Snow covers the ground in Bloomington, but sunny Arizona beckons the Indiana softball team as they open their season at the Kajikawa Classic at Arizona State this weekend for the fourth straight year.
Although the Hoosiers’ official wins and losses will start being tallied up this weekend, IU Coach Michelle Gardner said she wants the team to maintain a simple and focused mindset.
“We just need to go out and play hard and have fun, and if we do that, then we know good things can happen,” Gardner said.
The Hoosiers will play five games this weekend, beginning with Nevada on Friday afternoon and followed by a game against Fresno State later in the day. On Saturday, IU will match up against Utah State in the morning, followed by an afternoon game against Georgia State. The Hoosiers will wrap up the tournament by taking on No. 21 California on Sunday morning.
Last season, the Hoosiers lost four games but won one against San Diego, 4-3.
Nevada, which went 16-37 last season, will be familiar for Gardner, who coached the Wolfpack for six seasons before coming to Bloomington. She was eager to point out her former assistant Matt Meuchel is now the head coach of Nevada.
“That should be really fun to go against him,” Gardner said. “I definitely want to beat him.”
This weekend will be the first official college experience for freshmen pitchers Tara Trainer and Josie Wood, as well as the return of redshirt freshman Emily Kirk.
All three will likely get some action on the mound.
Kirk said she hadn’t looked at any of the teams in particular to prepare for the weekend because it would only serve to make her overthink things.
Senior catcher and likely cleanup batter Kelsey Dotson said she had taken a look at first-day opponents Nevada and Fresno State.
She said she was mainly focused on figuring out who was likely to try to steal bases on her, but like her coach and teammates, she emphasized the need to keep things simple and focus on the trip ahead.
“I always really enjoy going to Arizona a lot and getting away from the snow,” Dotson said.
She has opened each of her four years at IU by playing in the Kajikawa Classic and is beginning her senior season seeking to improve upon last year’s team-leading 14 home runs.
The weekend slate should give the Hoosiers a solid mix in terms of competition level, with No. 21 California and Fresno State, both of which received three votes in the year’s first rankings, as tough veteran-laden opponents.
Nevada, Utah State and Georgia State all fit the same mold as IU. The schools fought through tough seasons last year but return six, eight and six offensive starters respectively.
Centerfielder and likely leadoff batter Rebecca Blitz said she hopes to start strong this weekend and looks to get on base even more this year to improve on her team-leading 15 steals and 41 runs scored last season.
Fellow offensive returners junior Erin Lehman, who led the team with a .360 batting average last year, and senior Shannon Cawley, who knocked 10 home runs, will also look to start their seasons strong.
The Kajikawa Classic will be host to more than 30 teams from across the country.
The Hoosiers went 1-4 in last year’s edition.
Blitz is optimistic about the team’s chances in the tournament and said the mindset going into the weekend has to be nothing but confidence.
“We have to believe that we can win all five games, and I do think that,” Blitz said. “Sure, we’d be happy with three or four wins, but of course we’re going to be disappointed if we don’t win them all.”
