Wisconsin
Penn State Softball Takes Two Of Three Against Wisconsin

Penn State softball (32-12, 11-6 Big Ten) battled against Wisconsin (17-26, 6-11 Big Ten) in a three-game series, where the Nittany Lions came out with another Big Ten series win. Bridget Nemeth started in the circle twice and won both games.
Game One
Freshman Bridget Nemeth got the start on the mound to start the series for the Nittany Lions. The first inning remained scoreless for both teams. With no outs on the board, Gaby Garcia hammered the ball over the left center-field wall to get things going for Penn State, 1-0.
Nemeth shined through the second inning, throwing five strikeouts and keeping Penn State in the lead.
At the top of the third, Maddie Gordon stepped up to the plate and hit a single to the short-stop, which got her to first base. Kaitlyn Morrison entered the box and put away a triple, getting Gordon all the way home. Garcia stepped back up to the plate after her homerun and hit a single down the left field line, getting Morrison home. The score was then 3-0 in favor of Penn State.
Nemeth and the defense didn’t allow a run from the Badgers until a double in the bottom of the sixth, giving Wisconsin their only run of the day. Garcia went three-for-three on the day, with an RBI and a dinger.
Penn State took the first game of the series 3-1.
Game Two
Looking to take the series, Mady Volpe got the start on the mound for the Nittany Lions.
After two scoreless innings for both squads, Wisconsin exploded after a double sent the Badgers on base home to make the score 2-0. The Badgers continued their early campaign and scored again, 4-0.
At the top of the third, Jiselle Hernandez slammed the ball over the fence for her first collegiate home run.
After a walk, Penn State’s offense added a pair of runs at the top of the third.
Midway through the third, Wisconsin added third more runs, making the score 7-2.
At the bottom of the fourth, Wisconsin hammered a home run and a double, taking their revenge for their loss yesterday, 10-2. Despite a solo home run in the fifth by Garcia, the Nittany Lions allowed the Badgers to walk all over them, the final score being 17-3.
Game Three
With a series on the line, Penn State started Nemeth on the mound.
At the top of the first, Morrison on the first pitch hit a single to get the game started. With Morrison on first base, Gordon slammed a dinger to left field, sending Gordon around, making the score 2-0.
To end the first, Wisconsin scored on an RBI double to make the score 2-1.
With a player on third base, Haylie Brunson hit an RBI double, adding a run to the scoreboard. With strong defensive plays and solid pitching, the Nittany Lions keep the Badgers from scoring.
In the top of the sixth, Brunson solos a home run with one out, making the score 4-1.
With only two outs and bases loaded, Liana Jones hits a grand slam, extending the lead to 9-1.
Wisconsin managed to tally a run at the bottom of the sixth to avoid an early ending to the game. At the top of the seventh, Hernadez’s hit barely stayed fair to add another run for Penn State. To end the game, Nemeth struck out the Badgers, earning her 25th win as a freshman.
What’s Next?
Penn State will host Saint Francis at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, for faculty and staff appreciation night at the Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.



