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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports softball

Softball looks to bounce back

After getting swept in a road series against Northwestern Wednesday, the IU softball team (13-33-1, 4-13 conference) is looking to get back into the win column with a midweek showdown against the Louisville Cardinals (28-17, 9-6 conference).

Last season, then-No. 11 Louisville defeated the Hoosiers 4-1.
IU sophomore first baseman Kassi Farmer, who hit 2-for-3 against the Cardinals last season, said she is hoping to have a similar performance in this year’s game.

“I remember hitting well against Louisville last season,” Farmer said. “I’m hoping to have the same type of success against them this season. I just have to stay relaxed at the plate and not think too much.”

The Hoosiers offense struggled to take advantage of opportunities with runners on base, stranding a total of 20 in three games.

IU Coach Michelle Gardner said even though the team has been hitting well, it has become a priority to start producing hits with runners in scoring position.

“We really need timely hits,” she said. “We need to produce with runners in scoring position. If we execute, it will lead to more runs.”

Senior shortstop Breanna Saucedo said the team has been focusing on driving pitches to the opposite field.

“Against Northwestern we were most successful sending the ball to opposite field,” Saucedo said. “Focusing on that is going to allow us to be more successful at the plate.”

Freshman pitcher Maryssa Becker leads the Cardinals pitching staff.
In her 120.1 innings pitched this season, she has an ERA of 1.80 with 116 strikeouts.

Opponents are only batting .212 off of her this year, the fifth-lowest opposing batting average allowed by a pitcher in the American Athletic Conference.

Offensively, Louisville has one of the best lineups in the conference.

The team’s cumulative batting average of .297 and 235 runs scored are both the second highest amounts in the conference.

Louisville also has a knack for getting extra base hits. Of 357 total hits, 32 percent have gone for extra bases, including a conference-high 73 doubles.

Louisville senior second baseman Katie Keller’s .515 on base percentage is the top in the conference and 44th nationally.

Her .398 batting average, 38 runs scored and 15 doubles all rank within the top three in the conference.  

The Cardinals will be matched up with an IU pitching staff that gave up 15 runs in the last series, 13 of which were earned runs.

Gardner said the key to neutralizing Louisville’s offense will be early run support for the pitching staff and limiting errors.

“We have to play clean defense,” Gardner said. “That is critical. We need to get off to a good start for our pitchers. We need to play a clean game and play our type of game.”

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