Indiana University
Ohio State
Indiana Opens Big Ten Play with No. 18 Ohio State
3/22/2018 2:41:00 PM | Softball
Admission to all home games is free of charge. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus via BTN2Go.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
The 19-4 Buckeyes have had two of their losses come against top-five teams in No. 3 UCLA and No. 5 Oklahoma. Ohio State is hitting .265 as a team, paced by Lilli Piper, who is batting .452 with 38 hits, 29 runs, 33 RBI, 12 home runs and 9 doubles. Piper was picked as the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday after going .565 at the plate with 13 hits, 9 RBI, 8 runs and 3 homers in seven games. Meanwhile, Piper currently ranks fourth nationally in homers, which leads the Big Ten. In the circle, Morgan Ray (1.49 ERA, 11-3, 89.1 IP) and Shelby McCombs (2.68 ERA, 8-1, 65.1 IP) split most of the workload.
Indiana leads the all-time series against Ohio State, 61-45-1. Last year, Ohio State took two out of three contests in Columbus. Indiana picked up a 3-1 win in the second game against then-ranked No. 25 Ohio State, which marked the first win against a ranked opponent for IU since 2013. Last time the Buckeyes came to Bloomington, the Hoosiers took two out of three games in 2016.
THIS WEEK'S PROMOS
Friday's doubleheader will feature an Indiana popsocket giveaway. Sunday's game is Lil' Sis Day where all members of the Lil' Sis program are invited to Andy Mohr Field. If you are involved in the program, please be at the stadium by 11:15 a.m. for the pre-game activity.
LAST TIME OUT
Due to the weather, the Hoosiers postponed Tuesday's contest against Louisville. 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.
JENKINS LEADS THE WAY
• 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.
WESTMORELAND'S BIG WEEKEND
• 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.
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.
• 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
