On April 8, Indiana softball’s program record 23-game winning streak was broken by Minnesota, and a loss followed on April 9 to give Indiana its first Big Ten series loss this season. After the defensive struggles that led to those losses in Minnesota, the Hoosiers returned home on Tuesday, defeating the University of Louisville 10-5.
With junior pitcher Macy Montgomery in the circle for the Hoosiers, head coach Shonda Stanton felt like her performance was the difference in the ballgame.
“That kid is a competitor and I loved what I saw out of Macy,” Stanton said. “We got a tremendous start and I think that was the difference in the ballgame.”
Montgomery held the Cardinals scoreless in the first inning, allowing her offense to step to the plate without a deficit. Team 50 got off to a quick start with three runs in the first inning. Sophomore first baseman Sarah Stone opened the scoring with a two-RBI triple to left center field. Stone was then driven in by sophomore utility player Brianna Copeland to extend the lead to 3-0 after the first.
The Cardinals put their first run on the scoreboard in the second after a home run from graduate student utility player Hannah File, albeit in an unconventional way. Freshman utility player Cassidy Kettleman jumped up at the wall to make a play in the ball in left field but was unable to do so, with the ball deflecting off her glove and over the wall for a solo home run.
Indiana’s offense responded to the abnormal home run with three runs in the second inning via an RBI single from sophomore outfielder Taylor Minnick and an RBI single from Stone to extend the lead to 6-1.
The defensive mishaps that plagued Indiana in its two losses against Minnesota crept back up tonight against the Cardinals. In the fourth inning, File began to take off from third base to home after a wild pitch from freshman pitcher Sophie Kleiman, but the ball hit the backstop and ricocheted directly into redshirt junior catcher Lindsey Warick’s glove, causing File to get caught in a rundown. After a couple of throws back and forth from third to home and vice versa, the ball dropped out of Warick’s glove and allowed File to score.
Louisville scored their second run of the fourth inning with an RBI groundout from freshman outfielder Madison Winkler. Sophomore pitcher Heather Johnson relieved Kleiman in the circle and immediately issued a walk to sophomore outfielder Korbe Otis. A mental mistake followed from Warick, who threw the ball to second while the runner from first was advancing due to the walk. The throw ended up in center field, allowing sophomore infielder Ally Alexander to score and cutting the deficit to 2.
Defensive miscues plagued Indiana against Minnesota on April 8-9 and they continued into Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals. Without the mistakes on defense, Stanton feels her team can score runs with any team.
“If we play clean (defense) you know we can put up runs,” Stanton said. “That’s our identity and we are doing that off of two really good pitchers for (Louisville), and so I can’t be any more proud of our group.”
Freshman second baseman Taryn Kern responded in the fourth with an RBI single that was followed up two at-bats later with an RBI groundout from Stone, her fifth of the day, extending Indiana’s lead to 8-4. Not only did she tally five RBIs, but Stone was also 2-4 on the evening, headlined by her triple.
“What I love is Sarah hit the ball really well at Minnesota, but didn’t have a hit in the book,” Stone said about her first baseman.
Stanton had Stone get with Morgan — the trainer — because of the case of the “at ‘ems” that she had against Minnesota where she hit the ball right at the defense. Today at home, Stone was able to get those balls to drop for hits.
Although Indiana scored two runs in the fifth, the Cardinals once again responded with an RBI triple from senior infielder Daisy Hess to cut the deficit to three. The Hoosiers pulled away in the fifth and sixth, scoring one run in each inning with RBIs from junior shortstop Brooke Benson and Minnick, to defeat the Cardinals in the midweek clash. Sophomore pitcher Brianna Copeland entered the game in the sixth inning, shutting the door on a Louisville comeback with four strikeouts to improve her record to 15-0.
After winning the first of two midweek games before the matchup against Nebraska this weekend, Stanton spoke about what this win does for her team before they play Notre Dame.
“This takes some pressure off,” Stanton said. “We aren’t chasing any result, we are surrendering the outcome and going out and having fun playing the game.”
With the 10-5 victory, Team 50 stands at 31-11 on the season and seem to be NCAA Tournament-bound — a place Indiana hasn’t been to since 2011. With games against high RPI teams such as Louisville and the University of Notre Dame, head-to-head wins may be the difference in making the tournament. The Hoosiers head to South Bend, Indiana to face off against the Fighting Irish at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a quality RPI game,” Stanton said. “It’s going to be a great matchup and so we look forward to going up there and competing.”
