Just like that, Wisconsin had ANOTHER runner in scoring position with only one out! Could this be the end

REIMER SAID OTHERWISE! She got Danielle Lucey to dribble one softly to third and fooled Bojan with a breaking ball. INNING OVER! GAME KNOTTED AT ONE!!!

Amazing poise shown by the freshman to escape that jam!!!

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH: Washington’s bats were silent against Salo, who dominated for yet another scoreless inning!

One weird note is that Gabi Toney reached on an error for the second time this game. Very interesting.

Anyways, OFF TO EXTRAS WE GO!!! THE SOFTBALL GODS DEMAND MORE SOFTBALL!!!

TOP OF THE EIGHTH: Here comes extra innings. It was do or die time for the Huskies!!!

Starting the inning was veteran shortstop Ellie Hubbard. She came in needing to prove herself after making two throwing errors earlier in the game!

And she did! She RIPPED a 2-2 changeup to the right center gap. When Mazzola got the ball in, she was standing on second with nobody out! Wisconsin got yet another PRIME SCORING OPPORTUNITY!!!

Then came catcher Emmy Wells. Wanting to give the top of the lineup RBI opportunities, she planned to SACRIFICE BUNT.

On her first attempt to bunt, she got jammed by Reimer and popped it up right to third baseman Giselle Alvarez. ATTEMPT FOILED. ONE OUT FOR WISCONSIN.

After first baseman Alivia Bark tapped a grounder right to Reimer, things were looking rough for Wisconsin. They now had a runner on third, but two outs. It was do or die time for them.

Luckily, they had left fielder Molly Schlosser. She had been a PAIN IN THE BUTT to the Huskies all night. Reimer had a tough battle to face here.

Reimer did not back down, getting ahead in the count. Neither did Schlosser. On a 1-2 changeup, Schlosser made the decisive blow through…

SHE GROUNDS IT UP THE MIDDLE. IT GOES PAST THE GLOVE OF BUBKE!!! HERE COMES PINCH RUNNER MAKENZIE FOSTER AND THE BADGERS LEAD!!!

The Huskies faithful hearts collectively dropped. It felt like GAME OVER. All that fight and pride turned into nothing.

Luckily, Schlosser had some self-sabotage in her game. On a 1-1 breaker from Reimer, she sprinted to steal second. Glab was ready and…

THE CALL WAS OUT!!! GABI TONEY GOT THE TAG JUST IN TIME!!! INNING OVER!!!

Wisconsin tried to review, but their attempt went awry. CALL STANDS. Off to the bottom of the 8th we go, with the Badgers having a 2-1 lead!

The Huskies had one more shot to send their fans home happy. It was time to the true character of this Huskies team.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH: Well, the true character of this team was GRIT and TOUGHNESS. The top of the lineup was up, and they didn’t mess around one bit.

Ava Carroll and Alexis DeBoer started off the inning by clubbing singles to left. Two on and no outs. A THREAT WAS BREWING!!!

You would think catcher Jadyn Glab might sacrifice bunt here. Tarr decided to not play it safe. Glab was able to swing. She just didn’t have to.

After 5 pitches, she drew a well-deserved walk. This set up the ultimate scoring opportunity for the Huskies.

BASES LOADED. NOBODY OUT. CLEANUP HITTER ALYCIA FLORES UP!!! WHAT AN AMAZING TIME TO WIN THE GAME!!!

Flores needed to do one thing. Hit the ball in the air. Avoid a strikeout, double, play, or popup and the game would be tied.

After 2 pitches, she delivered. She drove Salo’s 0-1 fastball to deep center, but playable for Danielle Lucey.

THE THROW IS CUT OFF!!! HERE COMES AVA CARROLL AND THE GAME IS TIED AT 2!!! ABSOLUTE PANDEMONIUM AT HUSKY SOFTBALL STADIUM!!!

With two on and one out, The Huskies were in an EXCELLENT position to end the game. They just needed one more hit.

Giselle Alvarez couldn't get it, slapping the ball right back to Salo. She threw to first, and there were now two outs. What a huge rally killer that was.

Luckily, the runners advanced to second and third. All the Huskies needed to do was get a ball into the outfield and the GAME WAS OVER.

Charity Sevaaetasi was trying her best against Salo, working hard to get them the victory. On the 2-2 pitch, she dribbled a soft bouncer to Hilary Blomberg. In an attempt to end the game, she SPRINTED to first and…

BLOMBERG THREW HER OUT BY HALF A STEP!!! INNING OVER!!! TO THE 9TH WE GO!!!

The Huskies should’ve won it there. You rarely EVER get bases loaded, no out. Wisconsin STILL has a chance to win this game. YOU JUST SWUNG THE MOMENTUM BACK IN THEIR DIRECTION!!!

TOP OF THE NINTH: After an easy first inning, the freshman Reimer has dealt with her fair share of hiccups out there over her last couple innings. She needed to show some leadership and calm things down here.

She started off things well by getting Hilary Blomberg to ground out on the first pitch of the inning. One pitch, one out. Easy?

