After dropping their single game series against Kentucky on Wednesday 6-1, the Hoosiers softball team will travel to Champaign, Ill., to face the Fighting Illini this weekend in their first road conference series of the season.
“It’s time for the next segment,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “Big Ten play is the second segment of the season, and we have been preparing for this so we need to come out and play our game.”
In the all-time series matchup between the two schools, Illinois has always held an advantage, winning 14 of the 21 matchups, never once trailing. The teams last played three times back in 2013, where Illinois took all three games, including an 8-0 victory in just six innings.
In the past, the Hoosiers have had a tough time trying to score runs against opponents in recent years, however, the Hoosiers this year have had more success at the plate than in previous years.
IU is fifth in the conference with 28 home runs this year, three of which have been grand slams. So far, 10 different Hoosiers have gone yard for this year and the team is only two shy of its single season total last year with just more than a month of softball left to be played.
A major help to the success at the plate has been junior catcher Kelsey Dotson, who has had a very fast start to her season, hitting just over .300 with 28 hits, including six home runs and six doubles to go along with 11 runs and 27 RBI’s. Dotson is one hit and three walks away from surpassing all of her season totals from last year.
“It comes with maturity,” Gardner said. “Some things just start to click and she has learned to be patient, seeing more pitches, and she is just a very talented kid.”
Maturity is something IU will be seeing a lot of in the next few seasons, especially with eight freshmen. However, the freshmen such as Rachel O’Malley, Taylor Uden and Rebecca Blitz, who have produced well for the team playing almost every day, have shown the maturity in their play despite being so young.
Blitz had a big series for the Hoosiers last weekend, picking up four hits, scoring three runs and two RBIs. She currently leads the team with 36 hits and 21 runs scored on her way to being the team’s leader in stolen bases with 10.
The Hoosiers will look to improve on their numbers this season in order to help them pick up a couple of wins this weekend. Despite dropping four of their last five games, Gardner said she still believes that her players are locked in and ready to go.
“I think their mindset is very good,” Gardner said. “They’re competing and that’s all I’m asking for.”
The Hoosiers will begin their weekend series in a Saturday doubleheader, with the first pitch scheduled to be at 1 p.m.
“Every game is important now,” Gardner said. “This all begins to set things up for the Big Ten Tournament.”
