IU softball had few issues on the defensive side of the diamond in its opening tournament last weekend, but struggled mightily to produce runs offensively when the situation called for it.
The Hoosiers left 27 runners on base during their five games at the Kajikawa Classic, a tournament they left with a 2-3 record. Furthermore, IU was shut out in two of its three losses.
IU Coach Michelle Gardner said generating hits with runners in scoring position will be a focus for the Hoosiers this weekend at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas.
“We didn’t hit as well last weekend as I thought we would,” Gardner said. “I thought we were pressing a bit, and hopefully we’re through doing that.”
IU’s second nonconference tournament of the season will feature two games each against South Carolina and tournament host Texas, as well as a game against Louisiana Tech.
After playing three teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2016 last weekend, IU will face two more this weekend in the Longhorns and Gamecocks.
South Carolina, in particular, poses a threat to IU’s hitting. The Gamecocks allowed only one run in five games at their opening tournament.
“We were trying to just touch the ball last weekend instead of squaring up a bad pitch,” Gardner said. “If we get more aggressive early in the count, we’ll get to see better pitches to hit later on.”
One of the few Hoosiers who didn’t struggle at the plate last weekend was junior infielder Rachel O’Malley, who leads the team in batting average, hits and RBIs. Gardner said she values O’Malley not only for what she brings offensively but also her versatility on defense.
“I moved Rachel back and forth a bit between third base and shortstop, but defensively she’s amazing,” Gardner said. “Just having her presence out there is good.”
Louisiana Tech and South Carolina both sit at 5-0 entering the Texas Invitational, while Texas went 3-2 last weekend with a win against Big Ten foe Maryland.
Playing multiple games in a tournament against the same opponent is reflective of what conference play will look like for the Hoosiers, when they will play a host of two-game and three-game series. However, Gardner said she doesn’t plan to make major adjustments to the lineup from one game to the next.
“I’m just putting the best nine players out there that I can and making some changes when I feel the necessity to do it,” Gardner said.
Sophomore pitcher Emily Kirk suffered a broken nose in IU’s victory against Seattle in the Kajikawa Classic and had surgery Monday. Gardner said Kirk will wear a face mask when she returns to pitching, although whether she pitches in Texas or not will depend on how she feels.
Freshman pitcher Emily Goodin, who recorded a 0.98 ERA in more than 14 innings of relief work last weekend, will fill Kirk’s place in the starting rotation.
IU will continue to experiment with its options at catcher this weekend. Freshman Bella Norton started four games compared to just one for junior Shayna Gamm, although Gardner said there will be more of a balance in playing time between the two going forward.
Gamm, like Gardner, said it’s important for the team to string together hits this weekend.
“Our biggest problem was not scoring runners when they reached base,” Gamm said. “That’s something that we’ve worked on in practice, and that will come with time.”
