After their first game of the tournament was rained out (did not face Drake), the USF Bulls (3-1) take on Wisconsin in the 3rd game of the USF Invitational Tournament (followed by Arkansas).
Wisconsin is playing in just its second game of the season (no thanks to that rain delay the previous day). The lady Badgers are looking to start the season strong after a 30-23 season last year (finished 6th in the Big 10 standings) (game scheduled to start at 4:15PM).
The Badgers are led by sophomore outfielder Marey Massei (5-4). She hit .331 with 2 home runs, drove in 23 runs, and was of 6 of 13 last year in steals. Senior first baseman Karla Powell (5-7) hit .313 last year with 9 home runs and drove in 31 runs. Junior 3rd baseman Shannel Blackshear (5-6) hit .261 with 9 home runs and drove in 32 runs, giving the Badgers a solid batting order. Sophomore infielder/outfielder Stephanie Peace (5-6) hit .261 with 4 home runs and drove in 24 runs. Junior outfielder Kendall Grimm (5-8) hit .260 with 3 home runs and drove in 13 runs.
The Badger pitching staff is anchored by sophomore RHP Cassandra Darrah (5-8) She was 16-10 last year with a 2.51 ERA while pitching 187 innings, allowing 189 hits, 85 walks, struck out 124, and held opponents to a .262 batting average. Junior LHP Meghan McIntosh (5-5) went 10-9 last year with a 3.32 ERA. She worked 99 innings, allowing 119 hits, 71 walks, struck out93 and allowed opponents to hit .286, so the lady Badgers return two solid arms for this season.
This will be another tough test for the Bulls early in the season. The Bulls will need their best offensive performance in this game and for the pitchers (Nevins, Richardson, and Greiner) to shut the door on the Badgers and try to get a big win.
In the second game of the day, the ladies take on Arkansas (game scheduled to start at 6:30PM, could be slightly delayed on the start time or the weather). The Razorbacks are 4-1 on the season, facing Drake before facing USF (note that the stats are from the previous games in the season and do not include their game from earlier in the day).
Arkansas is led by freshman infielder Katie Harrison (5-5). She is hitting .462 (6 of 13) with 1 home run and has driven in 7 runs. Freshman infielder Devon Wallace (5-9) is hitting .429 (6 of 14) with 3 doubles, one home run, and has driven in 9 runs. Sophomore utility player Amanda Geile (5-8) is hitting .400 (6 of 15) to start 2012. Freshman infielder Sierra Bronkey (5-6) is hitting .385 (5 of 13) with one home run and has driven in 5 runs. Senior outfielder Tori Mort (5-5) is hitting .556 (5 of 9) with 1 home run and has driven in 9 runs (big time offensive team for USF to face).
The Razorback pitching staff is anchored by freshman LHP Kimmy Beasley (5-11). She is 2-0 on the season with a .64 ERA. She has worked 11 innings, allowing 9 hits, 1 run, walked 1 batter and has struck out 8. Junior RHP Chelsea Cohen (5-9) is 1-1 on the season with a .62 ERA. She has pitched 11 innings, allowing hits, 1 run, walked 2 and struck out 9 (batters hitting .190 on the season).
This is a real test for the Bulls, facing two big time programs from large conferences. USF battled tough against UF last Sunday and should be building off that momentum in these two games.
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