Indiana softball hosted the Hoosier Classic at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington from March 1 – 3. It was a successful home-opening weekend for Team 51 as they went 4-0 in the tournament, displaying a full team effort and the depth in their dugout.
Friday, March 1
The weekend began facing Bowling Green State University on March 1 in rainy conditions. Sophomore pitcher Sophie Kleiman started the game throwing heat with two strikeouts in the first.
Once the Hoosiers found their way on base, they stole them at any possible opportunity. Junior pitcher and utility player Brianna Copeland stole second and third base and found her way back to home plate. After a walk for freshman utility player Aly VanBrandt, it put the Hoosiers on the board first. Sophomore catcher and utility player Avery Parker hit an RBI single to advance the lead to 3-0.
After defensive plays in the Indiana infield including a connection from junior outfielder Taylor Minnick to VanBrandt at second base, Minnick then hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the third frame. The Falcons got on the board in the next inning to cut the lead to 4-2, leading senior pitcher Macy Montgomery to enter the circle to close the fourth inning.
Senior shortstop Brooke Benson hit an RBI double, followed by redshirt senior utility player Cora Bassett’s two-run inside the park home run to give the Hoosiers a 7-2 lead.
“I’ve never had an inside the park home run so I guess I’m just thinking ‘run fast,’” Bassett said postgame. “I think I didn’t realize coach was gonna send me home, and I was like, ‘oh okay,’ so it was fun.”
The Falcons only had one response by sophomore middle infielder Hannah Hunt with an RBI single. After that, Montgomery started to heat up in the circle, recording four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings pitched. The Hoosiers’ defense sealed the win on a double play in the top of the seventh inning to grab their first weekend win, 7-3.
“We’re on a good pace right now,” Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton said postgame. “We're running well, we’re swinging the bat pretty decent. So this is a team that puts up runs, and it's nice to see up to this point. We’ve played pretty good defense too.”
Saturday, March 2
The next day was a double-header, beginning with a rematch against Bowling Green on March 2. Starting the game on the same tone as the day before, the Hoosiers were aggressive on the base paths, once again stealing on any possible chance. Benson was the first to get the Hoosiers on the board with an RBI double. Junior outfielder Kinsey Mitchell then scored unearned through a walk. Benson stole home off a wild pitch to get the Hoosiers up 3-0 at the bottom of the second inning.
In the circle, the Falcons couldn’t get control of Copeland. No hitter reached base against Copeland until the top of the fifth inning. It was also a monumental day for the All-American as she surpassed her career-high of 10 strikeouts, recording 11 in the game.
“Coach always says, ‘confidence comes from success in preparation,’ and I feel like I prepared myself well this year,” Copeland postgame. “Just a lot of past success from my freshman and sophomore years has really helped me with my confidence this year.”
Parker led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run, but that was only the beginning of the powerful force of the Hoosiers swinging the stick. Benson then hit a two-run home run to left field. Then, the explosive base stealing from sophomore outfielder Cassidy Kettleman and Bassett off an errant throw to third base ended the game by run rule with a final score of 8-0.
For the first time on the weekend, the Hoosiers were off to a slow start in their second game of the day against Valparaiso University. Junior pitcher Heather Johnson was the starter for the Hoosiers in the circle, but the Beacons got on the scoreboard first with sophomore infielder Kim Rodas, who had a two-run home run on the third pitch of the day. Johnson then pitched back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, VanBrandt hit an RBI double. Parker trailed close behind, stealing home off a wild pitch to tie the game at 2 to end the second frame. The Beacons then scored off a bunt through the Hoosiers' sloppy defense in the top of the third.
Minnick got the Hoosiers back on track with a two-run home run to grab the 4-3 lead. The drive by Minnick was essential to change Indiana's momentum after its slow start to the game.
Kleiman returned to the circle for Indiana to start the fourth inning, allowing no runs scored. Benson had another two-run home run to right center field to give Indiana the comfortable 6-3 lead of heading into the fifth.
The Hoosiers infield continued to fumble with errors and miscommunications that led Valpoarasio to tie the game. Montgomery took over the circle after the three runs were scored, and closed the alarming inning for the Hoosiers.
Copeland checked into the circle in the top of the sixth inning to close the game. Freshman third baseman Alex Cooper made a double play at third to tag out the runner, then threw across the diamond to first to end the inning.
Cooper wasn’t done yet; she led off the bottom of the sixth for the Hoosiers with a stand-up double. Copeland had a clutch RBI double to score Cooper and take the lead back. Right after, Minnick hit an RBI single to stretch the lead.
In the top of the seventh, Copeland closed the game with three up and three down to give the Hoosiers the 8-6 win with an impressive performance in the circle and batter’s box.
Benson recorded two home runs on the weekend compared to her three home runs last season.
“I wanted to make a change to senior year and make a difference at the plate not just in defense but offensively too,” Benson said after the game, referring to her improvement in the batter's box.
Sunday, March 3
The final day of the Hoosier classic was a rematch against the Beacons on Sunday. But it was blue skies this time and not as much of a struggle for Indiana.
Copeland was again in the circle and picked up right where she left off the day before. Parker recorded an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, scoring Copeland to put the Hoosiers up 1-0 early.
In the bottom of the second frame, Team 51 was blazing, scoring six runs on four hits. It began with Bassett's three-run home run line drive to center field. Then Parker also bombed a three-run home run to give them a comfortable 7-0 lead.
There was no action until the bottom of the fourth inning when freshman infielder Tristian Thompson stepped into the batter's box as a pinch hitter for VanBrandt. Thompson struck the ball to dead center field for a three-run home run, recording her first home run as a Hoosier and giving them the double-digit 10-0 lead.
Kleiman closed the game in the circle and assisted the Hoosiers in the 10-0 win over the Beacons, as Indiana remained undefeated in the Hoosier Classic. Indiana advances to 15-4 on the season.
“I think for us if we master the mundane, we dominate the details, we stay super present, we stay grateful and we’ll take care of business because we’re super talented,” Stanton said postgame.
The Hoosiers play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday against Western Kentucky University at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Sam Elster (@samelster1) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
