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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports

IU hits the road with history in mind

Freshman catcher, Bella Norton waits for a pitch. The Hoosiers took on the Scarlet Knights last weekend winning two games on Friday but lost on Saturday.

It’s been 20 years since IU softball opened Big Ten play with consecutive series wins.

IU began conference play in 1997 with a 5-0 record after sweeping Penn State in a three-game series and Ohio State in a two-game series.

The 2017 team is 16-16 overall and 2-1 in conference and will look to build on last weekend’s 2-1 series win against Rutgers when it travels to Penn State this weekend.

“I think this group is in a good place,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “I hope we come out and play well. I don’t expect anything less from this group.”

The Hoosiers and Nittany Lions are trending in opposite directions as they enter the three-game series.

To call Penn State’s recent form disappointing would be an understatement. The Nittany Lions have been outscored 42-3 in their last five games, which were all losses. Penn State failed to score a run while being swept last weekend at No. 20 Michigan.

Conversely, IU is 10-3 in its last 13 games but has seen a drop in offensive production. After setting several team offensive records by scoring 23 runs against Rutgers on March 24, IU has combined to score only six runs in its last two games and losing to Rutgers and Louisville.

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything when it comes to offensive philosophies,” IU assistant coach Mike Perniciaro said. “We put zero emphasis on batting averages or home runs or anything like that.”

Wednesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Louisville marked the end of the two longest hitting streaks on the IU team. Freshman utility player Gabbi Jenkins ended her 11-game hitting streak, and junior outfielder Rebecca Blitz failed to extend her 10-game hitting streak.

Another freshman, utility player Katie Lacefield, has become a consistent offensive presence while hitting last in the batting order. After collecting just eight hits in her first 20 collegiate games, Lacefield has had 10 hits in her last 10 games with a three-hit performance in the 23-2 win against Rutgers.

However, Perniciaro said he prefers the team focuses more on quality at-bats than offensive numbers.

“It’s all about giving us a productive out or a good at-bat in that moment,” Perniciaro said. “When we get all nine people doing their jobs at the plate, we score runs.”

Recent history suggests IU will score runs during its time in University Park, Pennsylvania. Since 2012, IU has averaged 5.2 runs per game when playing Penn State, though IU is only 8-7 in those games.

Penn State’s lack of consistent hitting this season could be a deciding factor this weekend. Only three Penn State players, sophomore Rebecca Ziegler and seniors Kristina Brackpool and Shelby Miller, are hitting above .300.

The threat of weather forced the series to change from one game each day Friday through Sunday to a doubleheader Saturday and a lone game Sunday, although Gardner said she doesn’t expect this adjustment to faze her team.

“We’ve spent so much time on the road already,” Gardner said. “Maybe playing at Penn State is like playing at home. I’m looking forward 
to it.”

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