IU Coach Michelle Gardner said she believed any one of her five pitchers could step up and deliver for the team.
This weekend in Tempe, Arizona, at the Kajikawa Classic, freshman pitcher Emily Goodin and sophomore pitcher Tara Trainer distinguished themselves from the pack. Goodin and Trainer together threw 30 and two thirds of the team’s 34 total innings pitched in five games.
The Hoosiers went 2-3 during the three-day tournament. Goodin picked up the win Friday against Seattle, and Trainer recorded a complete game shutout Sunday against Saint Mary’s College of California.
“Emily Goodin was huge for us,” Gardner said. “I needed someone to step up against Seattle, and she did a really good job.”
The freshman made three relief appearances, including in both of Saturday’s games against No. 18 Utah and Arizona State, during the tournament. The first came Friday afternoon after sophomore starting pitcher Emily Kirk was injured after taking a line drive to the face early in the game against Seattle.
Gardner said Kirk will see a specialist for her injury Monday in Bloomington.
Trainer started on three occasions for IU. She suffered a loss to No. 24 Fresno State to begin the tournament and a defeat Saturday against Arizona State. She recorded a complete game and tied a career high with 13 strikeouts against the Bulldogs but received no run support in a 2-0 loss to open the tournament.
“Against Fresno State, Tara threw good enough to win,” Gardner said. “We’re just not hitting as well as we want to.”
Offensive issues were apparent at times for the Hoosiers in Arizona, and they were outscored 16-11 in the tournament.
“I’d rather us be more aggressive, we didn’t hit early enough in the count,” Gardner said. “We watched too many strikes go by.”
Following a three-hit performance versus Fresno State, IU used a five-run fifth featuring four hits to overcome an early deficit against Seattle for its first win.
After posting an 0-2 record Saturday and being outscored a combined 11-2 by the Utes and Sun Devils, the Hoosiers recovered well to close the tournament with a win.
Trainer surrendered only one hit to the Gaels and recorded nine strikeouts. Timely hitting also helped the Hoosiers to victory. An RBI single by junior outfielder Sarah Thompson gave IU a 1-0 lead in the second before freshman catcher Bella Norton provided an RBI double in the seventh to secure the 2-0 win.
“It felt good to come through with the hit because it was a big stage and a big opportunity with the playing time I’m getting as a freshman,” Norton said. “It was a proud moment for me.”
Norton started four of the five tournament games at catcher and struggled early when it came to her throws to infielders.
“It was definitely nerves, and I was a little too tense, but that always comes in any new situation,” Norton said. “I was a little shaky to start out, but as I started to trust myself more, I felt good.”
As a team, IU combined for a .220 average in the five games. Norton said she agrees with Gardner regarding the team’s offensive approach.
“We need to attack the ball," Norton said. "We don’t want to be so far back in the count."
The turnaround will be quick for IU, which returns to action Thursday night. The Hoosiers will travel to Austin, Texas, for another three-day tournament at University of Texas. The tournament will be the second of five road tournaments the Hoosiers will play before their first game in Bloomington on March 18.
With only a few days in between travel dates, IU will look to use its success against Saint Mary’s as a building block as it approaches a new tournament.
“It was pretty huge to end the weekend with a win,” Gardner said. “Against Saint Mary’s, we came out swinging, and we made things happen. We hit the ball much better.”
