As she has done all season, junior utility player Aly VanBrandt led off the first inning for Indiana softball Wednesday. Four Hoosier fans wearing crimson shirts watched the game against the University of Evansville from the trunk of their car in the centerfield parking lot of Andy Mohr Field, waiting for a home run ball to come their way.
They did not have to wait long.
With a 3-1 count, VanBrandt launched the ball over the right field wall and into the grass on the west end of the parking lot. The fans raced each other to retrieve her 13th homer of the season.
Last season, VanBrandt typically hit toward the middle of the lineup. But after the Hoosiers graduated much of their firepower at the top of the order, VanBrandt moved into the leadoff spot, where she leads the Cream and Crimson with a .407 batting average.
“She’s done a phenomenal job, and the best part is she’s only a junior.” Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton said about VanBrandt postgame. “So, it’s nice when you have somebody on the top of your lineup like that, that you know is gonna give you consistency. And she’s been performing at a really high level.”
VanBrandt’s leadoff home run set the tone for the Cream and Crimson, who scored four runs in the first inning en route to an 8-0 run-rule victory over the Purple Aces.
Batting third in the lineup, senior catcher Avery Parker stepped to the plate after junior utility player Alex Cooper doubled to left field. Parker had already set Indiana’s career home run record with her 46th of her career against Iowa on April 19. The Westfield, Indiana, native hit five more over her previous four games heading into Wednesday.
Parker hit her team-leading 18th home run of the season, while extending her program record to 52 against Evansville following a two-run shot to center field.
Now holding a 3-0 lead in the first, the Hoosiers continued to apply pressure around the bases. Sophomore infielder Madalyn Strader roped a double to left center. Then, the Purple Aces struggled to field junior pitcher and utility player Brooke Mannon’s grounder, driving in Strader and capping off the Hoosiers’ four-run first inning.
VanBrandt and Parker each walked in the second, but the Hoosiers did not add to their lead.
Another Evansville error produced a fifth Hoosier run in the third inning. Strader stole third, but an errant throw from Evansville sophomore catcher Eliza Piggott allowed her to score.
In the fourth, senior outfielder Ellie Goins lined a double to center field, driving in Strader for her third run of the game, and the Hoosiers’ sixth of the evening. Strader added a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, while Goins singled on the next at-bat to help Indiana notch an 8-0 run-rule victory.
The Cream and Crimson displayed a balanced offense throughout their eight-run outburst Wednesday, with six players contributing a hit. Strader led with three hits, tying for her most in a game this season. At the plate, her mindset was simple.
“Ball over the plate, really,” Strader said. “That was my mindset –– drive the ball that’s over the plate.”
Meanwhile, Indiana hit two home runs, reaching 76 on the season and surpassing Stanton’s preseason goal of 75 homers as a team.
“But we wanted a team that could hit the long ball, about 75 bombs and 100 stolen bases,” Stanton said. “And that’s what you’re seeing.”
With Wednesday’s win, the Cream and Crimson finished 8-0 against in-state opponents in 2026 and improved to 38-13 overall. The Hoosiers have also tallied 417 total runs on the season –– the fifth most in the country.
Indiana’s matchup against Evansville on Wednesday marked the Hoosiers’ final nonconference game of the regular season, which they will conclude by hosting Illinois over the weekend. The three-game series is slated to begin at 6 p.m. Friday 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.
