Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

sports softball

Hoosiers head south to take on No. 11 Louisville

spSoftball Carousel

The IU softball team heads south Wednesday for a matchup with the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals. The 6 p.m. game is the Hoosiers’ first weeknight game of the season after six weekend tournaments in as many weeks.

The matchup marks the Hoosiers’ ninth game of the season against a top-25 opponent. So far, the team has gone 2-6 against teams ranked in the top 25.

The Hoosiers have their work cut out for them with the 23-3 Cardinals, who are 11-0 at home this season and currently riding an 11-game win streak.

Pitching will be key for the Hoosiers in their matchup with Louisville, as the Cardinals have scored five or more runs in 21 of their 23 wins this season. Louisville is currently posting a .344 batting average.

“I really want to come out and score some runs and obviously still have good pitching,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “But offensively we need to be able to put up some runs.”

Posting an earned run average of 1.71, keeping their opponents from scoring runs is exactly what the Cardinals are good at. Only three of Louisville’s opponents have scored more than three runs in a single game this season, with the Cardinals outscoring their opponents 173-57 this season.

“This is going be a big test, because Louisville’s a good team,” Gardner said. “We have to go down there and play. Hopefully what went on this weekend will carry over into this week.”

The Hoosiers are coming off an undefeated weekend in the Hoosier Classic in which they outscored their opponents 19-2. Ten different Hoosiers scored runs for the team in their home opener on the new Andy Mohr Field. The Hoosiers will go into Wednesday’s game on a three-game winning streak.

“We need to come out and be energetic like we were this past weekend,” senior outfielder Samantha Heyman said. “We need to stay together as a team and keep doing what we’re doing and keep winning games.”

Gardner said the team is riding on a spark of energy from the success in last weekend’s tournament, and the team hopes to keep that alive in Louisville.

The game against Louisville is the Hoosiers’ final matchup before moving into Big Ten play on March 22 in Columbus, Ohio. The contest will close out the team’s 30-game regular season schedule.

“We’re looking forward to this game and looking forward to opening the Big Tens next weekend,” senior infielder Amanda Wagner said. “This is kind of a precursor to opening Big Tens.”

The Hoosiers go into Wednesday’s game with a 15-13 record on the season, as well as a 3-1 record on the road.

“We have to take our momentum and try to transfer it down there,” Wagner said. “Louisville’s a good team, so if we can keep our energy level the same as it was (at the Hoosier Classic), we’ll come out on top.”

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe