Indiana softball’s pitching rotation was dominant against the University of Notre Dame in its matchup against the Fighting Irish on Tuesday but could not secure the win against the No. 25 University of Louisville on Wednesday.
Indiana got off to an excellent start with a victory over Notre Dame in five innings Tuesday. Sophomore infielder Josie Bird started the scoring with an RBI sacrifice fly to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Notre Dame tied the game with an RBI single in the top of the second inning, but that run would ultimately be the only one the Fighting Irish scored. Two costly errors early in the game came back to bite Notre Dame, as Indiana put two more runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead.
Indiana’s offense fully came to life in the bottom of the fourth inning, as junior utility player Brooke Mannon walked in a run, and freshman utility player Josie White was hit by a pitch to bring in another.
Junior utility player Alex Cooper then hit a grand slam into center field, blowing the game open and extending Indiana’s advantage to 9-1. Senior outfielder Ellie Goins put the finishing touches on the win with a two-RBI double to left field, and Notre Dame was unable to narrow the deficit down in the top of the fifth inning. The Hoosiers took home the run-rule victory in five frames.
Indiana’s pitching rotation was excellent against the Fighting Irish’s offense, and Notre Dame’s middling offense could do virtually nothing against the Hoosiers’ arms. Indiana limited the Fighting Irish to two hits and one earned run, all given up by freshman starting pitcher Aubree Hooks.
Hooks was replaced by sophomore pitcher Ella Troutt in the top of the second inning, and Troutt shut down Notre Dame’s lineup. Troutt did not give up a hit or an earned run and struck out two Fighting Irish batters over 3.1 innings pitched.
Ninth-year Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton said Troutt’s demeanor and confidence has allowed her to be a reliable arm for Indiana out of the bullpen throughout the year.
“I do think you just get comfortable, and reps, and the confidence,” Stanton said postgame Tuesday. “I think this past weekend it was, you know, ‘Let’s be calm and confident and convicted.’ Today, it was like, 'Let’s be cool’…you know, how you’re confident is you show it, you grow it, and I think that’s what she’s done.”
However, for how consistent Indiana’s pitching staff was in Tuesday’s game, the rotation was not as sharp in a loss in extra innings against Louisville on Wednesday.
The game was much tighter and lower-scoring than Tuesday’s game. Sophomore infielder Madalyn Strader put Indiana on the board first in the top of the first inning with an RBI sacrifice fly. But the scoring lulled until the top of the fourth inning when Mannon hit an RBI sacrifice fly to center field to increase Indiana’s lead to 2-0.
However, Louisville got on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the Cardinals tacked on two key RBIs in the bottom of the sixth to jump out in front 3-2.
Junior utility player Aly VanBrandt hit a home run into right field in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at three, and the game went to extras after Louisville could not walk it off in the bottom half of the frame.
Indiana struck first in the top of the eighth thanks to an RBI single from senior outfielder Cassidy Kettleman, and Bird added an RBI single of her own to give the Hoosiers a two-run cushion.
However, Louisville tied the game at five as Indiana redshirt junior pitcher Taylor Hess gave up two hits and two earned runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. VanBrandt bobbled a potentially game-ending ground ball and Louisville senior outfielder Chelsea Mack advanced safely to first, bringing home sophomore infielder Taylor Monroe to tie the game once again.
After neither team scored in the ninth inning, Indiana jumped out to a two-run advantage once again in the top of the 10th inning. Bird connected on a two-RBI single to increase the Hoosiers’ advantage to 7-5. But the Cardinals got within a run in the bottom half of the frame thanks to an RBI single from Monroe.
Finally, the tug-of-war ended in the early hours of Thursday morning. Indiana’s arms ran out of gas as Louisville redshirt senior infielder Easton Lotus knocked a two-RBI single down the left field line to walk the game off for the Cardinals.
Indiana will have one day off to catch its breath but will be back in action as it prepares for a three-game series this weekend against Iowa at Bob Pearl Softball Field in Iowa City. The first game begins at 7 p.m. Friday, while the second and third games of the set will be at 2 p.m. Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday, respectively. All three games will be streamed on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Joe Elms (@JoeElms1 and @jpelms@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
