MADISON, Wis. (March 25, 2018) – Rutgers softball (15-15) dropped its 2018 Big Ten opener at Wisconsin, 6-3, on a frigid Sunday afternoon on the Goodman Diamond. The Badgers (14-11) scored three runs after the fourth inning to break a 3-3 tie and kept the pressure on throughout the game with leadoff hitters batting 5-for-6.
 
Junior shortstop Jess Hughes extended her season-best hit streak to 11 straight games, while senior catcher Sierra Maddox, senior third baseman Meaghan Wells and sophomore left fielder Hailey Hoklotubbe drove in runs for the Scarlet Knights. Junior starting pitcher Whitney Jones took the loss with three earned runs and dropped to 6-6.
 
The remaining two games of the planned three-game series have been canceled and will not be made up this season. The second game of Sunday's doubleheader could not be started due to Rutgers needing to make its flight home to New Jersey.
 
Wisconsin threatened immediately with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the first, but Rutgers escaped as Hughes started a 6-6-3 double play. The Badgers did eventually break through first with two unearned runs in the bottom of the second. Following a walk and a one-out error, UW took a 2-0 lead on a sacrifice squeeze bunt and another fielder's choice RBI.
 
UW added another in the third after leading off the frame with a double and an RBI single.  
 
Rutgers tied the game in the fourth with a three-run rally. Freshman second baseman Myah Moy led off the inning with her fourth double of the year and advanced to third on sophomore right fielder Nicole Bowman's infield single that rolled perfectly on the third base line. Senior catcher Sierra Maddox put RU on the board with an RBI single through the right side before sophomore left fielder Hailey Hoklotubbe and senior third baseman Meaghan Wells drove home runs on consecutive fielder's choice grounders to tie it up at 3-3.
 
Wisconsin went ahead in the fifth by manufacturing a run. A hard-hit single off Jones' shin led to a sac bunt and a stolen base to set up another sacrifice squeeze for the Badgers' 4-3 advantage. The Badgers added insurance in the sixth with two runs against Rutgers' freshman reliever Taryn Collins.
 
KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers falls to 1-3 in Big Ten openers, and have dropped three straight conference openers.
• Wisconsin now leads the all-time series 5-3 and 4-1 since 2015.
• The Scarlet Knights turned their 26^th double play of the season in their 30^th game as they continue to rank second in the nation in that statistic category.
• Hughes ran her hit streak to 11 straight games with a single in the third inning. It's the longest hit streak of the season for Rutgers. She is hitting .425 over that span.

 
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights host Penn State in the 2018 home opening series on March 30 – April 1. The Big Ten series begins at 3 p.m. on Friday with weekend games slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.
 
 
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