Wisconsin
Wisconsin chef shares tips to ensure your apples don’t go to waste

Laurel Burleson, a Dane County chef, thinks ugly apples make the best dishes.
One of her goals as a chef and restaurant owner is to save usable produce from the waste bin.
“I know how hard (Wisconsin farmers) work every day, making these products that are delicious and nutritious and for anything to get thrown away just because it’s not aesthetically perfect is just outrageous,” said Burleson, owner of Ugly Apple Cafe.
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The latest fruit monitoring report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows many parts of the state having great harvests, although northeastern Wisconsin orchards suffered from a cool spring. But most apple orchards are busy with the fall harvest. So what do you do with that abundance of apples?
Burleson shared some recipes and her philosophy on cooking with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Rob Ferrett: What do you like to do with apples apart from just eating them?
Laurel Burleson: One that I really like to do is making apple marmalade. That is shredding apples and preserving them in sugar so that they keep their structure. It’s kind of the opposite of making applesauce.
But we also make a lot of apple sauce and apple butter. That’s a good way to use a lot of apples all at once.
RF: What goes into making apple butter?
LB: Very basically you make applesauce, so just cook down your apples and blend them up. Then you take that applesauce and cook it extremely slowly, either in a slow cooker or in the oven. Cook it down until it’s dark and rich and more closely resembling a peanut butter than applesauce.
From there, you can put in whatever spices you want: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, bay leaf. You just have to be careful because whatever you start with in the big batch will get super concentrated and reduced in your end product.
RF: With applesauce or apple butter, do we have to be fussy about the type of apples? Or can we mix and match?
LB: I like to mix and match, especially because the apple season starts really early. Some years you can get the first season apples in July.
They don’t hold very long and they’re very juicy, so they break down really easily, but they are very tart. I like to get some of those early season apples and make them into applesauce and freeze them and then when I have other sweeter varieties later I mix them and then reduce that all down into butter.
RF: You shared a savory recipe with us for pork chops with apple bacon cabbage. Tell us a little bit about this recipe.
LB: It’s really fun for the fall and even into the winter. You can kind of use any kind of variety of apple that’s a little bit tart and it’s OK if it breaks down and blends in because the cabbage is going to maintain its structure.
If the onions and apples melt away into a delicious sauce it’s just fine. But also, if you end up with some apple pieces, then it’s a nice little surprise like a little sweetness.
The Ugly Apple Cafe operates cafes inside the Dane County Courthouse and the City County Building in Madison and sells its products at the Monona Farmers Market.
Wisconsin
Former Wisconsin transfer scores 43-yard touchdown in Indiana’s big win over Illinois

While the Wisconsin Badgers struggle on the football field, sitting at a disappointing 2-2 through four weeks, some of the program’s former transfers continue to find success.
One of those players is tight end Riley Nowakowski, who transferred to Indiana this offseason after five years with the Badgers. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native originally walked on to the program as an unranked outside linebacker. After playing sparingly during his first few seasons with the Badgers, he flipped over to fullback in 2022, then out to tight end after Phil Longo arrived in 2023. Nowakowski totaled 18 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown from 2023-24; his two years as a primary offensive contributor.
The former Badger is already making significant progress toward those totals, now just four games into his Indiana career. He has four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, plus one carry for a one-yard score. The versatile fullback/tight end delivered the highlight play of his career during Indiana’s blowout win over Illinois on Saturday, taking a 1st-down screen pass 43 yards to the house.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, has received solid contributions from Montana State transfer tight end Lance Mason. The veteran has 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns to date, leading the team in each of those respective categories.
While Mason has been one of the Badgers’ few bright spots through four weeks, it’s hard to ignore Nowakowski’s emergence as one of Indiana’s dependable offensive playmakers.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Wisconsin
Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead

Get ready for an overall warmer stretch of weather as we head into this upcoming workweek. After some fog lifts this morning, we’ll have plenty of sunshine today with highs in the mid to upper 70s along the lake and low 80s inland.
Tonight will be dry with lows in the low 60s lakeside and upper 50s inland.
Monday through Wednesday should be very similar, with upper 70s to near 80 near the lake and low to mid 80s inland with plenty of sun.
We’ll start to bring in chances of showers or a T’storm starting Thursday right on into the weekend.
WATCH: Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead
Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead
TODAY: Any fog lifting through the morning, then becoming mostly sunny.
High: 77 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: E 5-10 MPH.
TONIGHT: Mostly clear.
Low: 62.
Wind: ESE 3-8 MPH.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny.
Highs: 78 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: ESE 5-10 MPH.
TUES: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 80 lakefront… 84 inland.
WEDS: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 81 lakefront… 85 inland.
THUR: Partly cloudy with a chance of a shower
or T’storm.
High: 80.
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