Resiliency was the key for IU as they played host to the 2016 Hoosier Classic and went 2-1 this weekend to improve their season record to 16-10 overall.
In Friday’s tournament opener, the Hoosiers trailed 2-0 in the sixth inning against University of Illinois-Chicago. IU sophomore Taylor Uden sparked a two-run rally in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single and provided a walk-off single that scored sophomore Rebecca Blitz in the seventh to give the Hoosiers a 3-2 win.
The Flames, coached by former IU standout and USA national team member Michelle Venturella, were able to pin two runs on freshman ace Tara Trainer before freshmen Emily Kirk and Josie Wood came in to provide scoreless relief for the Hoosiers in the last 1.2 innings.
After a rainy Saturday forced IU into a doubleheader against Western Illinois and Wright State on Sunday, the Hoosiers again found themselves behind in a game, this time by seven runs after just one inning.
In Sunday’s first game, Western Illinois scored seven runs off Kirk in the first, all unearned due to an IU error at the start of the inning. Slowly but surely, the Hoosiers began to chip away at the lead, scoring runs in each of the first five innings.
The fifth proved to be the most fruitful inning for Indiana’s offense, which has struggled all year to match the firepower it was able to produce last season. The frame began with the score tied 7-7, but IU came up with four runs on three hits and two errors, including a two-run single from junior Erin Lehman.
Thanks to 6.1 innings of strong relief from Trainer, Indiana was able to hold on and pull out an 11-8 victory over the Leathernecks. The strong offensive output by Indiana was good for its largest run total of the season.
Lehman went 5-11 during the weekend to lead the Hoosiers offensively, and junior Michelle Huber matched her hits total, batting 5-8.
In the weekend finale Sunday night, Indiana squared off against Wright State. Freshman Josie Wood was tagged for 11 hits and four runs in 5.1 innings to begin the game, and Trainer came in to finish the last 1.2 innings.
The Hoosiers mustered a run on three hits in the sixth inning, but were ultimately overcome by a final of 4-1. Trainer allowed just two earned runs over 13.1 innings during the tournament.
Indiana will continue its homestand and play its last game before the Big Ten season at 4 p.m. Wednesday against Indiana State (7-19).
