For the fifth consecutive year, IU will head west to begin its nonconference tournament schedule.
The Hoosiers will participate in the Kajikawa Classic, a three-day tournament at Arizona State. IU will play five games against five different opponents while in Tempe, Arizona, with doubleheaders Friday and Saturday.
Tournament play starts Friday with a rematch against No. 24 Fresno State. The Bulldogs are 5-0 all time against the Hoosiers with a 7-0 win in last year’s Kajikawa Classic.
IU Coach Michelle Gardner said the way the team plays against Fresno State will set the tone for the rest of the season.
“I want them to compete and win the game,” Gardner said. “Obviously we need to play clean defense and find a way to score runs.”
Gardner said sophomore pitcher Tara Trainer and freshman catcher Bella Norton will start against the Bulldogs.
Trainer figures to feature prominently for IU this season after a freshman year in which she recorded 183 strikeouts, the most ever for an IU freshman.
Norton, along with junior transfer Shayna Gamm, will vie for the starting catcher position after the graduation of last year’s starter Kelsey Dotson.
Despite the change behind the plate, Trainer said she feels comfortable with both catchers heading into the season.
“There might be a little bit of a transition with there being new faces,” Trainer said. “But they’ve done fine adjusting and I’ve done fine adjusting to them.”
While Trainer compiled a 12-13 record last season with a 3.20 ERA as IU’s main starter, Gardner said she wants the sophomore to show more control this season.
“I’m looking for her to work ahead and compete,” Gardner said. “She’s a pitcher that has the potential to dominate.”
Three of the five teams IU will face in Arizona reached the NCAA Tournament last season. Fresno State and Arizona State each made it to regionals, while No. 18 Utah qualified for super regionals.
This presents the Hoosiers with an opportunity to record quality wins early in the season.
Senior infielder CaraMia Tsirigos said the team feels it can improve its record against ranked teams this season.
“This year we want to not only be in the game with them but to take the game away from them as well,” Tsirigos said. “The goal is to beat those big teams because we know we can.”
IU had several close calls against ranked opponents, like No. 3 Auburn, against which IU lost in extra innings after jumping out to a 7-0 lead, last season. Overall, the Hoosiers went 2-10 against ranked opponents in 2016. That record needs improving if they want to return to postseason play.
In particular, Saturday’s doubleheader against No. 18 Utah and Arizona State will test IU, which has a combined all-time record of 2-9 against those teams.
Entering her final season, Tsirigos said this year’s team has bought in and is looking to constantly improve each game.
“We’ve really started to believe in ourselves,” Tsirigos said. “We always had this idea of where we wanted to go, but I think we finally clicked and realized that we’re a very good team, and we just need one or two balls to go our way and we’re in the game with anybody.”
