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(02/07/14 4:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the fourth consecutive season, the IU softball team will start its season in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.The Hoosiers are set to play five games in a three-day stretch against Bradley, Portland State, Stanford, San Jose State and Cal Poly. IU faced off against Bradley, Portland State and Stanford last season, but IU Coach Michelle Gardner said she doesn’t believe the previous meetings with those opponents will necessarily provide the team with an advantage.“It’s a different year and it’s a different team,” Gardner said. “They may have some of their players from last season, but their lineups won’t be the same.”Gardner said because the season is opening this weekend, it levels the playing field.“They haven’t played games yet either,” she said. “It’s everyone’s first weekend out. I think anything can happen.”IU senior pitcher Meaghan Murphy said she thinks the team is feeling confident heading into the first set of games of the season. “We feel good,” Murphy said. “We’ve done some really good things in the preseason. We’ve been working hard and, although we haven’t been able to get outside to work as much as we’d like, we are doing some really good things on offense and defense.”The first opponent on the Hoosiers’ schedule, the Bradley Braves, finished last season with a 23-29 record and fell to the Hoosiers 15-7. Last year, IU senior infielder Breanna Saucedo led the team with three hits. Shortly after the conclusion of the game against Bradley, the Hoosiers will take on the Portland State Vikings.The Vikings finished the 2013 season with a 25-31 record, including a 7-0 loss to IU. IU junior pitcher Lora Olson pitched all seven innings for the Hoosiers and allowed seven hits in the shutout. The Hoosiers open Saturday with their second consecutive doubleheader, against the Stanford Cardinal and the San Jose State Spartans. Stanford finished last year with a 39-21 record and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. One of the Cardinal’s victories was an 8-2 victory against the Hoosiers. In that game, the Cardinal pitching duo of Kelsey Stevens and Nyree White held IU to just six hits. The team hasn’t forgotten the loss, said Murphy.“Every time we play Stanford it’s a battle,” she said. “We always play them really tough.”The Spartans, who finished last season with a 42-17 record, also made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament before losing a set of games to Arizona State and San Diego State in the opening weekend of the tournament. San Jose State’s most productive hitter in last year’s lineup, junior outfielder Michelle Cox, is set to return after finishing last season with a .363 batting average. IU concludes the Kajikawa Classic Sunday against the Cal Poly Mustangs. The Mustangs finished 2013 with a 19-34-1 record. The top three hitters from last year, junior utility player Jillian Andersen, junior infielder Kim Westlund and junior utility player Mariah Cochiolo, are all returning. IU senior infielder Shelby Gogreve said the team is anxious to start the season. “We are feeling great,” Gogreve said. “We are excited to be out in the warm weather and to actually be playing.”Follow reporter Dan Matney on Twitter @Dan_Matney
(02/04/14 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team wants to shock the world this year.Senior pitcher Meaghan Murphy said the team wants to not only win but also earn respect.“We aren’t the same team that we were last year,” she said. “We are coming back with a little bit of vengeance, and we are going to turn a lot of heads.”Murphy said the Hoosiers, who finished with an overall record of 19-35 last season, want to prove to everyone that they aren’t the same team that finished with a 3-19 mark in Big Ten play in 2013. The Hoosiers start the season in Tempe, Ariz., against the Bradley Braves in the Kajikawa Classic on Friday. After the tournament, IU will have plenty of opportunities during the season to earn national recognition. According to the USA Today preseason Top 25 poll, IU is scheduled to face five of the top-ranked teams in the nation. The first of those teams on IU’s schedule, the University of Florida, is currently No. 4 and received six first-place votes. The Hoosiers will travel to Gainesville, Fla. to square off with the Gators in the Lipton Invitational Feb. 21. Senior infielder Shelby Gogreve said she has high hopes for this year’s team.“The main goal of our team is to win the Big Ten title and to earn an NCAA tournament berth,” Gogreve said.The Big Ten boasts two of the top 10 teams in the nation, including No. 5 Michigan and No. 9 Nebraska, who IU will face on the road this season.The Hoosiers face the task of replacing former infielder Amanda Wagner, who not only led the team in hits, doubles and total bases but also had the fourth-highest batting average in the Big Ten. IU Coach Michelle Gardner said the continued improvement of the young players on the roster, including four freshmen, is going to help fill the void left by Wagner.“We’ve added more talent,” Gardner said. “Also, some of the younger players who might have struggled last year are going to produce a little better in their second seasons. We are getting better every year.”Despite losing one of the most productive hitters in the lineup, Gardner said she believes the adversity the team faced last year will ultimately lead to more team success in the future. “When you face adversity, you have to be able to overcome it,” she said. “We faced a lot of injuries, which you have to work to overcome as a team. No matter what happened, the team kept coming back.”Murphy said team unity will be a key to its success throughout the season.“A key thing that we learned last year is that staying together is vital for team success,” Murphy said. “Even when things don’t go how we want them to, in terms of winning and losing, the team needs to stay together in order to be successful.”
