Hoosiers Host Louisville for Midweek Tilt
3/19/2018 5:59:00 PM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball continues its 10-game homestand Tuesday to play host to Louisville at 5 p.m. The game will be the final non-conference contest before the Hoosiers open Big Ten play this weekend against Ohio State.
Admission to all home games is free of charge and Tuesday's game promotion is $1 hot dogs and popcorn. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus via BTN2Go.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Louisville sits at 20-8 on the year and opened ACC play last weekend, dropping three games to Notre Dame. The Cardinals are hitting .306 as a team, led by Caitlin Ferguson (.389 average, 35 hits, 19 runs, 28 RBI) and Celene Funke (.383 average, 31 hits, 21 runs). In the circle, Danielle Watson (2.07 ERA, 12-5, 88.0 IP) and Megan Hensley (2.84 ERA, 7-3, 88.2 IP) have carried most of the workload for the Cardinals. Louisville is 10-4 in games away from Ulmer Stadium this season.
The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 16-3, and have won three straight against Indiana. Last season, Louisville defeated the Hoosiers, 2-1, at Ulmer Stadium. IU held onto a 1-0 lead until the fifth when the Cardinals used a two-run single to seal the win. Tara Trainer tossed a complete game, allowing just one earned run and striking out two Cardinals.
LAST TIME OUT
IU opened home play over the weekend in the annual Hoosier Classic. Indiana went 3-2 in the tournament, defeating UIC twice and splitting with Green Bay. The Hoosiers dropped a single game meeting with Northwestern.
HOOSIER QUICK HITS
• Indiana's 5-3 win against UIC on Friday marked head coach Shonda Stanton's first career victory at Andy Mohr Field.
• Senior Rebecca Blitz collected career hit No. 200 in Sunday's win against UIC, becoming just the sixth member of the 200-plus hit club in IU program history.
• Sophomore Gabbi Jenkins had a huge weekend in the Hoosier Classic, hitting a team-leading with 9 hits, 5 runs, 3 RBI, 3 walks and 4 stolen bases in five games.
-> Jenkins recorded an on-base percentage of .632 with a .563 slugging percentage. She had two games with three hits or more and reached base successfully in every contest.
-> In Indiana's 8-4 win against UIC Sunday, Jenkins went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with three runs and three stolen bases.
-> Jenkins is leading the Hoosiers with a .367 average, 33 hits and 14 runs.
• Freshman Maddie Westmoreland also had a big weekend, batting .375 with 6 hits and 6 RBI, including a three-run homer against UIC Sunday. Westmoreland has raised her batting average significantly in the last three weeks:
-> After batting .182 with four hits and four RBI in the first nine games of the season, she has hit .400 with 20 hits and 12 RBI in the 19 games since then. In addition, she has collected three homers over the span of the last 10 games.
-> For the season, she now sits second on the team with a .333 average.
• Senior Rachel O'Malley hit .462 in the Hoosier Classic, collecting six hits - including three doubles - and two runs. O'Malley also drew two walks and brought in five runs while recording an impressive .923 slugging percentage.
• Indiana stole 16 bases over the weekend and the Hoosiers now have 46 stolen bases on the year, the second-most in the Big Ten. Jenkins has 13 stolen bags, which is the second-most in the conference, while Blitz has 11.
• Junior Tara Trainer's 86 strikeouts this season are tied for third-most in the Big Ten. The Lebanon, Ohio native has 442 strikeouts in her career, the sixth-most in IU program history:
Career Rankings:
1. Amy Unterbrink (1983-86) - 1089
2. Gina Ugo (1993-96) - 664
3. Megan Roark (2003-06) - 577
4. Mariangee Bogado (04-06) - 569
5. Morgan Melloh (2011) - 494
6. Tara Trainer (2016-pr.) - 442