Kendra Lewis said, “NOT SO FAST”. After falling behind in the count 0-2, she slashed a Reimer changeup the other way for a single. Another Wisconsin rally was brewing.

Hannah Conger was just going to make it worse. On the first pitch she saw from Reimer, she SMASHED a liner that was…

CAUGHT BY SHORTSTOP GABI TONEY!!! SHE THROWS BACK TO FIRST AND LEWIS IS OUT!!! WHAT A DOUBLE PLAY TO END THE INNING!!!

Phew. That could’ve gone bad QUICKLY. That catch by Toney saved a hit and killed the rally. Her quick throw allowed for the double play to happen. And DeBoer’s great scoop saved an error on the throw! WHAT AN AWESOME PLAY BY EVERYONE INVOLVED TO SAVE THE GAME!

THE HEART ATTACK HUSKIES STAY ALIVE!!! OFF TO THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH WE GO!!!

BOTTOM OF THE NINTH: The Huskies bats seemed to go back to quiet mode this inning. It was another scoreless one for Salo, with the only baserunner being a 2-out single by Jade Bubke.

By the way, this game has officially gone longer than a baseball regulation game. ITS TIME FOR A TENTH INNING, EVERYONE!!!

TOP OF THE TENTH: It was Reimer’s fifth inning. She was starting to tire, but needed to push through.

On the second pitch to Danielle Lucey… Reimer PLUNKED her with a high fastball!!! Another baserunner for the Badgers with nobody out!!!

Lucey wanted to help Emily Bojan by getting into getting into scoring position with no outs. BAM! Off she went, trying to steal second…

GLAB NAILED HER WITH A PERFECT THROW! LUCEY WILL HEAD BACK TO THE DUGOUT WITH ONE OUT!!!

After Bojan grounded out, Wisconsin now had two outs with nobody on. It looked like their time to shine was over.

Not quite yet. The bottom of the lineup fought hard against Reimer, with Ellie Hubbard drawing a walk and Emmy Wells smashing a single up. There were now two out with two on. TROUBLE WAS BREWING.

Not for Reimer. She extinguished Wisconsin’s scoring threat IMMEDIATELY, striking out Alivia Bark on three pitches. Off to the bottom of the TENTH we go!!!

What a performance by the freshman Morgan Reimer today. Despite dealing with a ton of traffic on the bases, she managed to only give up 1 run!!! Way to keep your team in the game!!!

Now, can the offense please do SOMETHING!!! All of us want to go home!!! We’re tired!!!

BOTTOM OF THE TENTH: Many Husky fans were getting tired. Parents of young children wanted to get home. COULD WE PLEASE GET A DAMN RUN???

Alexis DeBoer tried, smashing a 2-2 Salo breaking ball into center field. But Lucey ran it down for out #1. Was nothing gonna go right for the HEART ATTACK HUSKIES?

Next up came Jadyn Glab. Salo seemed scared of her MERE PRESENCE, walking her on four pitches. The winning run was on first! Now please GET HER HOME!!!

Unfortunately, Alycia Flores couldn’t do the honors, getting under a 1-2 fastball and popping it up to Hilary Blomberg for the second out. Would be going to an ELEVENTH INNING?

Giselle Alvarez wasn’t planning for it. On a 2-1 Salo fastball, she got jammed, but the ball…

LANDED INTO LEFT FIELD FOR A BASE HIT. GLAB MOVES INTO SCORING POSITION. THE HUSKIES HAVE YET ANOTHER PRIME SCORING OPPORTUNITY!!!

Next up, came Charity Sevaaetasi. She was INCHES away from walking off the team in the 8th inning with her slow roller. She just needed to hit the ball into the outfield, where the lack of speed wouldn’t get to her.

This at bat went long and deep. Salo wanted the inning to end. Sevaaetasi didn’t. The count went full, as neither player was going to give up. That was until Sevaaetasi saw an outside fastball from Salo and…

CRUSHED IT INTO RIGHT FIELD!!! IT GOES OVER THE HEAD OF KENDRA LEWIS AND ALL THE WAY TO THE WALL!!! HERE COMES GLAB AND THE HUSKIES WIN!!! HUSKIES WIN!!! HUSKIES WIN!!!

After 3 and a half LONG hours, the game was FINALLY over. Huskies fans can FINALLY get their kids to bed. It was a game of chaos, errors, and blown scoring opportunities. It was also a game of great pitching, tough defense, and clutch hits. Some people would say it was a great game. Others would say it was terrible. The only thing we know is that is was UNFORGETTABLE, for one reason or another.

Even then, I was still not quite ready to go home.

MEETING THE PLAYERS: I wanted two things after the game ended: a selfie and the opportunity to talk with a couple of players. After the players were done giving autographs and doing their end of game meeting with Heather Tarr, a couple came out to go and see the family. I had the opportunity to talk to three of them.

Shortstop Riley Peschek: I got to high five her as she made her way to meet her family. I congratulated her on the victory!!! Pretty cool

Backup catch Annika Ticen: I got to talk with her a bit as she was getting to meet her family. She seemed very cool to talk to. It was great to see how she adjusted to UW as a freshman.