(05/13/13 12:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team ended its season with a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Northwestern Wildcats Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Lincoln, Neb. The loss made 15 consecutive defeats for the team as it closed out the season.Junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy took the loss for the Hoosiers. In 2.1 innings of work, she allowed four runs, all earned, on five hits.Anna Edwards started the scoring for Northwestern with a home run in the second inning to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Murphy got in trouble in the third inning. Olivia Duehr doubled to start the inning. After recording a strikeout, Mari Majam singled and advanced to second as Duehr scored. Marisa Bast followed that with a two-run home run to give Northwestern a 4-0 lead. Murphy was pulled after that in favor of sophomore Lora Olson. The Wildcats would tack on one more run before the inning was over.The Hoosiers’ offense could not assist Murphy or Olson on the day, either.Despite loading the bases four times, IU (19-35, 3-19) only managed to score two runs from those four opportunities.Senior third baseman Amanda Wagner reached base all four times in her last time donning the cream and crimson. She connected on two hits and was hit by a pitch twice. She recorded an RBI in the seventh inning when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.Freshman first baseman Kassi Farmer scored the Hoosiers’ first run when she led off the top of the fourth with a home run to put IU on the board.Senior second baseman Samantha Heyman singled and junior left fielder Jenna Abraham tripled to round out the Hoosiers’ five hits on the day.— Robby Howard
(05/06/13 3:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The regular season came to an end for the IU softball team Sunday in Minneapolis. IU will now turn its attention to the Big Ten Tournament.Indiana suffered two walk-off losses to Minnesota to finish the season. The team was swept in the final regular season series of the season, finishing the year on a 14-game losing streak.IU lost the last two games 1-0 and 5-4. Sunday, the Hoosiers pushed across tworuns in the seventh to take a one-run lead. But Minnesota would fight back.Minnesota’s Tyler Walker singled up the middle against IU freshman pitcher Brooke Boetjer. A fielder’s choice by senior Kari Drole advanced Walker to second. She moved up to third on a throwing error by Boetjer. Kaitlyn Richardson singled to score Walker, and the game was tied 4-4.Following a sacrifice bunt to advance Drole to third and Richardson to second, sophomore Erica Meyer singled to score Drole, and Minnesota completed its comeback with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win 5-4 and sweep the series.Saturday, IU played a double-header against Minnesota to make up for Friday’s postponed game. In the first game, IU fell 8-0 in five innings. The Hoosiers managedtwo hits compared to the Golden Gophers’ seven.In the nightcap, Murphy pitched five innings of no hit ball before allowing a hit in the sixth. Her only mistake came against Walker, who led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to give the Gophers the 1-0 victory.The tournament starts Thursday in Lincoln, Neb.—Robby Howard
(05/03/13 3:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With one weekend left of play before the Big Ten Tournament starts, the IU softball team will travel to Minnesota trying to snap its 11-game losing streak and gain some momentum in its final three regular season games.IU Coach Michelle Gardner said despite the losing streak, she has been encouraged by her team’s play of late.IU (19-31, 3-16) lost its last two games to Wisconsin 3-0 and 5-2. Gardner liked the team’s defense and pitching in those outings.“We competed very well last weekend against Wisconsin, who is a very tough team,” Gardner said. “We just have to continue to do that and build on the things that are working. We’re playing relatively good defense and we’re finding a way to score some runs. We just have to continue to do that. We had a couple of really good pitching performances. Those are the keys.”For IU senior infielder Amanda Wagner, this weekend is especially important. She believes if the team can snap the streak this weekend, they will have more confidence going into the Big Ten Tournament Thursday in Lincoln, Neb. She does not want to end her career on a losing streak.“It’s really important,” she said. “I think it’s also going to set us up confidence-wise for the Big Ten Tournament next weekend. No one really wants to end their career on a losing skid.”Minnesota will most likely throw junior pticher Sara Moulton in the series. She has made 39 appearances for the Golden Gophers this season, including 36 starts and has a 1.61 earned run average. Opponents are batting just .203 against her this season, and she has struck out 244 batters.“We have to be patient and make sure we’re swinging at strikes and pitches we can drive,” Gardner said. “She’s been lights out most of the season. We have to be disciplined and take advantage of any mistakes she might make. We really need to work on getting up there and driving the ball.” Wagner, who leads the Hoosiers in batting average this season at .432, agreed, saying it is important to make the defense work and have confidence in the box.Defensively, the Hoosiers have to worry about two main threats from the Golden Gophers. Kaitlyn Richardson and Tyler Walker both bat above .400, but the next highest average on the team is Kayla Wenner’s .254.“We have to take care of our business and not allow those two kids to hurt us,” Gardner said. “Those are their weapons. You still have to be able to get the other kids out so they’re not able to come up and do damage by scoring runs or whatever when they come up in that situation.”Gardner echoed Wagner’s sentiment about this being important for the team’s confidence. She said the biggest goal for the team heading into the Big Ten Tournament will be to continue to grow as a team.Wagner sees the losing skid ending this weekend, as long as the team continues to have good pitching, play good defense and score runs.“If we have all three components of the game going for us, we’ll eventually get over the hump and come out on the winning side,” Wagner said.
