IU earned its first Big Ten Tournament victory in 10 years Thursday before running into a national powerhouse in the quarterfinals and bowing out of the tournament in the second round.
IU (29-25, 10-13) was the No. 9 seed in the tournament and took on No. 8 seed Wisconsin (28-24-1, 11-11-1) on Thursday night.
Freshman pitcher Tara Trainer tossed a complete game shutout and the Hoosiers provided her with enough support for a 4-0 victory, their first in the conference postseason tournament since 2006.
“I felt like coming into the game that we had some great momentum going,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “We had great pitching, good defense and found a way to score runs, and I’m just thrilled.”
Sophomore infielder Taylor Uden got the scoring started in the second inning with an RBI single after back-to-back singles by senior outfielder Michelle Huber and senior catcher Kelsey Dotson.
In the sixth inning, Uden put another run on the board with a solo home run, her third of the year. Uden’s two RBIs in the game put her at a team-high 31 for the season.
Junior designated hitter CaraMia Tsirigos gave the Hoosiers a comfortable lead in the seventh with a two-run shot down the left field line.
Trainer finished the game with four hits, four walks allowed and six strikeouts. During one stretch in the middle of the game, she retired nine batters in a row.
“I was just trying to make good pitches, let my defense work for me and try to get outs for them,” Trainer said.
However, she found herself in jams in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing runners to second base three separate times. Toward the end of the regular season, the Hoosiers let late leads slip away several times, but Trainer had no such issues on Thursday.
Each time she found herself in a jam, Gardner came out to talk to her pitcher and settle her down. Gardner said Trainer’s confidence kept her going. Trainer ended both the fifth and sixth innings with strikeouts, and Gardner knew she could finish the game.
“She’s really been a key for a lot of our success this season and quite honestly I felt like we were in a position where she needed to win that game,” Gardner said. “After the sixth inning I was like, ‘it’s yours,’ and she said, ‘Yep, I want it.’”
IU pulled out a 4-0 victory against the Badgers with no drama in the bottom of the seventh, and advanced to play No. 2 Michigan (46-5, 21-2) on Friday, the top seed in the tournament.
IU had been swept by Michigan earlier in the season with two games being shortened by the mercy rule, and Friday saw more of the same. Michigan scored early and often, tallying two runs in the first, five in the second and three in the third.
Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Megan Betsa shut IU down for three innings and the Hoosiers could only muster two hits in the game, as the Wolverines finished off a 10-0 win in five innings. Michigan went on to fall in the championship game of the tournament Saturday night against Minnesota.
The 29 wins for IU this season were the most since 2012, but with a freshman-laden pitching staff and six returning offensive starters, the Hoosiers project to be even better next season. If nothing else, Trainer’s shutout provided Gardner with a glimpse of what kind of postseason success her team can have in the future.
“Our pitching staff is young so there were times this season when they took some lumps,” Gardner said. “But I was just overwhelmed with how well (Trainer) threw.”
