Freshman duo seal shutout victory for Hoosiers

The game was already over in freshman Dawn Ramynke's mind when she stepped up to the plate in the 7th and final inning of a scoreless game against the Indiana State Sycamores (8-16). The Hoosier first baseman has been practicing visualization techniques, a strategy that has been encouraged this season by Hoosier coach Diane Stephenson. \n"I knew before I even stepped up to the bat that I was going to get a hit, that I was going to do something to win this game," Ramynke said. \nAll she needed was one pitch. The freshman nailed a 210-foot home run off Sycamore pitcher Kim McGinley on her first delivery of the seventh inning to break the scoreless tie and give the Hoosiers their first home victory of the season. \n"It was the pitch I was looking for," said Ramynke. "I thought I got on top of it a little bit, but it went over." \nThe home run was Ramynke's second of the season.\n"We've been working a lot on visualization and concentrating on the things we can control," said assistant coach Jen McIntyre. "Before Dawn stepped in the box, she saw herself hitting the ball and that's what she did. It was great."\nAlso important in yesterday's 1-0 victory was the pitching of freshman Heather Stillians, who pitched a four-hit complete game shutout for the Hoosiers. The California native kept the Sycamores at bay all game long, giving a clutch performance in the fourth inning. With two runners in scoring position, Stillians needed to retire Sycamore second baseman Kate Van Wechel to end the inning and preserve the tie. Van Wechel fought off the first couple pitches before popping one straight up and back down into the glove of Hoosier catcher Brooke Monroe.\n"Heather had a great performance on the mound," said McIntyre. "For her to come out here and keep the defense in the ballgame and keep the batters off balance was tremendous. She did a great job for seven innings."\nStillians was also quick to credit her performance to visualization strategies.\n"I was a little bit nervous, I didn't really find out that I would be starting until this morning," said the freshman who improves to 3-3 on the season. "But I felt good out there, I felt confident. Plus, we've been doing the visualization and that really helped."\nThe win gives the Hoosiers a 10-17 record on the season, not to mention some much needed confidence as the season draws closer to Big Ten competition. \n"I think it was a great win. We really needed it to build our confidence," said McIntyre. "Our defense played very well, we got great play on the mound from Heather. We're doing a lot of good things in practice, it's a matter of bringing it together at the same time. I think we had our offense, we had our defense, and our mental game together today."\nIU will play the first of three straight double headers at home against Ball State (9-10)at 1 p.m. Sunday, followed by a trip to Louisville (20-9) Tuesday. Next Friday's games against Wisconsin begin the Hoosiers' Big Ten season.