(04/29/13 2:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite a senior day celebration this weekend at Andy Mohr Field, the IU softball team failed to capitalize on the opportunity.In a three-game series with Wisconsin (39-8, 15-5), IU (19-31, 3-16) was outscored by a combined 20-3 margin and was swept for a third consecutive series.The Hoosiers are on an 11-game losing streak, and have not won since a 4-3 victory against Penn State on April 7.On Saturday’s senior day game against the Badgers, it was junior Meaghan Murphy who came up big with a two-RBI single in the first inning to give the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead.The team maintained that lead all the way until the seventh inning, when Wisconsin scored four runs in the top half that the Hoosiers never were able to answer.On their senior day, third baseman Amanda Wagner, shortstop Samantha Heyman and left fielder Kelsey Brannon went a combined 1-for-9 in a 5-2 loss.In Friday’s doubleheader, IU lost in a mercy-ruled game by a 12-1 margin in five innings, and then followed the performance with a 3-0 loss only hours later.The team will attempt to reverse course next weekend in its final series of the season at Minnesota. The Gophers are 30-16 on the year, despite having only played three games at home this season. — Jordan Littman
(04/26/13 2:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team (19-28, 3-13 Big Ten) takes on Wisconsin (35-9, 12-5 Big Ten) this weekend in its final home Big Ten series. Game one is set for 6 p.m. Friday, followed immediately after by game two of the series. The Hoosiers will close out the series with a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday, which will also be senior day.“We just need to stay together (this weekend),” junior outfielder Jenna Abraham said. “Obviously we’ve been struggling with some injuries, and we just need to stay as a team and keep working hard.”The Hoosiers are 6-6 in games played at Andy Mohr Field this season, while the Badgers hold a 10-6 record at away games.Wisconsin has been receiving votes in the national rankings, as one of the first three teams out in the most recent polls. The Badger offensive attack is led by the .427 batting average of junior outfielder Mary Massei, while the team posts a .308 batting average. Massei is also second in the Big Ten Conference in hits this season with 64. Senior outfielder Whitney Massey is tied with IU’s senior infielder Amanda Wagner for most doubles in the Big Ten with 15. Senior Meghan McIntosh leads off the Badger pitching squad with a 1.64 earned run average, while the team is posting a 1.85 earned run average. The Badgers have outscored their opponents 216-104 this season.Wisconsin heads into Bloomington coming off a six game winning streak, most recently taking both games in their home doubleheader with Northwestern on Wednesday.Wagner leads the IU offense with her .445 batting average, in comparison to the .243 batting average of the team as a whole.The Hoosiers have been outscored by opponents 203-167 in their 2013 campaign. Junior Meaghan Murphy leads the Hoosier pitching squad with a 2.99 earned run average, while the team is posting a 3.52 earned run average.The Hoosiers head into the weekend series off of a 5-2 loss to Ball State on Tuesday. Senior outfielder Samantha Heyman and Abraham led the offensive attack for the Hoosiers in that game with two hits apiece, while Heyman also scored a run in the matchup.“I think we all communicated really well and we stayed together as a team,” Heyman said of Tuesday’s game. “I think we just need to come together and we need to get excited for this weekend and win some ball games.”The Hoosiers had three errors on Tuesday that contributed to their loss to Ball State.“We have to be better defensively,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “(This weekend we need) cleaner defense.”Wisconsin is currently third in the Big Ten Conference team standings, while IU is 11th.The Hoosiers are currently riding an eight game losing streak.Despite the team’s recent losses, Abraham said the team is going to keep pushing themselves and not quit. “We need to get a lot of sleep, even though it’s finals week, and get a lot of rest and stay together as a team and fight hard,” Abraham said.
(04/24/13 3:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite taking an early lead against Ball State (30-13, 13-1), the IU softball team lost its Tuesday evening game to the Cardinals 5-2.The matchup at Andy Mohr Field marked the Hoosiers’ final midweek regular season game.“I thought we actually did a good job,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “We got runners on base. Other than the two runs, we just couldn’t really push anything across but, you know, I thought we made better adjustments at the plate and I was very happy to see that.”The Hoosiers were first to get on the scoreboard, doing so in the bottom of the second inning. Junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy started the inning with a single to the right side. A sacrifice bunt by senior outfielder Samantha Heyman allowed Murphy to move to second, and freshman catcher and first baseman Kassi Farmer reached first on an error by the Cardinals’ first baseman. Another single by junior outfielder Jenna Abraham loaded the bases for the Hoosiers, and a fielder’s choice allowed senior outfielder Kelsey Brannon to reach first and send Murphy home to take the 1-0 lead.The Cardinals responded in the top of the third with one run to tie the game at 1-1 after the Hoosiers allowed two errors in the inning. Ball State then took the 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth with a home run by sophomore shortstop Jessica Craft.Heyman opened up the bottom of the fourth for the Hoosiers with a single to left field. A sacrifice bunt by Farmer sent Heyman to second. Abraham was then walked to put players at first and second base. Brannon was struck out and senior infielder Amanda Wagner fouled out to first base, ending the inning and leaving two players stranded. A one-out home run in the top of the sixth sent in three Cardinal batters to score, giving Ball State the 5-1 lead. Heyman got things started for the Hoosiers in the bottom of the sixth with a double to center field, then advanced to third base on a passed ball. Farmer then grounded out to first to allow Heyman to head home for the unearned run. Abraham followed that up with a single to shortstop, but a final out would leave her stranded at first.Neither team scored in the seventh inning, giving Ball State the 5-2 win. Heyman and Abraham led the offensive attack for the Hoosiers, with both knotting two hits in the matchup. Farmer drove a run in to receive the only RBI for the team.“I’m just starting to focus on my short game a little more because I was struggling with hitting for power,” Abraham said. “I’m kind of focusing more on the short game, like bunting and putting the ball in play.”Sophomore Lora Olson took the loss on the evening, falling to 6-12. Olson struck out two batters and walked three while allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits.“I thought Lo threw relatively well. You know, the home runs were unfortunate, but we have to be better defensively, which tremendously would have helped, but we’re still working,” Gardner said. Despite the loss, Abraham said the team will be able to take positives away from Tuesday’s game.“We fought really hard today,” Abraham said. “We’ve just been struggling a little bit, but we’re not going to quit fighting. We just keep pushing ourselves harder and harder. We made some really good key defensive plays and key good hits so we’ve just got to focus on the positives.”
