Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Penn State
Hoosiers Homer Their Way to 9-3 Win
4/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Indiana softball team picked up its first road win of the season with a 9-3 victory at Penn State on Friday. Indiana never trailed in the game that saw three different Hoosiers homer, including Michelle Huber, Rachel O’Malley and Katelyn Conenna.
Senior pitcher Lora Olson had a very productive outing in the win, tossing 5.1 innings and giving up just three runs on eight hits.
Freshman Rebecca Blitz got things started for Indiana (12-28, 3-7 Big Ten) as she earned a lead-off walk to begin the game. Blitz finished the game by going 2-for-3 with a walk as the freshman led off three different innings by getting on base.
After Blitz was thrown out on a fielder’s choice from Kassi Farmer, Kelsey Dotson walked to put runners on first and second for Katelyn Conenna, who responded with a long single that bounced off the wall in right-center field to score Farmer and Dotson to give Indiana a 2-0 first-inning lead.
Olson had a one-hitter going into the bottom of the fourth before a pair of RBI doubles by Penn State’s Macy Jones and Alyssa VanDerveer tied the game at 2-2.
The Hoosiers answered with a big fifth inning as Blitz led off the frame with a single up the middle. After Farmer walked, a wild pitch moved both of the runners into scoring position for Shannon Cawley, who scored Blitz on a sacrifice fly to right field. One batter later, Dotson scored Farmer on an RBI single right up the middle. Huber then knocked her second homer of the season, a two-run shot to dead center to bring in Conenna and make it 6-2 in favor of the Hoosiers.
O’Malley added to the Indiana advantage on a solo homer to lead off the sixth, the second time she’s gone yard in her career.
Penn State (21-18, 4-6 Big Ten) got one back in the bottom of the frame on a solo shot by Jones. The Nittany Lions looked like they were going to cut deeper into the lead as they loaded the bases with two outs. But, Indiana pitcher Miranda Tamayo forced Penn State into a groundout to end the inning. Tamayo finished her 1.2 innings of relief with no runs on just two Penn State hits.
Conenna put the game further out of reach in the final inning as she hit her third homer of the season on a two-run blast to score Dotson.
The Hoosiers and Nittany Lions will face off again tomorrow at 3 p.m. in game two of the series, which will be broadcasted on BTN Plus.
Media contact: Caitlin Davis, davis288@indiana.edu
