With just less than a month left to go in the season, things are starting to get interesting in the Big Ten as to who makes the Big Ten Tournament and who does not. IU will try to make its case as a legitimate contender when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., this weekend to battle No. 4 Michigan.
Last weekend, the Hoosiers swept Penn State in three games, making it the first time IU has completed a series sweep since doing so against Michigan State in 2012.
“All weekend, from top to bottom, we were really solid,” sophomore CaraMia Tsirigos said.
Senior Shannon Cawley has talked about how the team has yet to put together a complete overall game, but it seemed as if things started to come together last weekend.
Senior pitchers Lora Olson and Miranda Tamayo both put together their best series of the season, with Olson picking up three wins and Tamayo closing the games out with two saves.
The offense for the Hoosiers complemented IU’s overall performance, hitting a total of six home runs, bringing its season total to 43 while surpassing its single-season record of 40, set back in 2006.
“We had all parts of the game working for us,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said.
Junior Kelsey Dotson leads the team with 10 home runs and is followed by Cawley with nine. Ten different Hoosiers have gone deep this season, and IU has recorded multiple home runs in 13 games.
Junior Michelle Huber was honored in the Big Ten as the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. Huber started every game last weekend, hitting two home runs, scoring four runs and driving in four runs. The award was the first in Huber’s career and she became the first Hoosier to win the award since Amanda Wagner did in 2013.
The Hoosiers will need the pitching and batting to remain successful this weekend as they prepare to take on one of the best teams not only in the Big Ten, but in the nation as well in Michigan.
The Wolverines stand at a 38-6 record and have found themselves in the top 5 of the rankings all season. They have hit 85 home runs, the most in the Big Ten and second in the nation.
“Michigan is going to score runs,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “We just need to play clean defense and continue to do what we do.”
The all-time series between the two schools has been one-sided, with Michigan leading 28-75, including winning 41 of the past 43 meetings. Last time these two teams met, Michigan swept the Hoosiers in a three-game series last year.
This weekend’s series will kick off Friday with a 6:00 p.m. scheduled first pitch. Friday’s and Saturday’s games will be broadcast live on BTN Plus.