(04/22/13 11:41pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team (19-27, 3-13 Big Ten) returns to Bloomington for a 6 p.m. game today against Ball State (29-13, 13-1 MAC). The matchup marks the first of the next four games in a row the Hoosiers will play at Andy Mohr Field.The Cardinals are coming off of a split double header against Miami (Ohio) in which Miami took game one and Ball State claimed game two. The Cardinal offense is led off by the .493 batting average of junior pitcher and outfielder Jennifer Gilbert, while the team is posting a .321 batting average. Freshman Nicole Steinbach leads off the pitching squad with a 2.33 earned run average, compared with the 2.99 earned run average of the team overall. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 290-149 on the season.The Hoosiers are riding a seven-game losing streak heading into today’s game, most recently being swept in their three-game series at Illinois. Senior infielder Amanda Wagner leads the offense with a .458 batting average, while the team has a .244 batting average overall. The pitching squad is led by junior Meaghan Murphy’s 2.99 earned run average, while the team is posting a 3.54 earned run average. “I think we just need to come together as a team and put everything together,” senior outfielder Samantha Heyman said about what the team needs for the win. Despite the Hoosiers’ record in Champaign, Ill., during the weekend, the team saw several positive things in many of the players’ performances. Freshman pitcher Brooke Boetjer saw success at the plate, driving in two runs and connecting on two doubles in the series opener. Sophomore pitcher Lora Olson held the Illini scoreless until the sixth inning in game two of the weekend, while allowing one run on five hits and striking out three. Wagner had her 15th double of the season in game two, tying her for first in the Big Ten Conference for doubles this season. The effort also tied her for the second-most doubles in a single season by any IU player, while she is just two short of tying the single-season record of 17 doubles.“I feel like we just need to get our mindset right and think positively and build on the good things we’re doing to keep the momentum going,” Boetjer said.Sophomore utility player Shannon Cawley leads the Big Ten Conference in sac flies with four on the season. Wagner’s .458 batting average puts her at fourth in the conference standings, while her .601 on-base percentage places her second in the Big Ten.Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference with its 13-1 record. The Hoosiers are currently No. 11 in the Big Ten standings.“We need to have a lot of energy and have confidence,” Heyman said of today’s matchup. “Once we do that, we’ll be the team that we want to be.”
(04/22/13 4:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Home runs were the cause of the IU softball team’s downfall in its three-game series at Illinois (14-25, 4-11) during the weekend. The Illini drove in key home runs in each matchup to defeat the Hoosiers (19-27, 3-13) in all three games. “I feel like we had our ups and downs,” freshman pitcher Brooke Boetjer said. “We did some good things and we did some bad things.”Boetjer opened up the series pitching for IU, where the team dropped the first game 5-4 in its second extra-innings contest in a row. The Illini scored first, driving in two runs in both the first and third innings. The Hoosiers remained scoreless until the fifth inning, when senior outfielder Kelsey Brannon got things started for the team by reaching first base because of a throwing error then advancing to second after senior infielder Amanda Wagner walked. Boetjer then doubled to right field to send Brannon and Wagner home. Freshman infielder Michelle Huber sent the ball flying over the left field fence to score a home run that would bring in Boetjer and tie the game at 4-4.Both teams remained scoreless through the sixth and seventh innings, sending the game into extra innings.The Hoosiers failed to score in the top of the eighth.Illinois senior infielder Jessica Davis hit a home run off of the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth to end the game and give the Illini the victory.Game two started off with neither team scoring through the first five innings. The Illini scored off of a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth by freshman utility player Remeny Perez to give them a 1-0 lead. The Hoosiers failed to score in the seventh, ending the second game with a 1-0 loss. The series finale Sunday started with a two-run home run by Illinois sophomore utility player Jess Perkins in the bottom of the first to give the Illini the early 2-0 lead. Illinois tacked on one more run in the bottom of the fourth, followed by a three-run bottom of the fifth to give them a 6-0 lead. The team added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Hoosiers failed to plate a run, dropping the matchup 8-0.Senior outfielder Samantha Heyman, freshman catcher and third baseman Kelsey Dotson and Boetjer led the Hoosier offense with a pair of hits each on the weekend.“For me personally, it’s just being patient and really waiting for the ball, finding pitches that are good and putting the ball in play,” Heyman said of her offensive strategy during the weekend.Junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy received the loss for game one, falling to 12-13. Sophomore pitcher Lora Olson was dealt the second and third losses of the weekend to fall to 6-11.The series marked the third time the Hoosiers have been swept by a Big Ten opponent this season.“I thought we played strong,” Heyman said. “We’re making improvements and we’re doing a lot of good things. We just need to put it all together.”
(04/19/13 2:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team (19-24, 3-10) is heading to Champaign, Ill., this weekend to take on Illinois (11-25, 1-11 Big Ten) in a three-game conference series.The first game of the series is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, followed by a 4 p.m. matchup the same day. The Hoosiers will close out the series with a 2 p.m. game Sunday.Illinois heads into the series with a nine-game losing streak, most recently being swept in its home series with Minnesota. Illinois’s offense is led by the .346 batting average of junior outfielder Alex Booker. The team is posting a .229 batting average, as well as a 4.22 earned run average.In comparison, IU will head into Champaign with a four-game losing streak, most recently losing an extra-innings matchup with No. 9 Michigan. Senior infielder Amanda Wagner leads the Hoosier offense with a .471 batting average, while also coming in at second in the Big Ten Conference. Freshman pitcher Brooke Boetjer pitched all nine innings for the Hoosiers in their game with the Wolverines, allowing 11 hits and seven runs. The Fillmore, Ind., native is posting a 4.41 earned run average, while the team holds a 3.49 earned run average.“I think we’ve just got to hit, put the ball in play, play good defense, have good pitching and I think we should be fine,” freshman infielder Michelle Huber said of the team’s game plan for the weekend series. Huber has been a hot bat for IU lately, posting two hits and one run in the team’s matchup with Michigan.“I’ve just mostly been trying to hit in the runners and just go with the pitch,” Huber said. “Looking for a good pitch mostly is my main goal and not swinging at things that I don’t want to hit at.”The Hoosiers will be on the road for the first time since March 31 after their nine-game home stand. Freshman catcher and third baseman Kelsey Dotson said being back on the road shouldn’t have an affect on the team’s performance.“I don’t think it will affect us that much,” Dotson said. “I mean, you’re kind of getting down to the end where everyone’s tired, finals, yada yada, but I don’t think it’ll really be any different. “I mean, it obviously stinks a little bit more that we’re not home and we don’t get to sleep in our own bed.”IU is currently 10th in the Big Ten Conference standings, while Illinois is currently 12th.Despite struggling in their past few games, IU Coach Michelle Gardner said the team gained a lot of confidence in its most recent game with Michigan and will take that into its upcoming games.“You know, I think at this point in the year it’s always tough,” Gardner said. “I think that we just have to continue to work and compete. We’re doing the best we can to make things happen.”
