Indiana softball’s offense was clicking all weekend, and the Hoosiers rode that effort to a series sweep over Illinois in both schools’ final series of the 2026 regular season over the weekend at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington.
Even though Friday got off to a rough start for Indiana, the Hoosiers were dominant. The first game of the series started with a three-run opening inning from the Fighting Illini, punctuated by a two-run home run from sophomore infielder Keirys Click.
After that, Indiana got rolling with a two-RBI double from sophomore infielder Josie Bird in the bottom of the first to cut the deficit to one. Junior utility player Aly VanBrandt grounded out to first but brought home junior utility player Brooke Mannon to tie the game at three in the second inning.
Senior catcher Avery Parker then blew the game open, crushing a grand slam to right-center field to give Indiana a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Illinois cut the deficit when junior infielder Eileen Donahue hit a two-run home run to left field to make the score 7-5 in the top of the fifth inning, but the Fighting Illini would not score again.
Bird put the finishing touch on the victory with an RBI groundout to third in the sixth inning, which brought home sophomore outfielder Peyton Drummond to arrive at the final score of 8-5.
In Saturday’s game, Illinois once again jumped out in front of Indiana early. Donahue hit her second home run in as many games, sending it over the wall in right-center field to give the Fighting Illini an early 2-0 lead in the opening frame.
However, Indiana struck back in the bottom of the second inning, as Mannon hit an RBI single into right field that brought home senior outfielder Ellie Goins.
Illinois padded its lead in the top of the fourth inning when sophomore catcher Jackie Yeager hit an RBI sacrifice fly to center field and brought home Click, increasing the Fighting Illini’s lead to 3-1.
Illinois would not score another run, while Indiana’s offense woke up in the fourth inning and didn’t look back. VanBrandt hit an RBI single to center field and brought home freshman outfielder Jada Ellison. Junior utility player Alex Cooper gave the Hoosiers their first lead of the game later in the frame when she connected on a bases-clearing three-RBI double.
Sophomore outfielder Hannah Haberstroh hit an RBI double in the fifth frame, which increased Indiana’s lead to 6-3. Finally, Drummond reached home on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to help Indiana secure the 7-3 win and officially win the series.
Ninth-year Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton praised Mannon — who went 3 for 3 at the plate and gave up just one hit on the mound in the game — for her effort and how it affects the team around her.
“She’s a competitor, she wants to win,” Stanton said. “And she’ll do whatever we ask. So that’s what I love, is when you want people that want to come in and win, and they want to get involved, they want to be on the field, they want to do different things, and that was her.”
In Sunday’s game, Indiana was searching for its fourth sweep of the season and got off to a hot start. VanBrandt started the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning. Bird then hit a three-run home run to left field to give the Hoosiers a 4-0 lead. Sophomore infielder Madalyn Strader scored on a wild pitch to cap off a five-run opening frame for Indiana.
Illinois got on the board in the top of the third inning when senior outfielder Alaina Miller grounded out to second but brought home sophomore infielder Ava Moore.
VanBrandt grounded out to third but brought home Goins to increase Indiana’s advantage to 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Goins then hit an RBI single into right field to make the score 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. While Illinois sophomore outfielder Taylor Porter hit a two-run home run to make the score 7-3 in the top of the seventh inning, Mannon entered the game on the mound and helped secure the final three outs to lead Indiana to the series sweep.
Indiana finished the 2026 regular season with a 41-13 overall record and a 17-7 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers will be back in action at the Big Ten Tournament, which takes place May 6-9 at Maryland Softball Stadium in College Park, Maryland.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Joe Elms (@JoeElms1 and @jpelms@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
