After a rain out of Wednesday’s doubleheader against Purdue, IU heads to Penn State for a three-game series against the Nittany Lions this weekend.
The Hoosiers have struggled lately, winning only two of their last 12 games, while Penn State has taken two of three games from both Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Junior Kelsey Dotson and senior Shannon Cawley are two players who have not had any problems this season, seemingly getting better as the season has progressed.
Dotson is chasing history this season after already hitting 10 home runs, which is not only tied for sixth in the Big Ten, but currently seventh for most home runs hit in an IU history for a single season. Michelle Venturella holds the top spot at 16 home runs, which she hit in 1994.
After suffering from injury last season, Cawley hasn’t missed a beat as she leads the team in hits with 43, RBIs with 36 and total bases at 77. Her six-RBI performance in game two on Saturday is tied for third most in a single game in IU history, behind a pair of seven RBI games from Monica Armendarez in 1996 and teammate Kelsey Dotson in 2015.
The Hoosiers picked up five more home runs last weekend to bring their season count to 37, well-surpassing the last season total of 30.
The Hoosiers are 32-24 against Penn State all-time, including winning the last meeting 8-7 back in 2014.
Saturday’s and Sunday’s games will be broadcast on BTN Plus, with the first pitch Friday scheduled for 6 p.m.
Michael Hernandez