(04/17/13 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In an extra innings heartbreaker at Andy Mohr Field Tuesday, the IU softball team (19-24, 3-10 Big Ten) fell 7-4 to No. 9 Michigan (36-7, 13-0 Big Ten). A doubleheader was set on the schedule for the Hoosiers, but the second game of the evening was canceled due to severe weather.Despite the loss, IU Coach Michelle Gardner said the team gained a lot of confidence in almost taking down the top dog in the Big Ten Conference.“I am just really pleased with our performance today,” Gardner said. “I was so proud of them. They just were resilient, and they battled.”The Wolverines struck the first blow in game one with one run in the second inning followed by three runs in the third to take the early 4-0 lead. The Hoosiers came close to scoring in the fifth inning with bases loaded, but ended their half of the frame with all three runners left on base.It took the Hoosiers six innings to get on the scoreboard, but they did so in dramatic fashion, with four runs off of five hits in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. Freshman pitcher Brooke Boetjer got things started for the team with a single to shortstop. Freshman infielder Michelle Huber and freshman catcher and third baseman Kelsey Dotson followed suit with another single each to load the bases. Senior outfielder Samantha Heyman walked, bringing in the first run for the Hoosiers. Another single by senior outfielder Kelsey Brannon brought in the second IU run, and a final single by senior infielder Amanda Wagner allowed two more Hoosiers to score.Neither team brought in runs for the remainder of regulation, pushing the game into extra innings.The score remained tied at 4-4 in the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth the game was delayed for what would end up being more than an hour due to severe weather.The Wolverines came out of the delay with a three-run top of the ninth to swing the lead back in their direction, 7-4.The Hoosiers were unable to regain their momentum after the delay, and failed to drive in a run in the bottom of the ninth, dropping the game to the Wolverines.“It’s just unfortunate, the delays, because who knows what would have happened, but I sure do like our chances if we didn’t have all that delay crap going on,” Gardner said.The teams were able to get in two-and-a-half innings of the second game before play was delayed multiple times and the game eventually canceled.Dotson led the IU offense with three hits and one run in the first game of the evening.“I was just kind of more focused on finding contact, slowing it down, not trying to kill the ball, and just really focus on finding it,” Dotson said. “I have my confidence back and I’m just rolling with it.”Wagner, Brannon, and Huber each had two hits on the outing, while Wagner also drove in two RBI. Dotson said that the team will use what they learned in Tuesday’s game to help them down the road.“[We learned] That we are good enough to beat teams like Michigan,” Dotson said. “I think today was just kind of the realization of ‘wow, we really can do that.’ We’ve been down lately, and I really think that from now on we’ll take this into games that ‘hey, we can do this.’ “Michigan is undefeated, and we almost beat them right there.”
(04/16/13 12:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team is geared up for a doubleheader this afternoon with No. 12 Michigan. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m., followed by the second game at 4 p.m.The Wolverines (35-7, 12-0 Big Ten) come into Bloomington at the top of the Big Ten and riding a 17-game winning streak, most recently sweeping a doubleheader at Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.After being swept by Purdue in their most recent Big Ten Series, IU (19-23, 3-9) is going into today’s games looking to turn its losing streak around.“We have to bounce back really fast,” senior infielder Amanda Wagner said. “We have to forget about this weekend. “I think it’s going to be more of a mental preparation that we need rather than a physical one since we have a day and a half to prepare for Michigan.”Wagner is currently first in the Big Ten in on-base percentage at .602 and second in hitting with a .469 batting average. She also has the second most doubles in the Big Ten with 13. Sophomore utility player Shannon Cawley leads the conference in sac flies with four.On the Wolverine side of the matchup, freshman shortstop Sierra Romero is second in the conference in runs scored with 46 and slugging percentage with a .889 clip. Romero is also tied for first in the Big Ten in home runs with 17. Romero’s teammate, junior outfielder Nicole Sappingfield, leads the conference in runs scored with 48. “I think the biggest challenge and our biggest focus will be controlling the controllables,” junior shortstop Shelby Gogreve said. “They have a lot of great players, and it’s our job to focus on how we can keep those players down and to focus on how to really maximize our results.”The Wolverine pitching staff is headlined by the 1.52 and 1.69 earned run averages of sophomores Haylie Wagner and Sara Driesenga, respectively. The team has a 2.02 earned run average on the season, as well as a .351 batting average. The Wolverines have outscored their opponents 320-122.In comparison, the Hoosiers head into the matchup with a 3.45 earned run average and a .251 batting average. The pitching staff is led by junior Meaghan Murphy, who is posting a 3.03 earned run average, followed by sophomore Lora Olson’s 3.26 ERA.IU Coach Michelle Gardner said the team will stick to the game plan they’ve had all season in today’s matchup.“We need to show up and play,” Gardner said. “We need to have good pitching, and we need to score some runs.”The Hoosiers are looking to improve on their 6-4 home record and are hoping to pull off the upset on the Wolverines.“The outcome is largely going to depend on what team we bring out to the field, so I think what we’re really going to be focusing on is bringing the Indiana that has a lot of communication and has a lot of energy and the Indiana that has a lot of fight,” Gogreve said. “If we can do that, then I have confidence that we can take a game or two from Michigan.”
