CHICAGO (3/22/16) – Senior Christa McGahuey smacked her 20^th career homerun on Tuesday, but it was not enough as the University of Detroit Mercy softball team dropped a pair to the University of Wisconsin from Chicago, Ill.
 
Wisconsin jumped out to early leads in both games and picked up an 8-0 win in the opener and backed it up with a 10-1 win in game two. The games were held at Cacciatore Stadium on the campus of DePaul University.
 
McGahuey's homerun was the first of the season for the senior and marked the 20^th long ball of her career, the second-highest total in program history. McGahuey is now just six homers shy of the all-time Detroit record of 26 held by Kaleigh Rafter.
 
The Badgers jumped on the Titans early and scored five runs in the first inning of each game.
 
Detroit's offense struggled to get going in the opener and managed just three hits before falling to the Badgers, 8-0, in five innings.
 
The Titans recorded three hits again in the nightcap but again fell on the wrong side of the 10-1 decision.
 
Wisconsin out hit the Titans 18-6 and outscored UDM 18-1 over the two games.
 
In game one, Savvy Ferstle, Katy Severson and Kara Vitale each went 1-for-2 from the plate. McGahuey went 1-for-2 with a homer in the nightcap, while Laura Villagrana went 1-for-2 with a walk and Jennifer Cottle added another 1-for-2 performance.
 
The Badgers increase their record to 14-11 with the wins, while Detroit falls to 6-21. The Titans will now open Horizon League play Friday, Mar. 25 at UIC. The Titans will square off with the Flames for a single game on Friday, and wrap up the series with a doubleheader on Saturday.
 
TITAN NOTES

• The Titans won their season opener in 2016 the first time since 2002, when Detroit defeated Robert Morris, 8-3.
• Detroit's back-to-back shutouts against Radford and South Carolina State were the Titans' first since 2006 against IPFW.
• UDM's three game win streak against Charleston, Radford and South Carolina State was the Titans' first since 2012 against Lafayette, Fairleigh Dickinson and Dayton
• Detroit recorded its third-straight shutout win with a 4-0 decision over Seton Hall. It was the first time UDM has done so since 1992 against Loyola and Dayton (twice)
• The 4-0 win over Seton Hall on Mar. 4 was Detroit's fourth-straight victory. The last time UDM had won four straight was in 2008 against La Salle (twice), Western Carolina and Holy Cross
• McGahuey smacked her 20^th career homerun on Mar. 22 against Wisconsin. She is currently six homeruns shy of the Detroit all-time record of 26 set by Kaleigh Rafter

 
ON DECK
Following Tuesday's games, the Titans return to the field Friday, Mar. 23 in the Horizon League opener at UIC. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, with a double header against the Flames on Saturday at 12 p.m.