After a 2-1 weekend on the road against Michigan, Indiana softball returns to Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington to host the University of Evansville. The matchup, slated to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, will be the Hoosiers’ final nonconference game of the 2026 regular season. It will be televised on Big Ten+.
Indiana takes a 37-13 overall record into Wednesday’s matchup and sits tied for fifth in the Big Ten with a 14-7 conference record. Meanwhile, Evansville heads to Bloomington at 21-24 overall after losing two out of three games against the University of Illinois Chicago last weekend.
The Hoosiers offer the Purple Aces their first Big Ten matchup of the season. The programs’ last matchup was in 2023, when the Cream and Crimson swept Evansville in a two-game set.
First-year head coach Bailey Dillender leads the Purple Aces. Evansville announced the departure of former head coach Mat Mundell, who held the role for 11 years, following a 20-34 finish in 2025. Dillender came to the program after leading the University of the Cumberlands to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Softball World Series each of the last three seasons. Entering Wednesday, Dillender has led the Purple Aces to sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Junior infielders Niki Bode and Brooke Voss power the Purple Aces’ lineup. In 2025, Bode earned a spot on the All-MVC Second Team. She currently ranks fourth in the MVC with a .407 batting average and leads Evansville this season with 48 hits. A large portion of Bode’s production has come from 17 doubles on the season, which ranks second in the conference.
Bode heads to Bloomington after a dominant performance at the plate through four games last week. She was named MVC Player of the Week on Tuesday after batting .818 and recording nine hits in 11 at-bats.
After hitting .193 at the plate and two home runs in 2025, Voss has taken a step forward this season. Across 152 at-bats, Voss leads the Purple Aces with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs.
Sophomore outfielder Emma McDonald has also provided a steady presence in the batter’s box in her first season with the Purple Aces. McDonald spent her freshman campaign at Cumberlands, before following Dillender to Evansville. This season, McDonald has earned two MVC Newcomer of the Week awards, while leading the Purple Aces with three triples.
The Evansville lineup will face the Hoosiers’ pitching staff, which ranks third in the Big Ten with a 3.23 team-ERA. Freshman pitcher Aubree Hooks has anchored the unit recently, pitching in seven of Indiana’s last nine contests. Hooks owns a team-low 2.39 ERA, while sophomore pitcher Ella Troutt holds a 2.71 ERA across 98 innings — the most on the team.
In the circle, sophomore pitcher Kate Ridgway serves as the workhorse for the Purple Aces. The Sullivan, Indiana, native owns a team-low 3.96 ERA across 136 innings. Ridgway was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week on March 24 for her performances against Indiana State University and Murray State University. She allowed just one earned run through 18.2 innings in the circle, while also tossing a no-hitter.
Behind Ridgway, junior pitcher Alexis Tucker ranks second on the team with a 4.70 ERA across 98.1 innings. Tucker and Ridgway account for 234.1 of the Purple Aces’ 290.2 innings in the circle.
But Evansville’s pitching duo faces a tough test against an Indiana lineup ranked sixth in the country with 409 total runs scored. The Hoosiers enter the matchup looking to build off a complete offensive outing against Michigan over the weekend, when they scored 27 runs across three games.
Senior catcher Avery Parker powered Indiana in Michigan, hitting three home runs in the series. With her performance, Parker was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Joe Elms (@JoeElms1 and @jpelms@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