(04/15/13 2:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After losing three consecutive games to Purdue (19-22, 6-6 Big Ten) during the weekend, the IU softball team (19-23, 3-9 Big Ten) was swept for the first time ever at Andy Mohr Field and the second time in the team’s Big Ten schedule.“I definitely think we were lacking in some areas,” senior infielder Amanda Wagner said. “We had defense show up one day and pitching not the other day, and our offense was lacking all weekend really. We were missing key components on certain days.”The Boilermakers took control of the series from the start, topping the Hoosiers 7-2 in Friday’s matchup. Taking the early lead, Purdue scored one run in the top of the second inning and followed that with four runs in the third inning and one run in the fourth. The Hoosiers responded with a run brought in by a sacrifice fly by freshman catcher and third baseman Kelsey Dotson in the fourth inning. This was followed by a run in the fifth driven in by freshman catcher and first baseman Kassi Farmer, but the effort was not enough to overcome the team’s 7-2 deficit. Junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy was dealt the loss for the Hoosiers, taking her to 12-12 on the season.Play continued on Saturday, where the Boilermakers scored early once again, driving in six runs in the top of the fourth, followed by two runs in the top of the fifth. Sophomore utility player Shannon Cawley drove in the Hoosiers’ lone run of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth, but the Boilermakers closed out the game with one more run for the 9-1 win. Sophomore pitcher Lora Olson received the loss for the Hoosiers. After Purdue jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with runs in the first and third innings in Sunday’s game, the Hoosiers put together a three-run third inning to take the lead at 3-2. However, the lead was short lived, with the Boilermakers tallying on three runs in the fourth inning and one each in the fifth and seventh innings to help them to the 7-3 win. Wagner had her 16th multi-hit game of the season, extending her hitting streak to six games. Junior shortstop Shelby Gogreve had two hits in the matchup while driving in one run. Olson was dealt the loss, falling to 6-9 on the season. “I thought that especially (Sunday) we came out with a lot of energy and a lot of heart,” Gogreve said. “We played hard and we did a lot of good things.”Wagner led the IU offense on the weekend with five total hits. The Hoosiers posted a total of 22 hits on the weekend but were only able to make six total runs.“Our hits are kind of sporadic,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “Yes, we had a lot of hits, but we had hits with nobody on, and we just aren’t really necessarily putting hits together when we need to score runs.”The weekend losses move the Hoosiers to 6-4 in games played at Andy Mohr Field.“Sometimes the game just doesn’t go your way,” Gogreve said. “But if you can come out and learn some things, you can take that into the next weekend.”
(04/12/13 3:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team takes on Purdue (16-22, 3-6 Big Ten) this weekend in its second home Big Ten series.The Hoosiers (19-20, 3-6 Big Ten) kick off the three-game series with a 6 p.m. game Friday at Andy Mohr Field. The second game of the weekend is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by the series finale 1 p.m. Sunday.“I think since we’re playing an in-state rival we’ll have a lot of energy and then (we need to) have all three components, pitching, hitting and defense, clicking and working as one together,” senior infielder Amanda Wagner said.IU is coming off of a 2-1 record in their most recent Big Ten series with Penn State. The pitching team of junior Meaghan Murphy, sophomore Lora Olson and freshman Brooke Boetjer allowed a combined nine runs on the weekend. Murphy was part of both victories in the series, while Olson was dealt the lone loss of the weekend and Boetjer earned one save in the series finale. Five different IU players scored runs while eight different players posted hits on the weekend.Purdue comes into Bloomington off of a 7-4 win against Loyola, in which four players posted multi-hit games for the Boilermakers. The team went 1-2 in their most recent Big Ten series against Michigan State.Junior outfielder Lindsey Rains leads the Boilermaker offense with a .361 batting average on the season, while the team is posting a .313 batting average overall. Sophomore pitcher Lexy Moore leads the Purdue pitching squad with a 3.41 earned run average, while the team is posting a 3.91 earned run average overall. Wagner leads the Hoosier offense with a .456 batting average, while the team is posting a .251 batting average on the season. Both Murphy and Olson lead in pitching with a 2.82 earned run average each, while the team has a 3.24 earned run average on the season.“I think we’re in a good place,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “Right now it’s us continuing to grow week by week and be able to put everything together this weekend.”The Hoosiers are currently in their longest home stretch of the season, with Friday being their fifth of nine games in a row at Andy Mohr Field. The team has gone 3-1 so far in the nine game stretch, while going 6-1 at home on the season. The Hoosiers are 45-7 in games played in Bloomington since the 2011 season.“We like being at home,” Gardner said. “The kids are more comfortable, it’s just a matter of us continuing to work and grow. When we’re at home we have to take advantage of it.”Both IU and Purdue head into the weekend series tied for seventh place in the Big Ten team standings.“It’s nice to finally be in your own comfort zone and your own element,” Wagner said of the team’s current home stretch. “It’s our house, and we need to protect it.”
