UW Badgers vs Baylor: NCAA Preview

(UW ATHLETICS) – The Wisconsin softball team is set to make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2022 season, traveling to Texas to battle in the Austin Regional as the No. 8 seed—beginning on Friday, May 15. 

The Badgers (32-19) are slated to take on Baylor (28-26) in the first round of the double elimination regional on Friday at 12:30 p.m. CT. On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Texas (42-10) will take on the NEC Champions in Wagner (22-26) from Red & Charline McCombs Field. Each game on Friday will be streamed on ESPN+, as viewers can see the entire schedule for the weekend, HERE. 

UW has only faced the Bears twice in program history, as the two teams will meet for the first time since 2002. Wisconsin owns a 2-0 record over Baylor all-time, winning each game 2-1. The Bears enter Austin with four ranked wins under their belt, finishing 10-14 in Big 12 play. 

The Longhorns earned the No. 2 overall seed, as they just secured an SEC Tournament Championship after defeating No. 1 Alabama, 7-1. Texas is led by Katie Stewart at the plate, who is batting .434 on the season with a team-best 25 home runs. The Longhorns are currently batting .343 as a unit, which ranks within the top-20 in the country. In the circle, Teagan Kavan has taken on a majority of the workload, as the Longhorns’ ace boasts a record of 21-4 with 207 strikeouts over 169.1 innings of work. 

To round out the regional, the Seahawks are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. Wagner and Wisconsin have never faced each other.

The Badgers are fresh off of a run to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals for the second time in three years, walking off Purdue, 4-3, before upsetting No. 11 Oregon in the quarterfinals with an 11-9 final score. UW dropped its third game of the weekend to No. 8 UCLA, falling 19-5. 

Wisconsin utilized its power at the plate throughout the weekend, accumulating 10 extra base hits in Maryland to score 20 runs in three games. 

Sophomore Hannah Conger and redshirt freshman Jaclyn Showalter led the way with the bats, each tallying a pair of home runs. Conger and Showalter went on to each earn Big Ten All-Tournament team honors, combining to go 8-for-16 (.500 BA) from the right side of the plate. 

Against the Ducks, Wisconsin tied a season-high for most home runs in a game with four—doing so for the second time in as many weekends. Junior Hilary Blomberg got things started versus Oregon with a solo home run in the first inning, matching Kayla Konwent (2019) for the most home runs in a single season at 15. 

Senior Shelby Jacobson rounded out the Big Ten All-Tournament team awardees, earning a win over the Boilermakers in the process. The Chicago native tallied 10 strikeouts over the course of the weekend—entering Austin with 109 under her belt, a team-best for the Badgers’ pitching staff. 

Wisconsin is seeking its first Super Regional in program history this weekend. The Badgers have won at least one game in each of its last six appearances in the NCAA Regionals. Under head coach Yvette Healy, UW has made eight NCAA Tournament appearances, as this weekend will mark the 10th in program history.