Indiana softball gathered near the south end of Andy Mohr Field on Friday and faced the Hoosier faithful for its traditional recital of the Indiana fight song. It was the Hoosiers’ first regular season home game since April 27 last year. Despite their long-awaited return home, the Hoosiers’ usually spirited postgame ritual was marked by slumped shoulders and dejected looks.
The Cream and Crimson had just suffered a shutout loss in their Big Ten opener against Minnesota, marking Indiana’s first shutout since an 8-0 loss to Florida Atlantic University in its season opener Feb. 5.
For an otherwise explosive Indiana offense –– one that ranked seventh in the country with 192 total runs scored heading into the weekend –– Friday’s game was out of character.
“There have not been many games that we’ve been in that situation where the hits aren’t flowing, the runs aren’t flowing,” Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton said postgame Friday. “And so I think just mindset wise, we pressed a little bit. You could see we tried harder instead of just sticking to the fundamentals.”
While its offense struggled to begin the series, Indiana’s pitching staff carried momentum into the weekend after allowing just three runs across five games at the Elon & University of North Carolina Greensboro Tournament from Feb. 27 through March 1.
In their first home series of the 2026 season, the Hoosiers conceded just six runs across the three-game slate, helping Indiana to a 2-1 weekend.
Junior pitcher Brooke Mannon earned the start in the circle Friday and held Minnesota scoreless through four innings pitched. Redshirt junior Taylor Hess entered in relief of Mannon, surrendering two runs to the Golden Gophers across the final three frames.
“If you would tell me our pitchers are gonna limit any team to two runs, I say we win the game, right?” Stanton said.
Despite the strong pitching effort, Indiana’s bats never woke up as the Hoosiers fell 2-0.
After struggling to produce offensively to open the series, Indiana hitters delivered more effective results Saturday, scoring five runs.
While the Cream and Crimson bounced back offensively, the spotlight was on sophomore pitcher Ella Troutt, who took the circle for the second contest of the series. Troutt, an offseason transfer addition, made just six pitching appearances for the University of Georgia as a freshman. Saturday’s game marked her 12th appearance through 22 games for Indiana.
Troutt collected two strikeouts and allowed three hits en route to her first career complete-game shutout against Minnesota.
“Ella [Troutt] was outstanding,” Stanton said postgame.
While the Golden Gophers struggled with four errors on the day, the Hoosiers’ defense was largely mistake-free with one error.
“Yeah, when you can trust your defense like I can –– we have an elite defense, a veteran infield –– you don’t have to play scared,” Troutt said. “I played very free today.”
The Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, native was also efficient in the circle. Troutt threw just 74 pitches on the day, compared to the 115 thrown by Minnesota pitchers.
“She was giving us a good up-pitch in the upper quadrant of the zone, and was able to hit all quadrants, which was great too,” Stanton said about Troutt.
With her efforts in the circle, Troutt led Indiana to a 5-0 victory over the Golden Gophers on Saturday to tie the series at 1-1.
The series concluded Sunday with freshman pitcher Aubree Hooks earning the start for Indiana in the circle. As they did in Friday’s contest, the Hoosiers struggled early to generate runs, going scoreless through the initial four frames.
But as its offense appeared stymied again, Indiana’s pitching staff stepped up. Hooks held Minnesota without a run through the first four innings.
The Hoosiers’ bats came alive in the fifth inning, exploding for five runs, and adding an additional score in the sixth.
“I thought the pitching did a great job to keep us in the game until our sticks woke up,” Stanton said.
Like Indiana, Minnesota’s offense began to produce in the fifth and sixth innings, scoring four runs across the two frames. However, a collective pitching effort from the Hoosiers, featuring four different pitchers, helped them maintain their lead and notch a 6-4 victory to close the weekend.
Following its 2-1 weekend series against Minnesota, Indiana sits at 18-5 on the season. The Cream and Crimson now face a quick turnaround with a matchup against Loyola University Chicago slated for 4 p.m. Tuesday at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Joe Elms (@JoeElms1 and @jpelms@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
