The center field at Andy Mohr Field looked different. This time, it had the IU trident inside the Hoosier state with numbers 2, 6, 7 and 25 surrounding it. Each number honored Indiana softball’s four seniors with their jersey number.
The senior class is filled with players who have been the heart of the program: pitcher Macy Montgomery, shortstop Brooke Benson, outfielder Aaliyah Andrews and utility player Cora Bassett. For each of them, it was an emotional weekend saying goodbye.
“I grew up on this field; I played on this field,” Benson said. “And coming to camps and just playing shortstop for those camps, then actually performing and being able to rep the script is so special. I'm just going to take up every moment and be grateful for every opportunity.”
In the series' first game April 26, Wisconsin came out with mighty force. Graduate student Fiona Girardot hit a lead-off home run in the first at-bat to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead. Wisconsin ended up extending the lead to 5-0 after two home runs and a double across the fourth and fifth innings.
It easily looked like the Hoosiers were out of the competition. They were struggling to get past the Badger's defense and unable to control their offense. But in the bottom of the fifth inning, something sparked in the batter’s box, and they came alive.
Junior outfielder Taylor Minnick singled through the right side to score Benson and got the Hoosiers rolling. Sophomore catcher Avery Parker scored junior pitcher and utility player Brianna Copeland to make it 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Montgomery was thrown into the pitching circle in the middle of the fifth inning, and she came in clutch for the Hoosiers. In a time when they needed the senior the most, she allowed no runs and just two hits in 2 1/3 innings of work. Montgomery was vocal in the circle, screaming after almost every pitch.
Another senior providing the spark was Benson, who hit a two-run home run to bring Indiana closer to the Badgers. Heading into the seventh inning, it was a 5-4 game. Suddenly, a comeback seemed possible.
Once again, it was no other than freshman utility player Alex Cooper up to bat with the bases loaded. She was 0-3 on the day until this at-bat and then hit a walk-off single to left center field to score two runs to complete the comeback and win the game, 6-5.
“If you're for three in the law of averages, you're due, right?” head coach Shonda Stanton said. “I think any great hitter is not going to think that way. They're going to think like a competitive at-bat. She got a good swing off and roped that into the gap. And she's been there and done that. When you have past success, you can feel pretty good about yourself.”
The Hoosiers outhit Wisconsin 13-7 to complete the comeback in game one.
Wisconsin got on the board early once again April 27. This time, in the top of the first inning with an RBI single.
Later in the inning, Indiana sophomore pitcher Sophie Kleiman struck out three batters to get out of the inning. Freshman infielder Aly VanBrandt scored off a groundout to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning.
Wisconsin then added five runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-1 lead. After the two-run home run by the Badgers, Montgomery was again thrown into the circle in a similar position as the game before.
Suddenly, the Hoosiers found themselves in a similar position once again, but the top of the batting order for the Hoosiers struggled greatly. The first four of the batting order combined to go 1-15 at the plate.
The Badgers scored two more runs and showed no signs of slowing down in the top of the sixth inning, making it an 8-2 game.
But the Hoosiers scored four runs to make the deficit 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth. Cooper led in the batter's box, hitting 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Entering the seventh inning, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey was blasting through the speakers at Andy Mohr Field as the Indiana defense took the field, trying to spark the team to complete another comeback. The defense held the Badgers, but the offense could not get it going in the bottom of the seventh, leading the Hoosiers to drop the second game 8-6.
The series' final game Sunday started the exact way Wisconsin had been playing the entire weekend. Montgomery started in the circle for Senior Day but was quickly replaced by Copeland after allowing three runs in the top of the first inning.
Indiana continued to threaten in the first three innings. Still, it could only manage one run by junior infielder Sarah Stone’s perfectly executed bunt to bring in a runner at the bottom of the third inning. In the top of the fourth, a three-run home run by the Badgers put them up even more. Wisconsin added another run in the fifth.
No one on the Hoosier's end could get it done in the batter's box to provide the spark they had in the two games prior. The Badgers ultimately won 7-1 and grabbed the series, 2-1.
The Hoosiers are now 36-15 on the season and 11-9 in Big Ten play before they travel to Evanston, Illinois, to take on the Big Ten’s top-ranked Northwestern Wildcats on May 3-5.
The last time the two played head-to-head was last year's Big Ten Tournament championship game, in which the Hoosiers fell short 2-1. This time, the Hoosiers look to get revenge on the Wildcats.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Sam Elster (@samelster1) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