(04/08/13 1:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team (19-20, 3-6) went 2-1 during the weekend against Penn State (8-23, 1-7 Big Ten) in its first Big Ten series played at Andy Mohr Field in the 2013 season.“This weekend was the first series we took (in Big Ten play) and so I think that’s a really good booster for the upcoming weekends,” sophomore infielder Brianna Meyer said.In the Hoosiers’ first game of the series the team secured a 4-3 win over the Nittany Lions. IU took the early lead, scoring in the first off of an RBI single by sophomore utility player Shannon Cawley to drive in Meyer for the lone run of the inning. Responding with a three-run third inning, Penn State took the lead 3-1 heading into the bottom of the third. The Hoosiers cut the deficit to one in their half of the inning with a run by senior infielder Amanda Wagner. Both teams went scoreless for the next two innings, until the sixth inning, where the Hoosiers plated two runs to take the lead and hold on for the win. The Hoosiers dropped the second game of the weekend 3-0 for their first home loss of the season. IU’s scoreless game was the first time in 12 seasons the Hoosiers failed to drive in a run against Penn State. Freshman catcher and first baseman Kassi Farmer led the IU offense with two hits. The Hoosiers claimed the final win of the weekend 4-3, giving the team its first Big Ten series win at Andy Mohr Field. The Nittany Lions struck first in the matchup, scoring two runs in the top of the third with a home run by senior infielder Lauren Yao. IU responded in the bottom of the fourth with a double to left-center by Wagner that drove in senior outfielder Kelsey Brannon and freshman catcher and third baseman Kelsey Dotson to tie the game at 2-2. “I think for (Wagner) just to calm down and not be overwhelmed with the moment but stick with her game plan, which was drive the ball, I thought it was huge for us right there,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said.A single by freshman infielder Michelle Huber drove in two runs by Wagner and Meyer to give the Hoosiers the 4-2 lead. Penn State responded with a home run in the top of the seventh, but the Hoosiers were able to hold on to their lead and secure the win.“Huber’s been a hot bat for me off the bench, so I thought that was a great time to put her in, and obviously it paid off,” Gardner said.The Hoosiers return to action on Friday to take on Purdue at home.“I think we’ve got some things that we need to continue to work on, as does anyone,” Gardner said. “But to me, right now, we’re going to need to take this one day at a time, one game at a time.”
(04/05/13 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team takes on Penn State (7-21, 0-5 Big Ten) at home this weekend for its third Big Ten series of the season.The Hoosiers (17-19, 1-5 Big Ten) will start the three-game series at 6 p.m. Friday at Andy Mohr Field. The second game of the weekend is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.“Like I’ve said all season, we need to have complete games with pitching, hitting and defense (to be successful against Penn State),” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said.IU is coming off of a 7-0 win against Indiana State Tuesday in which the team posted eight hits led by multi-hit games from senior infielder Amanda Wagner and junior infielder Shelby Gogreve. The pitching team of junior Meaghan Murphy and sophomore Brooke Boetjer kept ISU scoreless while only allowing two hits on the evening.Penn State comes into Bloomington with a six-game losing streak, most recently being swept in its Wednesday doubleheader at Michigan State. Senior outfielder Cassidy Bell leads the Penn State offense with a .456 batting average, while also leading the Big Ten Conference in slugging percentage at 1.063 and home runs with 14 on the season. Sophomore pitcher Macy Jones leads the Penn State defense with a 4.86 earned run average. The Lions are posting a .286 batting average and 7.68 earned run average in their 2013 campaign.The Hoosiers go into the weekend with a .251 batting average and 3.26 earned run average.“(We need to) just continue to have the energy we’ve had throughout the last few games,” Murphy said about the Hoosiers’ game plan for the weekend. While the Hoosiers only have one Big Ten victory so far this season, the team has several players sitting at or near the top of multiple statistical categories in the Big Ten Conference. Wagner leads the conference for batting average and on base percentage, coming in at .464 and .582, respectively. Wagner is also fourth in the Big Ten in slugging percentage at .762 and second in the conference in doubles with 11 for the season.Sophomore infielder Brianna Meyer leads the conference in walks with 27, while her on base percentage of .470 takes her to 12th in the Big Ten. Sophomore utility player Shannon Cawley leads the conference in sac flies with four on the season.Murphy’s earned run average of 2.76 brings her in at 12th in the conference, while she is tied for sixth in the Big Ten for batters struck out at 96 on the season.IU is currently tied for ninth place in the team standings for the Big Ten, while Penn State comes in at 12th.The Hoosiers are looking to keep their seven-game home winning streak alive, as well as their undefeated record at Andy Mohr Field.“If we stay focused mentally and kind of just carry on what we had (against Indiana State), I think we’ll be successful,” Murphy said.
(04/03/13 3:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team kept its winning streak at Andy Mohr Field alive Tuesday, defeating Indiana State 7-0. The win marked the Hoosiers’ 10th straight victory against Indiana State,as IU improved to 4-0 at home. The Hoosiers (17-19, 1-5 Big Ten) struck early, driving in three runs in the bottom of the first to take the early lead.“Scoring first, no matter what game it is, just takes pressure off of us defensively and kind of gives us a little bit more room to relax and play loose,” junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy said. “I think when we score first really early in the game it gives us the confidence to know that we can score through the entire game.”Extending the Hoosier lead in the bottom of the second, sophomore infielder Brianna Meyer scored on an RBI single up the middle by senior infielder Amanda Wagner to increase the lead to 4-0. The score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth, when the Hoosier offense caught fire. Wagner started things with her 11th double of the season to right center, then scored off of a single by sophomore Shannon Cawley. Junior Shelby Gogreve then sent the ball flying to right field for a double, advancing Cawley to third. Both Cawley and Gogreve would score off of a single by freshman pitcher Brooke Boetjer, bringing the score to 7-0. Neither team scored for the rest of the game.IU posted eight hits in the game with multihit games from Wagner and Gogreve. Boetjer drove in a career best two RBI for the Hoosiers. Allowing one hit, no earned runs, and no walks in four innings of work, Murphy received the win to improve her record to 10-11 on the season. Boetjer closed out the game for the Hoosiers, allowing one hit and no earned runs with four strikeouts in three innings pitched.“I wanted to split the game up and give both Meaghan and Brooke some innings,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “Both of my pitchers did a great job today.”Murphy and Boetjer came into the games with ERAs of 2.76 and 4.82 earned run average, respectively, for the 2013 campaign.“Going into this game I had the mindset that I needed to keep my ball in the corners off the plate and kind of out of the zone,” Murphy said. “(I needed to) make them chase the pitches that I wanted them to chase and keep my ball moving.”The win marked the Hoosiers’ seventh straight win at home dating back to last season, as they swept Nebraska in their final home series of the 2012 season and went undefeated in the Hoosier Classic earlier this year. The Hoosiers are now 42-6 at home since the 2011 season.“We have to have all three parts working: pitching, hitting and defense,” Gardner said. “Today we had that.”
