After winning eight of its last nine games, IU softball has positive momentum as it starts conference play at home this weekend.
Friday’s doubleheader against Rutgers at Andy Mohr Field opens the Big Ten season and provides another opportunity for IU to display its growth.
The Hoosiers closed nonconference tournament play strong after starting the season 2-7 and posted winning records in three of their final four tournaments.
IU has a 14-14 record entering the three-game series and has scored the same number of runs, 118, as it has allowed.
“Going through our ups and downs helps a lot,” junior infielder Taylor Uden said. “We haven’t given away many games. Having the confidence that we are good is finally coming around.”
The arrival of Big Ten play marks the end of five-game weekends for IU. The Hoosiers played five games in a weekend four different times in four different states during nonconference tournament play.
Instead of preparing for up to five different opponents, IU Coach Michelle Gardner uses last year’s Big Ten games and scouting reports to get a feel for conference foes.
Rutgers, 7-19, is continuing a 34-game road trip with its visit to Bloomington. Gardner said she will focus on IU’s defensive shape when preparing for the Scarlet Knights.
“They have predominantly slappers who try to put the ball in play and run,” Gardner said. “We’re going to practice extra slap defense and slap bunt defense to take them out of their game.”
The Scarlet Knights have four players hitting above .300, and all of them bat left-handed.
Freshman infielder Taryn Atlee leads this group with a .375 average and 33 hits, including two triples.
Rutgers’ speed out of the batter’s box and on the base paths is another reason why Gardner is having IU practice defensive drills.
“They’ve got a lot of running and slapping things going on, which sometimes makes you have to make plays quicker,” Gardner said. “It’s making sure defensively we’re not panicking.”
However, if sophomore pitcher Tara Trainer can replicate her performance from the Hoosier Classic, the IU defense may not have to do much.
Trainer averaged more than 1.3 strikeouts per inning in 15.2 innings of work last weekend.
“She has a great work ethic, she understands the game and she has command of the mound,” Gardner said. “Tara Trainer is a dominant pitcher.”
The Scarlet Knights will counter Trainer with senior pitcher Shayla Sweeney. As the only Rutgers pitcher with an ERA less than five and more than one win, Sweeney has a 6-5 record and has carried the starting rotation.
Including Sweeney, three of Rutgers’ four pitchers were part of last year’s team that swept IU in three games in Piscataway, New Jersey.
“Those pitchers were mainly slower and outside, so we’ll make adjustments as we go,” Uden said. “We’ll scoot up on the plate a little bit and drive the ball to the right side.”
Beyond on-field performances, IU was forced to adjust to weather this weekend. Because of the chance of rain, IU and Rutgers will play at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday and at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“We need to get in as many Big Ten games as we can because it determines seeding in the Big Ten Tournament,” Gardner said. “If we lose a weekend, it could affect where we are seeded.”
While IU hasn’t had a winning Big Ten record since 2012, it has improved its record each year in conference play after going 3-19 in 2013.
IU is just 1-5 against Rutgers since it joined the Big Ten in 2014, but the two teams are trending in opposite directions currently, which is something Gardner will look to exploit at the plate.
“We have a bigger scoring potential offensively,” Gardner said. “We can only go one game at a time, and take care of business.”
