Big Ten season begins

Coming off of two straight extra-inning wins, including a 15-9 eighth inning rout of the Indiana State Sycamores, the IU softball team is poised for the start of the Big Ten season. The Hoosiers are entering the contest with wins in five out of the last seven games and four players batting .300 or higher. But, beginning the conference season with a doubleheader against the nationally ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will certainly be no easy task.\nOSU is coming into the game with a seemingly unimpressive 15-10 record. But eight of the team's games were against top 25 teams, including three contests against teams ranked in the top ten. Senior infielder Kristine Himes is the offensive leader of the Buckeyes with a .319 batting average, a .736 slugging average and seven home runs. Himes was also named the Big Ten player of the week two weeks ago. \nOn the mound, senior Katie Chain is OSU's main hurler with a 1.21 ERA and a 6-5 record, while amassing 92 strike outs along the way. Ohio State is currently ranked No. 16 in the nation and has been ranked in the top 25 all season long.\nWith all of the Buckeyes' accolades, IU coach Sara Hayes said she respects her upcoming opponents from Columbus.\n"Being nationally ranked, they are obviously a very well coached ball team," Hayes said. "They have a lot of great players, including both pitchers and hitters."\nEven though OSU is coming into the game with a high ranking, the softball team feels that it is ready for the challenge. The Hoosiers sit at 12-12 in non-conference play including a 4-0 record in extra-inning contests. \nSenior Stormy Hanson and freshman Lauren Hines are the leaders of the IU offensive attack, batting .400 apiece with 19 and 17 RBIs respectively. Hanson also sports a .747 slugging percentage with 15 extra-base hits including a team-leading four home runs. Hines and Hanson aren't alone in the Hoosier batting box with juniors Valerie White and Abby Stark each batting over .300 and adding 19 RBIs and two home runs between them to IU's cause.\nJunior Heather Stillians leads IU's pitching staff with a 2.37 ERA, a 6-6 record and 45 strikeouts in 71 innings of action. Sophomore Katie Witham follows up Stillian's attack with a 2.47 ERA including 32 strikeouts of her own.\nWith a highly touted in-conference rival on the horizon, IU plans to stick to Hoosier softball rather than tweaking its game for the occasion.\n"We're not changing anything for this game," Hanson said. "We're doing what we do and we're going to play our game."\nAfter a rocky 4-7 start, the Hoosiers have managed to hit their stride in time for the Big Ten season with an 8-6 record this month as opposed to an 8-12 showing in March last season. With such improvement over last season and a stable of capable hitters, IU is confident looking ahead at the Big Ten season.\n"I have a really good feeling about this season," White said. "We've been fluctuating a lot, but we have finally found a way to get up and play good softball"