(04/02/13 12:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team returns to its home stadium after two weeks on the road to play Indiana State at 6 p.m. today. The matchup kicks off the next nine games to be played in a row at the Andy Mohr Field for the Hoosiers.“Traveling is definitely tiring, so to be able to return home and play the next nine games at Andy Mohr Field will be a nice change for us,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “We always seem to play well at home, and to be able to do so in such an amazing stadium is something we look forward to doing.”The 11-20 Sycamores, reigning from the Missouri Valley Conference, are currently posting a 1-12 record at away games. Sophomore Ashli Scott leads the Sycamore pitching squad with a 3.55 earned run average, while the team posts an overall 4.57 earned run average. Indiana State’s offense is led by sophomore utility player Megan Stone (.378 batting average), while the team posts an overall batting average of .254 on the season. The Sycamores have been outscored by opponents 155-122 in their 2013 campaign.“We just need to make sure we do well in all aspects of the game: pitching, hitting and defense,” Gardner said of the team’s game plan against Indiana State. “If we can produce in each of those areas and continue to come out and play, we should be successful.”The Hoosiers are currently posting a .249 batting average while keeping opponents to a .298 batting average. In the last weekend out, IU posted eight runs in its three-game series against Michigan State, while allowing the Spartans to score 17 runs. The Hoosier’s defense is led by the 2.86 earned run average of junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy, while the team is posting an overall 3.36 earned run average.“To be successful against Indiana State, what we really need to do is stay where we’re at and focus on communication and team camaraderie,” junior infielder Shelby Gogreve said. “We have pitching and hitting. We just have to find a way to get it all working at one time.”The Hoosiers currently have a 3-0 record at home in their first season playing at Andy Mohr Field. “It’s just always so much better to be at home,” Abraham said. “We want to protect our home turf, so that’s something else we want to play for, as well.”IU is looking to improve its 16-19 overall record on the season.“It will be really nice to sleep in our own beds and have our fans cheering for us,” Gogreve said. “Hoosier Nation is powerful.”
(04/01/13 2:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU softball team went 0-3 against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., this weekend. Michigan State is the first team to sweep IU in a conference series since 2010.“Of course we would have liked to see a different outcome on the weekend, but I thought we finished with a lot of energy, and our team showed a lot of fight, especially in the last game,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “Despite a few miscues on the weekend, we really battled at the plate and continued to answer when we were down. That’s definitely something positive that we can take out of this weekend.”The Hoosiers struggled Friday in their first game of the weekend, falling 5-0 to the Spartans. Michigan State took the lead early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and tacking on two more in the bottom of the third to give them a total of five runs for the afternoon. Junior infielder Shelby Gogreve led the IU offense with two hits, while junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy and freshman infielder Lexi Reese each posted one hit. Murphy was dealt the loss after allowing nine hits and two earned runs in the matchup.“I had a bit more success at the plate, and I think it’s largely due to what we’ve been working on in practice,” Gogreve said. “It felt good to have individual success, but it would have felt even better to have more team success.”The Hoosiers dropped their second game to Michigan State on Saturday, 10-7. IU scored early, posting two runs in the top of the first inning, and held onto the lead until the Spartans plated five runs in the bottom of the second to bring the score to 6-3. The Hoosiers would never regain the lead, despite scoring in all but two innings of the matchup. Junior outfielder Jenna Abraham led the offense with two runs on the afternoon while freshmen catcher and first baseman Kassi Farmer, sophomore utility player Shannon Cawley, senior infielder Amanda Wagner, sophomore infielder Brianna Meyer and Gogreve each brought in one run for the Hoosiers. Freshman pitcher Brooke Boetjer was dealt the loss, falling to 1-2 on the season.“I feel like I’m getting better every at bat,” Abraham said. “I’ve been focusing on the team aspect more than the individual aspect, and it’s actually helping me get a lot better.”On Sunday, IU lost their final game of the series 2-1 in extra innings, with Michigan State taking home all three wins on the weekend. Both teams posted one run in the fourth inning, with neither team scoring again until the Spartans scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Wagner posted the lone run of the game for the Hoosiers while Meyer and Murphy posted the only hits of the afternoon. Murphy was dealt her second loss of the weekend, falling to 9-11 on the season despite striking out seven batters and allowing just one earned run on six hits.“The extra innings loss was rough because we were in it the entire game, but our energy was up, our fight was there,” Gardner said. “We just needed that one key hit or that one key play, and the game could have had a completely different outcome.”The Hoosiers are now 1-5 in Big Ten play and 16-19 overall in their 2013 campaign.“Losing is never easy, so all of the losses were difficult, but one thing I liked from this team was that they never quit,” Gardner said. “They came out each day and fought.”