Indiana University
University of Louisville
Hoosiers Set for a Midweek Battle with Louisville
4/11/2016 4:56:00 PM | Softball
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
The Cardinals are coming off a series victory against Virginia Tech as they took two out of three games from the Hokies in Louisville over the weekend.
As a team, the Louisville offense is hitting .316, led by Maryssa Becker (.426, 43 hits, 27 runs, 46 RBI). Megan Hensley is leading the Cards with 11 homers on the year while batting .364. Those two are also leading the charge in the circle as Becker has a 2.06 ERA with a 14-6 record and Hensley sits at a 2.31 ERA with a 12-3 mark.
In last week's USAToday/NFCA Coaches Poll, the Cards received 10 votes and have been ranked for much of the year.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hoosiers hosted Penn State over the weekend, dropping the first two games before run-ruling the Nittany Lions on Sunday in six innings, 11-2.
The Indiana bats exploded in the finale as four Hoosiers plated multiple runs. Indiana put up four runs in the fifth inning before a five-run frame was capped by a three-run homer from sophomore Taylor Uden to end the game in six innings.
KIRK'S CAREER DAY
In Sunday's win against Penn State, sophomore Emily Kirk picked up her first career victory and first career complete game. Kirk tossed 6.0 innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out three.
SENIORS COMING UP B1G
IU has relied heavily on offensive output from its senior class lately. Dating back to last week's doubleheader at Purdue, Michelle Huber, Kassi Farmer and Katelyn Conenna have all belted homers. In that five-game span, Conenna has hit a team-best .444 with four hits, four runs and five RBI.
In conference play, Shannon Cawley has led the offense with a ,417 average and a .583 slugging percentage. She's knocked 10 hits in the 11 Big Ten games, including four doubles. She currently leads the team with seven total doubles.
HOMERS PICKING UP
Indiana has belted four homers in the last four games, meaning 25 percent of its long balls on the year have come in that time frame. Indiana hit a pair in the second game of the Purdue doubleheader, and homered twice over the weekend against Penn State.
TSIRIGOS CONTINUING BIG YEAR
During Sunday's win against Penn State, CaraMia Tsirigos went 3-for-3 with a run and a walk. The junior collected a pair of doubles in the game and is third on the team with five doubles on the year. Additionally, she has a team-leading four home runs with 19 RBI, second only to junior Erin Lehman's 22 RBI. Tsirigos is in the midst of the best season of her career, as her .295 average is the highest its been. Also, she currently has 23 hits through 35 games played, compared to her career-high 25 through 42 games in her freshman season.
BLITZ COVERING HER BASES
Sophomore Rebecca Blitz is currently tied for eighth in the conference with 46 hits this year. She picked up four more over the weekend, along with a trio of runs scored.
Once she reaches first, she rarely stays put as her 22 stolen bases is third in the Big Ten and ranks 41st nationally. As a team, the Hoosiers rank fourth in the conference with 45 stolen bags.
GALOVICH HEATING UP
After some early season struggles at the plate, freshman Sarah Galovich has started to heat up. She knocked four hits over the weekend, including two on Saturday. She also collected three RBI and brought in two runs in the series finale on Sunday. Since a breakout performance on March 27 against Iowa that saw her collect a career-high three hits, Galovich is hitting .381 with eight hits, including three doubles, five runs and five RBI.
THIRD INNING'S THE CHARM
Indiana continues to see the third inning as its most productive on the defensive side The Hoosiers have put up 26 runs in the third inning this season while giving up just six.
YOUNG PITCHING STAFF PUTTING UP IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS
The Indiana pitching staff of freshmen Tara Trainer, Josie Wood and sophomore Emily Kirk continues to put up big numbers. The trio ranks fifth in the Big Ten in ERA (3.39) and is tied for third in opposing batting average (.239), while ranking third in strikeouts (262). Indiana has already surpassed last year's strikeout total (174 in 56 games).
On a national scale, Trainer is 25th in strikeouts – third-most among any freshmen – and 23rd in strikeouts per seven innings.
SHUTTING THE DOOR
Behind Indiana's strong pitching and defense, the Hoosiers have not given opponents opportunities for late comebacks as they are 17-0 when leading after the sixth inning. Additionally, Indiana is 17-1 when leading after five innings.
WHAT ELSE IS ON TAP?
The only other remaining non-conference game of the year for the Hoosiers is Ball State on April 20. The final Big Ten home series of the season will be against Ohio State (April 29-May 1).
The rest of the Hoosiers' conference road series includes Michigan State (April 15-17), Rutgers (April 22-24) and Maryland (May 6-8). Penn State will play host to the Big Ten Tournament beginning on May 12.
