Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Set for Big Ten Tournament
5/11/2016 3:57:00 PM | Softball
The winner of Thursday's matchup will go on to face 1st-seeded Michigan in the quarterfinals on Friday at 8 p.m. The tournament is a single-elimination format that will begin on Thursday with the title contest slated for Saturday night at Beard Field in State College, Pa. The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Every game of the 2016 Big Ten Tournament will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. In addition, a live radio broadcast for Indiana's games can be found on IUHoosiers.com.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
•The Hoosiers will play in the Big Ten Softball tournament for the third straight season and the sixth time in program history.
•Indiana is 3-7 all-time at the tournament.
•The No. 4 (1996) seed is the highest in Indiana B1G Tournament history, Indiana's No. 9 seed this season is the highest since IU was the No. 6 seed in 2006.
•This is the first time the Hoosiers and Badgers have faced off in the Big Ten Tournament.
•All games will take place at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. Indiana is 6-2 all time at Beard Field, including a three-game sweep of the Nittany Lions in University Park last season.
•This year, Indiana is 11-3 in neutral site competitions. Wisconsin is 11-8 in neutral site games in 2016.
BLITZ, CAWLEY NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN
The Big Ten announced the 2016 All-Big Ten selections on Wednesday with sophomore Rebecca Blitz and redshirt senior Shannon Cawley earning Second Team honors, marking the first time since 2012 Indiana Softball earned multiple spots.
This is the second time Cawley has earned the recognition as she was named to the 2012 First Team in her freshman season. Cawley, a native of Brookfield, Ill., is batting .407 in Big Ten play with 24 hits, 12 runs, 12 RBI and a .627 slugging percentage. In addition, her seven doubles in conference action is tied for sixth-most in the Big Ten. Cawley is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and has collected 13 base knocks in the last eight games. A fixture in the Indiana lineup since her freshman season, Cawley's 107 career RBI is the fourth-most in Indiana history, while her 186 hits is the 10th-most at IU.
Blitz earns the recognition for the first time in her career. The Mountain Brook, Ala. native is batting .349 in conference play with 30 hits, 15 runs and seven RBI. In addition, her 10 stolen bases are tied for second-most in the Big Ten, while her 86 at-bats is the most. For the season, Blitz has swiped 29 bases, tied for third-most in a single season at Indiana. Last year, Blitz earned NFCA Second Team All-Region, marking the first time since 1995 and Indiana freshman was given the accolade.
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
Wisconsin closed out the regular season at Nebraska over the weekend, dropping two games to the Cornhuskers, but picking up a 6-4 win in the second game of the series. The Badgers stand at 11-11-1 in Big Ten action, including a doubleheader sweep of then No. 21-ranked Minnesota.
Offensively, Wisconsin is led by Kelsey Jenkins, who is batting .411 with 60 hits, 49 runs and 34 RBI. Chloe Miller leads the team in RBI with 51 on the year on 53 hits. In the circle, the Badgers rely primarily on Taylor-Paige Stewart (2.61 ERA, 17-12, 41 app.) and Kirsten Stevens (3.19 ERA, 10-11, 37 app.).
LAST TIME OUT
The Hoosiers wrapped up the regular season at Maryland over the weekend, taking the series with a pair of wins. On Saturday, Indiana swept the doubleheader, 8-3 and 12-1 (five innings). The Terrapins took the final game of the series on Sunday, 10-8.
HUBER'S HUGE WEEKEND
Senior Michelle Huber earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Monday after she hit .571 with a 1.857 slugging percentage on the weekend, scoring seven runs while also driving in seven on three home runs. In Friday's 12-1 win against the Terrapins, she smacked a career-high two home runs, both three-run shots to tally six RBI, tied for second-most in a single game in program history.
Her big weekend at the plate came after knocking her second career grand slam in Indiana's 5-3 win against Ohio State last Sunday, making it four homers in four games for Huber.
HOOSIERS FINDING THE LONG BALL
Thanks in large part to Huber, the Hoosiers have seen an impressive surge in home runs over the last few weeks. Since the April 23 game against Rutgers, Indiana has smacked eight home runs in eight games, compared to 16 in the first 44 games of the season, to bring the total to 24 on the year. Huber and Tsirigos lead the way for Indiana with home runs each.
The Hoosiers have hit three grand slams this season - Huber's against Ohio State, Tsirigos against No. 3 Auburn on March 4 and senior Kelsey Dotson's against Evansville on March 12.
SINGLE-SEASON MARKS
• Freshman Tara Trainer's 177 strikeouts are good for 10th-most in a single season and the most ever for an Indiana freshman. The previous high was Amy Unterbrink's 165 tossed during her freshman campaign in 1983.
• Sophomore Rebecca Blitz has 29 stolen bags on the year, tied with Aimee Lonigro (1994) for third-most in a single season in IU history.
• As a team, the Hoosiers have knocked 68 doubles this season, tied for 4th-most in a single season at Indiana. Cawley leads the way with 10, while Dotson has nine and Huber has eight.
WRAPPING UP PLAY AT ANDY MOHR FIELD
The Hoosiers played 22 games at Andy Mohr Field this season, the most in the stadium's four-year history, and finished with a home record of 13-9. Indiana's 13 home victories are also the most in a single season since the field open in 2013.
Indiana went 7-3 in non-conference action at home and 6-6 in Big Ten play.
Highlights from the home schedule include a no-hitter by freshman pitcher on March 12 against Evansville and a three-game sweep of Iowa to open Big Ten play on March 25-27.
