EUGENE, Ore. – The Wisconsin softball team opened up play in the Eugene Regional with a bang, taking down SEC standout Missouri, 7-2.

The Badgers (34-15 overall) put six hits on the board against the Tigers (29-27) and made every single one count in both team's NCAA tournament opener.

After Missouri took an early 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI-groundout, sophomore centerfielder Kelly Welsh kept the deficit to one run in the second thanks to a spectacular catch. The Indiana native set the tone of the game and jumped up to rob Chloe Rathbaum of a home run in the bottom of the second inning to clinch the final out of the inning for the Badgers.

Following Welsh's stellar grab, senior Chloe Miller ignited the UW offense with a two-run bomb, giving the Badgers a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning. With the blast, Miller tied the program's record for career runs (142) and career home runs (30).

The UW lead wouldn't last long as Missouri made it a 2-2 ballgame in the bottom of the third thanks to another RBI-grounder with the bases loaded.

A couple of innings after her outstanding catch, Welsh gave the Badgers the lead for good in the top of the fifth inning, knocking in an RBI single that gave UW a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth after working up a full count. Freshman Jordan Little, who got on base from a walk, scored off of Welsh's single to center field.

Junior Kelsey Jenkins followed up with a single through the left side, moving Welsh to second. Miller reached on a fielder's choice that caught Jenkins at second but moved Welsh to the perfect spot at third. Junior Brooke Wyderski came up with a big two-RBI hit that brought Miller and Welsh home. Mizzou changed pitchers, pulling off Cheyenne Baxter and replacing her with Parker Conrad.

Freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Menz showed complete composure from the circle, pitching a complete game and picking up her 24th win of the game. She only let up two runs off of three hits and struck out two batters.

Notes to Know:
-The Badgers improve to 6-10 all-time in NCAA play and tied their series with Mizzou at 2-2.
-Wisconsin recorded six hits to the Tiger's three, outhitting an opponent for the 27th time this season.
-With her third-inning two-run homer, Chloe Miller tied the UW career home run record of 30 dingers.
-With a game-high three runs against the Tigers, Miller is now the all-time career leader at Wisconsin with 144 runs.
-Kaitlyn Menz (24-10) threw all seven innings in her first NCAA tournament appearance, allowing three walks and two earned runs while dealing two strikeouts.
-Miller and Brooke Wyderski each batted in a game-high three runs and both hit a double. Miller went 3-for-4 on the day, while Wyderski went 2-for-4.
-Welsh's catch clinched the No. 5 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays.
- 2,333 fans were in attendance at Jane Sanders Stadium.

Details from the Dugout:
"It's always fun to walk away with the win. I'm really proud of our group and how they performed. We don't have a ton of postseason experience so to see the group come out with this much composure and confidence, and just fight, I was really proud."

"Right away I think [the defense] was a big spark for us, to see Kelly Welsh come out and steal a ball from over the fence. With all this coverage of softball for the NCAA Tournament, obviously we're watching and we've been watching great plays. We're texting each other and sending highlights from Twitter and we've probably sent Welsh 20 or 30 of those catches this year and told her it was her turn. She's made those plays again and again so to do it on this big stage on a Friday night on ESPN, I think that's every kid's dream. She does it every day in practice so I'm excited the world got to see her do it too."

"We know how dominant they are (Oregon). You come out here and you play, you get to see just what and outstanding program they are. We said going into it that it was just all about Missouri because we have so much respect for that school and that conference, our goal was to represent the state and the university and our conference. But Oregon, they're outstanding. It's going to be a lot more prep work. But it's a thrill and an honor to get a chance to go against them."

"It's like home away from home. Chloe's put the ball over the fence here before and we told her that going into it. It was fun to see her put a good swing on it."
-UW head coach Yvette Healy

"I think it was just instinctive. I tracked the ball and kind of made a jump, but I didn't feel for the wall or fence at all until I jumped for it. It was just one of those things where you're in the moment going for it and I happened to be right there as the ball was coming down."
-Kelly Welsh on robbing Missouri of a home run

"For those of us who aren't seniors, this is our first time coming to a regional, so we're super excited to be able to play on such a big stage in such a nice facility with a lot of fans cheering. All of that is a lot of fun."
-Welsh on playing at Jane Sanders Stadium

"Absolutely. Coming onto a big stage like this at Oregon, it's the tournament which obviously we haven't been here the past couple years, so being able to come out and see the team be confident enough to swing the bat and trust our swings definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I think that was the game changer today, trusting our swings and putting bat to ball."
-Chloe Miller on whether the game today gives the Badgers momentum moving forward

"It was actually really interesting coming here four years later. We heard that they got a bunch of money to re-do everything. Obviously it's well deserved, they've been to a bunch of super regionals and the College World Series. You should get a stadium like this. Coming back and seeing their old field and what it was to seeing this field, my mind was completely blown. I wouldn't really want to be playing a regional anywhere else."
-Miller on playing at Jane Sanders Stadium