Indiana University
Rutgers University
Hoosiers Open Big Ten Play Against Rutgers
3/23/2017 2:49:00 PM | Softball
Friday's second game will be shown live on the Big Ten Network while Saturday's will be on BTN Plus. Admission to all homes games is free of charge.
WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
Friday, March 24
Game One - 3 p.m.
Game Two - 6 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Saturday, March 25
Game Three - 1 p.m.
QUICK HITS
• Andy Mohr Field is in its fifth season and the Hoosiers come in to the weekend with a 42-37 record at the stadium.
• This weekend's promotion will feature an Indiana headband giveaway.
• Last season, Indiana finished ninth in the Big Ten after posting a 10-13 conference record. The 10 Big Ten wins was the most for Indiana since the 2012 season. In addition, the Hoosiers earned their first Big Ten Tournament victory since 2006 with a 2-0 victory over Wisconsin last season.
• With the conclusion of the pre-conference tournament season, the Hoosiers have just two non-conference games remaining in 2017. Indiana will travel to Louisville on March 29 and get a visit from Kentucky on April 19.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights, who are in the midst of a 34-game road swing to start the season, have a 7-19 mark on the year but picked up three wins in last weekend's USF Clearwater Spring Break Classic. A season ago, Rutgers finished 11th in the Big Ten standings with an 8-15 conference record and a 24-33 overall mark.
Rutgers has been strong at the plate this season, hitting .279 as a team with four in the lineup regularly hitting above .300. Taryn Atlee leads the way with a .375 average, 33 hits and 19 runs. Rebecca Hall has knocked eight homers for the Scarlet Knights while batting .354 with 29 hits and 20 runs. Nicole Bowman leads the conference in walks with 20 on the year.
In the circle, Shayla Sweeney (3.68 ERA, 6-5, 78.0 IP), Whitney Jones (5.38 ERA, 1-6, 41.2 IP) and Cambria Keefer (10.93 ERA, 0-8, 24.1 IP) have carried most of the workload this season.
LAST TIME OUT
IU opened up play at Andy Mohr Field last weekend in the Hoosier Classic, earning a 3-1 record in the tournament. Indiana picked up a pair of victories against Bowling Green and split with UIC.
UDEN COLLECTS WEEKLY AWARDS
Junior Taylor Uden was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week after hitting an impressive .727 during the Hoosier Classic, which saw the first baseman knock two homers and four doubles with a 1.636 slugging percentage and .813 on-base percentage. In addition, Uden scored five runs, picked up five RBI and earned four walks while tallying 18 total bases. Uden was also named a Fastpitch News Player of the Week and an NFCA Selected Top Performance.
Uden leads the Hoosiers with 21 RBI, 42 total bases and three homers while being tied with a team-best 26 hits, 10 of which have been for extra bases.
Since Indiana's game against Lipscomb on March 10, Uden is hitting .522 with 12 hits - including all three of her homers - 10 RBI and nine runs. The eight-game stretch raised her average from .226 to .302 on the season.
FRESHMEN CONTINUE TO DELIVER
• Freshman Gabbi Jenkins had another big weekend at the plate, batting .471 with eight hits, five RBI and two runs in the Hoosier Classic. In Indiana's 11-3 win against Bowling Green, Jenkins picked up a career high four hits and four RBI while also adding a run.
• Jenkins is riding a team best eight-game hitting streak and in the last 15 games is hitting .407, picking up 22 of her 23 hits on the year during that time frame, which dates back to Indiana's Feb. 26 game against UAB. Her hot-hitting as of late has raised her average from .056 entering the UAB game to .319 heading in to this weekend. In addition, in the 11 games since IU's March 5 game against Long Beach, Jenkins has posted a multi-hit performance in six games.
• Another freshman delivering for the Hoosiers is Bella Norton. In the last nine games, Norton has 10 hits and has a team-high nine-game reached base streak.
• Freshman Katie Lacefield continues to find ways to get on base as she is tied for seventh in the conference with 15 walks. She has also added 12 hits, with seven of those coming in the last 10 games.
HITTING HEATS UP
• After just having one game with 10 or more hits through the first 21 games of the season, Indiana has now posted a 10-plus hit game five times in the last seven contests.
• In those seven games, Indiana is hitting .394 as a team, raising the season batting average from .225 to .272.
• After not registering a single triple in the first 19 games of the season, the Hoosiers have hit four in the last seven games. Junior Rachel O'Malley has knocked two, while Jenkins and freshman Katie Lacefield have each hit one.
TRAINER'S STRIKEOUT RANKINGS
Tara Trainer has 110 strikeouts on the year, good for 23rd nationally and second in the Big Ten. In addition, her 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings is 34th in the country and third in the conference.
Trainer picked up a pair of victories during the Hoosier Classic, as well as a save. She registered a 1.34 ERA in 15.2 innings over the weekend, striking out 21 batters.
A season ago, the righty, who was named No. 21 on Fastpitch News' Preseason Top 50 NCAA Softball Pitchers List, set the Indiana freshman strikeout record with 183.
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2017
The Hoosiers have 53 games on tap in 2017, including 16 to be played at Andy Mohr Field. Of Indiana's 32 opponents in 2017, five are ranked in this week's USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. Another six opponents received votes in this week's poll.
Home Big Ten battles for Indiana includes Rutgers, Purdue, Maryland and Michigan State. IU will travel to Penn State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Michigan. The 2017 Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Michigan in Ann Arbor May 11-13.
