20 wins in Hoosiers' sight for the first time since 1997

Sophomore Ashley Griffiths booted two ground balls in a row, then turned and watched the third one skip off her glove into right field. She kicked the dirt, received some encouragement from coach Sara Hayes, and snagged the next shot off one bounce into her glove to make the play at first all during Wednesday's practice.\nGriffith's never-die attitude and willingness to work until she succeeded exemplifies the mind-set of each Hoosiers player as they took the field every day during the 2003 softball season. Suffering a 33-game Big Ten losing streak and a guaranteed losing season, IU never folded and, instead, persevered to earn that elusive Big Ten win. \nThe Hoosiers (18-30, 1-15 Big Ten) are guaranteed to finish with a losing record and in last place in the Big Ten, but they still have the chance of earning their first 20-win season since 1997. They can send the seniors off on a high by beating Purdue and ending their post-season chances.\nIU has lost seven of 10 games and in those seven games has only scored a total of two runs. The Hoosiers are 12-2 when scoring five or more runs in a game. \n"That was our goal as a staff, to go out and score four plus runs every game," Hayes said. "It is definitely doable against Purdue's pitching."\nSaturday, IU will travel north to face Purdue for one game before returning home Sunday for the series and season finale against the same Boilermakers team. At the IU Softball Field, the Hoosiers have compiled a 6-13 home record in front of an average 158 fans per game. \nThe Hoosiers' big three, junior Heather Stillians, sophomore Katie Witham and freshman Megan Roark have, with the lack of offense, kept the team competitive in most ballgames by holding down the opponent's offense. \nTheir 18 wins have combined for all of the Hoosiers' victories to go along with their 3.39 ERA and 14 complete games. \n"We try to keep the hitters off balance by forcing weak hits," Witham said. "Last year we pitched how we wanted to pitch, but this year we have been focusing on trying to find the hitter's weaknesses."\nIU's pitchers will have to search hard to find the weakness of Purdue sophomore Andrea Hillsey, who is batting a team-leading .471 with 39 RBIs. The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten in home runs and are second in team batting average with a .299 clip. \nHeading into a rare Thursday doubleheader against Indiana State, Purdue is 31-22 and 4-8 in conference play but are in the midst of a four-game losing streak. \nHoosier hitters will have to figure out senior pitcher Leighann Burke, who owns an 18-14 record, 2.00 ERA and 14 complete games. \n"Beating Purdue will give us a chance to finish the season on a high note," junior Abby Stark said. "Sweeping them would be huge."\nHaving played 48 games thus far, Hayes said she feels these last two against Purdue might carry the most meaning.\n"These two final games kind of define our season," Hayes said. "If we hustle and play great ball, we will end our season on a high"