Pitcher Morgan Reimer: I got to meet not just her, but her family. I congratulated her on the amazing outing and ability to fight difficult situations. She is an amazing person who is humble and grounded. Her family was great as well, showing those same values. I can’t wait to see her grow as a pitcher and a person.

Finally, it was time to head home and get some rest. Here are a couple(or many details) of notes that I took from the game.

GAME NOTES:

Washington pitcher Sophia Ramuno’s feel for her breaking ball was better than her game against Cal Poly, throwing it more often for strikes.

Sophia Ramuno is prone to giving up some LOUD contact, as she almost gave up 2 homers. Both hits BARELY went foul

Washington catcher Jadyn Glab has elite plate discipline. She’s very selective and rarely swings at pitches outside the zone.

However, Glab can be prone to pulling off on some outside pitches due to a quick bat path. Most of her contact goes to left field.

Jadyn Glab shut the running game down, throwing out 2/3 Wisconsin base stealers. However, I want here to work on keeping her throws lower so that Toney/Bubke/Peschek can make easier tags.

Washington pitcher Morgan Reimer does a great job using a diverse pitch mix and attacking the edges of the plate, leading to lots of called strikes and swings/misses.

Morgan Reimer can also struggle with nibbling at the strike zone at times. I’m not worried about this

Left fielder Ava Carroll is an AMAZING leadoff hitter. She does a great job with seeing the zone and putting balls in play, having 3 hits yesterday. She’s also clutch, hitting a game tying sacrifice fly.

Ava Carroll’s defense is pretty solid, too. Smooth routs

Right fielder Alycia Flores can hit the ball HARD thanks to a quick swing. She showed it today with the RBI double in the first that got overturned.

Shortstop Riley Peschek’s bat speed is so SLOW that she strikes out looking ALL THE TIME. Her OPS is at .612, which is BY FAR the worst on the team.

Gabi Toney should be starting at shortstop over Riley Peschek. She’s just a better all around player. We want to win, not play favorites.

Second baseman Jade Bubke’s swing tends to be flat, leading to lots of ground ball contact. I am also worried about how she will do versus velocity.

I really like third baseman Giselle Alvarez. However, her base running needs to improve big time. Her two mistakes were both huge momentum shifters for Wisconsin this game.

First baseman Alexis DeBoer can struggle versus high pitches due to her steep attack angles on her swing. She’s been great, but just a small thing I noticed.

Alexis DeBoer is the daughter of former UW coach(and known snake) Kalen DeBoer. I hope that she actually stays loyal to UW instead of snaking the school like her dad.

Jing Gardner is the Terrance Gore of UW softball. All she does is pinch run. Lmao.

As a team, the Huskies will not win much if we keep struggling with RISP like today.

Friday night was the third walk off I ever saw from the Huskies.

Heather Tarr has an outstanding team culture. She doesn’t just care about winning. She prioritizes the team, fans, and Husky community in general. You can see this through players signing autographs, singing the Husky anthem after victory, and chants in the dugout how important tradition is to the team.

Wisconsin first baseman Alivia Bark is in an extreme crouch for her batting stance. Her stance gives me knee damage LMAO.

Wisconsin shortstop Ellie Hubbard was having NIGHTMARES with throwing the ball today. She committed TWO throwing errors, which both gave the Huskies HUGE scoring opportunities. The sidearm delivery is NOT WORKING FOR HER!!!

Wisconsin left fielder Molly Schlosser is a name that will give me nightmares. From her diving catch, to hear home run, to go-ahead hit, she always found a way to give the Huskies trouble.

On the other hand, Wisconsin center fielder Danielle Lucey had an excellent defensive game with an outfield assist and nice running catch.

HUGE RESPECT for Wisconsin pitcher Gabi Salo. Unlike most MLB pitchers, she didn’t complain about pitch count or innings limits. She threw a complete game with 180 pitches during that span. What an amazing display of ENDURANCE!!!

Wisconsin decided to take full advantage of the substituion rules. Lord knows how many players they moved around, because I sure lost count by the 5th inning or so.

Wisconsin’s bullpen did cotton eyed Joe during the 10th. Pretty cool ngl.

Please get rid of the “runner leaving early” rule. The only thing it does is suck the fun out of the game!!!

I actually like the substitution rules. They might be weird, but it allows for base running and defensive substitutions to be valued with our removing key players from the game. MLB should take notes from this.

I still need to learn the different pitches in softball. I’ve been a fan for almost two years and still trying to guess what the pitcher is throwing 90% of the time.

I moved from right field to center field during the 5th inning because I hated the view from right field. I like the view from center field a lot more, where you can see details like pitch movement a lot better.

UW students should actually come to softball. They’re good and fun to watch. Guess getting hungover is more fun on a Friday night. Yawn.

Every photo and video(after the first 2) was taken by me. I really enjoy photography, and thought that it would be cool to share it here. If you want to subscribe to my YouTube channel, here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/@adamamster1279

If you somehow survived all of this yapping, CONGRATULATION!!! YOU MADE IT TO THE END!!!

Hope you enjoyed, and see you soon for the next article!!!