Struggling Hoosiers go back to basics to find success

After winning only one of four games last weekend in Tulsa, the IU softball team hopes to rebound this weekend in the Western Kentucky Invitational.\nLast weekend, three of the Hoosiers' four games were decided by two runs or less.\n"They were all real close games," said IU coach Stacey Phillips. "When we get runners on base, we just have to score."\nIU is not letting these close games keep them down.\n"It's frustrating when we work so hard," said sophomore center fielder Kim Richards. "But we always try to take a positive out of the negative."\nRichards has been on a tear in her last eight games with a .375 batting average, two runs batted in, five runs scored, and four stolen bases. On the season, Richards is hitting .316.\nDuring their recent struggles, IU's starters have kept the team in games, but the offense has not been able to give them enough support.\n"We have to be stronger with our bats and be aggressive at the plate," said senior second baseman Ashley Griffiths.\nGriffiths is tied for second on the team with four runs batted in along with freshman infielder/designated hitter Kari Bettenbrock. Last week against Tulsa, Bettenbrock hit her first collegiate home run on her way to driving in three runs. \nIn four games during the Tulsa tournament, IU left 18 runners stranded on base.\n"We need to get more hits strung together and knock some runners in," Richards said.\nToday, the Hoosiers will play a doubleheader against Buffalo and host team Western Kentucky.\nBuffalo has gotten off to a slow start with a 1-4 record. After winning its first game of the season, Buffalo has lost its last four, three of them shutouts. \nThe Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky boast an impressive team ERA of 0.49. Senior starter Ashley Schwartz has yet to give up a run in 11 innings pitched.\nSaturday, the cream and crimson will take on two very different teams in Austin Peay and Tennessee-Martin. Austin Peay has scored only 12 runs in 9 games while Tennessee-Martin has churned out 33 runs in only eight team games.\nThe Hoosiers will wrap up the tournament Sunday in bracket play. How well IU plays Friday and Saturday will determine who they play Sunday morning. \nIU will send junior starter Megan Roark out to the mound in hopes of leading the team to victory. On the season, Roark has a 3-4 record and a 2.35 earned run average.\n"We're going to try and rest her a little bit when we're ahead on Friday and Saturday," Phillips said. "That way she'll be ready for Sunday and the championship. It will all depend on how much she throws."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Tim O'Brien at tpobrien@indiana.edu.