After missing 19 games due to injury, Wisconsin softball senior Melanie Cross shined in her return to the starting lineup, leading the Badgers to a 7-4 win over Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Bloomington, Indiana.
Wisconsin’s win Thursday afternoon secured a spot in the second round of the Tournament. The fifth-seeded Badgers will face number-four Ohio State on Friday morning at 10 a.m. central time.
Cross went three-for-three with a single, double and triple. She finished the day with three RBI and reached base in all four of her plate appearances.
Freshman Maddie Schwartz earned the win on the mound after pitching four innings in relief to improve her record to 4-0 this season.
