Indiana softball continued its strong start to the 2026 season, registering a 5-0 showing at the Elon & University of North Carolina at Greensboro Tournament held Thursday through Sunday in Elon, North Carolina.
The Hoosiers collected two wins over Charleston Southern University, one win over Elon University and two wins over UNCG over the course of the tournament thanks to a dynamic offensive performance.
During the first game of the tournament against Charleston Southern, Indiana faced little trouble against the Buccaneers. The Hoosiers won the game by a score of 9-1 in five innings, and had home runs from junior utility player Aly VanBrandt, senior catcher Avery Parker and sophomore infielder Josie Bird.
In the Hoosiers’ second game, they defeated Elon by a score of 20-1. Indiana took a little while to get its offense going, tied 1-1 with the Phoenix after three innings. However, the Hoosiers took the lead in the fourth inning and never looked back.
Indiana put up a combined six runs in the fifth and sixth innings, then blew the game open for good in the seventh inning with 12 runs. Sophomore catcher Alli Gavinwent 2-for-4 at the plate, hit two home runs and tallied five RBIs with two runs.
VanBrandt went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in seven RBIs along with three runs. Sophomore outfielder Madalyn Strader went 3-for-5 with three hits and two RBIs, including an RBI single in the fourth inning to kickstart the Hoosiers’ scoring stretch.
Following the dominant win over the Phoenix, Indiana matched up with Charleston Southern for the second time in as many days. The Hoosiers again had little issues, shutting out the Buccaneers in a 9-0 victory.
Gavin continued her hot streak at the plate for Indiana, hitting two more home runs in the game. Junior utility player Alex Cooper hit a home run in the first inning, and Bird added another home run to the Hoosiers’ total as well as they rolled to the win.
Indiana then played the first of two consecutive games against UNCG, and the Hoosiers pitched another shutout on the way to an 11-0 win over the Spartans.
The Hoosiers took a quick 1-0 lead in two innings. After a lull in scoring, Indiana put up six runs in the sixth inning, which included a grand slam from VanBrandt to put the Hoosiers up 7-0. Gavin and Cooper added an RBI double and a 3-RBI double, respectively, that put the game away for Indiana.
A rematch between the two programs would come the next day, and it was a similar story to the first matchup. Parker got the scoring started with an RBI single into center field. The Hoosiers went on to record six runs in the first inning.
From there, the Hoosiers put runs on the board in bunches. Sophomore outfielder Hannah Haberstroh connected on a two-RBI single down the left field line and Bird hit a two-run home run to left-center field in the second inning. Indiana had 10 runs on the scoreboard by the end of the game and held the Spartans to just one run.
Following the Hoosiers’ successful showing at the Elon & UNCG Tournament, they will begin Big Ten play at 6 p.m. Friday against Minnesota at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington and will conclude their three-game set with the Golden Gophers at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Joe Elms (@JoeElms1 and @jpelms@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
