Softball Set for Big Ten Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball (23-30, 9-14 Big Ten) has earned the 10 seed in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament and will take on 7th-seeded Michigan State (29-21, 11-11 Big Ten) in the first round on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The winner of Thursday's matchup will go on to face 2nd-seeded Michigan in the quarterfinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The tournament is a single-elimination format that will begin on Thursday with the title contest slated for Saturday night at Wilpon Complex in Ann Arbor. The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Every game of the 2017 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 fourth straight season and the eighth time in program history. The tournament is entering its 20th year, including its 10th time in Ann Arbor.
•Indiana is 4-8 all-time at the tournament.
• Last season, the Hoosiers defeated Wisconsin in the first round, 4-0, marking the first victory in the Big Ten Tournament for the Hoosiers since 2006.
•The No. 4 (1996) seed is the highest in Indiana B1G Tournament history,
•This is the first time the Hoosiers and Spartans have faced off in the Big Ten Tournament.
•This year, Indiana is 10-10 in neutral site competitions. Michigan State is 10-2 in neutral site games in 2016.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• Michigan State took the final two games of last weekend's series in Bloomington.
• Lexi White paced the MSU offense during the series against IU, batting .625 with five hits, four RBI and three runs as well as a 1.750 slugging percentage.
• In the circle, Brigette Rainey registered a 0.78 ERA in 9.0 innings pitched against the Hoosiers.
• The Spartans are hitting an impressive .317 as a team, good for third in the Big Ten and 16th nationally. MSU has six everyday hitters batting .300 or better. Lea Foerster leads the way, averaging 1.20 runs per game, second-most in the nation.
• Michigan State has racked up numbers in extra-base hit categories. The Spartans have knocked 60 home runs, a new school record. The 1.20 home runs per game ranks fifth nationally, as does the 0.40 triples per game average. The Spartans knock 1.58 doubles per game, good for 10th in the country.

FOUR EARN BIG TEN ACCOLADES
• Senior CaraMia Tsirigos (First Team), junior Rebecca Bltiz (Second Team) and junior Rachel O'Malley (All-Defensive Team) earned conference honors on Wednesday. In addition, senior Erin Lehman was Indiana's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
• Tsirigos was named First Team All-Big Ten, the first Hoosier to earn First Team honors since Shannon Cawley did so in 2012.
• Tsirigos, who earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor last month, hit .357 in conference action and .301 overall. The Atlanta, Ga. native leads the team in home runs with eighth and is tied for fifth in IU history with 25 career homers.
• Additionally, Tsirigos has drawn 37 walks in 2017, good for third most in the conference, with a 0.71 walks per game average that ranks 35th nationally. The Atlanta, Ga. native sits at second all-time in career walks at Indiana with 117.
• Blitz earned Second Team All-Big Ten for the second year in a row. She leads the team with a .338 average, 54 hits and 16 stolen bases.
• For her career, the Birmingham, Ala. native has a .344 average, good for seventh in program history. Her 104 career runs is sixth in Hoosier history and makes her just the ninth player to score 100 or more runs in Cream and Crimson. In addition, her 60 stolen bases puts her fifth all-time at IU. Blitz continues to add to her decorated career, having now twice be named Second Team All-Big Ten, as well as two NFCA Second Team All-Region accolades.
• O'Malley is the first Hoosier to be picked for the All-Defensive Team, which was instituted in 2013. The shortstop has added to her highlight reel this season while posting a career-best .958 fielding percentage, including a .977 mark in Big Ten play. The Elk Grove Village, Ill. native has played every game of the 2017 season with 52 starts.
• Lehman earned her first Sportsmanship Award, which is given to individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

NEWS AND NOTES
• IU finished play at Andy Mohr Field with a 10-6 mark, including 7-5 in Big Ten games
• Indiana's 162 walks this year is fifth in the Big Ten. Tsirigos leads the team with 33, which ranks 47th in the country and third in the Big Ten, while freshman Katie Lacefield has 24.
• Indiana now has 67 doubles on the year, which is sixth in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers finished the 2016 campaign with 69 doubles, which was fourth all-time in program history.
• The Indiana pitching staff has hit a batter just nine times in the season, which is third best in the country. Freshman Emily Goodin has hit just one, tied for best in the nation (minimum 70.0 IP).
• IU's .966 fielding percentage ranks fourth in the Big Ten.

TRAINER'S STRIKEOUT RANKINGS
Tara Trainer has 172 strikeouts on the year, good for 40th nationally and third in the Big Ten. For her career, she has 355 strikeouts which puts her sixth in Indiana program history.

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.

For the latest on Indiana Softball, be sure to follow #IUSoftball on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

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Players Mentioned

Shannon Cawley

Emily Goodin

Katie Lacefield

Erin Lehman

Rachel O'Malley

Tara Trainer

CaraMia Tsirigos