The Badgers (14-10, 0-3 B1G) found their swing early against the Bruins (21-3, 3-0 B1G), with junior Alivia Bark smashing a two-RBI double to the opposite field, giving UW a 2-0 lead.
UCLA quickly retaliated, with the Big Ten’s leading offense scoring four runs in the first inning to seize the advantage.
After sophomore Kaylie Whidden led off the second with a single, fellow sophomore Hannah Conger hit a two-run home run, leveling the score at 4-4—marking Conger’s second dinger of the season. The Badgers followed up with two additional runs in the inning as junior Danielle Lucey delivered a pair to put Wisconsin ahead 6-4.
The Bruins responded strongly, scoring seven runs in a row to take an 11-6 lead. UCLA hit two home runs during this stretch, marking the ninth consecutive game with multiple long balls.
Freshman Berritt Herr entered in the third inning and quelled UCLA’s offense, retiring three batters in a row with the bases loaded to prevent any runs.
In the fourth, UW staged a comeback with a three-run inning, narrowing the gap to 11-9. Junior Hilary Blomberg hit her first home run of the road trip, connecting on a two-run shot after senior Emily Bojan walked to lead off the inning. Whidden rounded it out with an infield single, driving in a run for her first multi-hit game in college.
The UCLA offense continued to shine, with Alexis Ramirez hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning, extending their lead to 15-9.
Both teams remained quiet for the remainder of the game, with UCLA scoring once more in the bottom of the sixth to complete the sweep against the Badgers as conference play commenced.
Batting Highlights:
- The Badgers collectively recorded 14 hits, setting a new season-high.
- UW scored in the first inning for the 14th time this season.
- Alivia Bark recorded her ninth multi-RBI game of the season, finishing with two in Sunday’s contest. Bark is just two games shy of breaking into UW’s top-10 for most multi-RBI games in a single season.
- Emily Bojan has reached base in every game this season, extending her on-base streak to 24 games. The Chicago native is now tied for the fourth longest on-base streak in program history, matching Kendall Grimm (2013). Bojan wrapped up the game with three walks, marking the third occasion in her career hitting that target.
- Hilary Blomberg hit her seventh homer of the season in a 3-for-5 outing. That home run marks the 26th of Blomberg’s career, putting her fifth on the all-time list for the program. Three hits in a single game also sets a season-high for the junior.
- Kendra Lewis achieved her fifth three-hit game of her career, finishing 3-for-4 with a run scored.
- Danielle Lucey notched three hits for the second time this season, contributing two RBI.
- Kaylie Whidden recorded her first multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
- Hannah Conger launched her second homer of the season.
- UCLA extends their all-time record to 11-0 against the Badgers.
Next Up: The Badgers will take a bye week before returning to conference action in State College, Pennsylvania, facing Penn State starting Friday, March 20, in a three-game series. All games will be streamed on B1G+ and live statistics are available at uwbadgers.com.
