IU looks to snap five-game skid

Coming off a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Louisville Wednesday, the IU softball team returns to action this weekend, starting today at 4 p.m. when the Hoosiers play host to No. 13 Michigan. IU will look to end its five-game losing streak with four games this weekend.\nThe Hoosiers have been plagued by errors on the defensive side of the ball in recent games. They've committed 21 errors to their opponents' three in the last five games. IU pitchers have allowed just 10 earned runs over that span, but errors have accounted for 17 unearned runs. The Hoosiers lost those five games by a total of 17 runs.\nCoach Diane Stephenson said the Hoosiers will need to be flawless on defense this weekend to find success.\n"We need to keep working on eliminating all of our errors," Stephenson said. "We are going to have to start playing errorless ball to win."\nMichigan (24-7, 3-1 Big Ten) and IU (9-15-1, 0-4) will also battle Saturday, with the first pitch being thrown at noon. The Hoosiers will also play host to Big Ten foe Michigan State (13-21, 1-3) in a doubleheader starting noon Sunday.\nIU and Michigan State split their pair of games last year, and the Hoosiers hold an all-time mark of 46-37 against the Spartans. Michigan hasn't been beaten by IU since the 1996 season, and IU has a 26-48 all-time record against the Wolverines.\nHoosier sophomore pitcher/first baseman Heather Stillians and junior third baseman/catcher Stormy Hanson will lead the IU offensive attack. Hanson leads the Hoosiers with a .390 batting average, five home runs and eight doubles. Stillians has recently improved her hitting and has her average up to .352 for the season.\nStillians believes the Hoosiers will need to keep up their improved offense and limit the defensive miscues this weekend.\n"We are definitely going to have to cut down on the errors and keep our bats up the way they have been," she said. "We need to make sure that we have confidence and get back to that fun level that we used to and have faith in ourselves and our teammates.\n"The pitching staff has been doing a good job of keeping hitters off balance, so if we can bring all those aspects together, I'm sure we'll be fine."\nMichigan will look for senior third baseman Stefanie Volpe to continue her hot hitting. Volpe leads the Wolverines with a .390 batting average. Michigan has two other hitters batting better than .380 as well. The duo of Marissa Young and Nicole Motycka will lead the Wolverine pitching staff. Young has a 1.07 ERA with a 13-5 record and eight shutouts. Motycka owns a 1.59 ERA with a 12-2 record.\nSophomore first baseman Natalie Furrow leads Michigan State with a .321 batting average and 14 runs batted in. Senior right-hander Becky Gray leads the Spartan hurlers with a 2.61 ERA and a 6-10 record.\nOf the Hoosiers' 15 losses, six of them have been by three runs or less. In four of those six games, IU has led by at least one run heading into the sixth inning. Hanson believes holding onto leads and closing out tight games will be key to the Hoosiers' future success.\n"Mentally and defensively we just need to be stronger and know that with two outs we can close the door and get the win," Hanson said. "More mentally than anything, just to get past that block that we don't think we can finish the game"