On Sunday (March 5, 2023) the Wisconsin Badgers faced the Indiana Hoosiers at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington, Indiana, at the Hoosier Classic and were looking to run its winning streak to eight straight.
But Wisconsin fell behind early when Indiana’s Taylor Minnick had just scored Cora Basset on an RBI single to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with one out.
Indiana looked to put more on the board when sophomore Brianna Copeland came to the plate and Tatum Hayes was inserted to run for Minnick on first.
That was when Badger shortstop Ellie Hubbard made her presence known in a big way (video courtesy of the Big Ten Network):
Hubbard made a diving catch on a flair hit by Copeland and threw out Hayes at first from one knee to complete the double play and shut down the Hoosiers inning.
After the game, the shortstop told Extra Inning Softball:
“My first thought was ‘I’m playing up the middle’ and the ball was hit in the 5-6 hole, but it was hit softly so I knew I could dive and make a play on it. As soon as I dove, I figured the runner at first would be at least halfway to second in case I missed. I knew I had to fire the ball back to first decently quick, so I stayed on a knee and threw it.”
“As a defender, I knew our pitcher Paytn Monticceli and our defense were working hard to shut down the inning,” Hubbard added, “and I had to go all out to make the play.”
That she did and helped the Badgers come back to defeat the Hoosiers 12-1 in five innings behind 3-for-4 performances from junior Skylar Sirdashney and freshman Rylie Crane, who also added three runs and three RBIs.
Monticelli pitched all five innings for the victors, giving up just the one run on three hits.
