IU hits road in search of first conference victory

The Hoosiers (23-23, 0-6) have been looking to snap their five-game losing streak for almost a week now. When their game Tuesday against the Evansville Aces was canceled, they had to look ahead to this weekend to get the bad taste out of their mouths. \nIU starts another Big Ten road trip Friday when it travels to Madison to take on Wisconsin (23-19, 3-5). \nThe Badgers recently faced off against Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Northwestern. Wisconsin got the victory against the Wildcats Friday, 4-2. Northwestern came back Saturday, shutting out the Badgers on the way to a 4-0 victory. Wisconsin then faced Michigan State in a double header Sunday, losing the first game 7-5 but storming back to beat the Spartans 11-8 in the second game. \nIU pitchers will have to pitch well to avoid getting beat up by Wisconsin juniors Kristin Zacher and Boo Gillette. Zacher boasts a .368 batting average while Gillette has a .354 average. Zacher's play lately has earned her Big Ten Player of the Week honors, the first of her career.\n"As a team, we are not too concerned with the competition we will be facing," IU coach Sara Hayes Nottger said. "The competition we have faced in the past few weeks is much better than the competition we will be facing this weekend, so we aren't concerned about the success of individual players." \nSunday, the Hoosiers travel to Minnesota (24-13, 5-3) to play a double header against the Golden Gophers. Minnesota claims fourth place in the Big Ten behind Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. The Golden Gophers recently split their series with Michigan State, winning their first game 2-1 but losing their second by a score of 5-2. Minnesota will be a tough matchup for the Hoosiers both at the plate and from the mound. Freshman Megan Higginbotham is second in the Big Ten in batting average with .375. Minnesota senior Piper Marten has a stingy 0.64 ERA and holds a record of 5-1. \nDespite the five-game losing skid, Nottger is not concerned about the team's play. With the victory against Illinois-Chicago last month, the Hoosiers got their 20th and 21st wins of the season, a win total that has not been topped since the 1997 season. \n"Our staff is competing to win the national championship," Nottger said. "We only know how to win. We recruit with that goal in mind, and we practice with that goal in mind. Lately, we have just lacked composure and focus. All we need to do to end this streak is to pitch well, show some energy and execute our short game better."\nIU starts its road trip when it travels to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. The game is set to start at 6 p.m. Friday with the second game set for noon Saturday. The Hoosiers continue their trip Sunday with a double header against Minnesota, the first game starting at noon and the second at 2 p.m.