After going 4-2 against Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota two weeks ago, IU softball will play another six games at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex in Leesburg, Florida. IU will play a double-header on the first day of the series against Northwestern and Rutgers, and one game on the second day.
IU’s first series will be three games against Northwestern. The Wildcats started their season in Leesburg, Florida, undefeated at 6-0. The team swept Michigan State, Rutgers and Penn State. Northwestern outscored all its opponents that weekend 36-5.
The Northwestern team is mostly sophomores and juniors. Junior outfielder Skyler Shellmyer has a .667 batting average this season after going 8-for-12 in the team’s opening weekend. Other key players that contributed to the offense include juniors infielder Maeve Wilson, who has eight RBIs this season.
On the defensive side, first-year pitcher Lauren Boyd pitched a 5-0 shutout on Friday against Michigan State, only allowing two hits. That made her the first Wildcat to pitch a shutout in her debut since Williams did it on Feb. 8, 2019, against Pacific University. Despite not making the NCAA Top 25 rankings, the team received 24 votes and was on the outside looking in.
IU’s final series will be another three-game set against Rutgers. Rutgers is currently 2-4 after getting swept by Illinois and Northwestern at the start of its season. The Scarlet Knights scored a total of two runs against the Fighting Illini and Wildcats. These RBIs came from Texas Tech graduate transfer utility player Kiana Workman and Alabama graduate transfer utility player Gabrielle Callaway.
Related: [IU softball goes 4-2 in three weekend double-headers in Leesburg, Florida]
However, Rutgers softball swept Purdue in the last of its double-header games on Sunday. Sophomore infielder Payton Lincavage went 3-for-5 and finished with one run and two RBIs, which helped the Scarlet Knights overcome a 4-1 deficit in the first game. Workman, who scored the game-winning run, went 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI the next game.
IU will play a double-header against Northwestern at 4:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Thursday. The third game will be played at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
The series against Rutgers will follow the same format with two games at 4:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 13. The last game will be played at noon March 14. All six games will be broadcasted on BTN Plus.
