IU Clinches Series Against No. 18 Ohio State with DH Sweep

Friday, March 23

Bloomington, Ind.

2:00 PM ET

Indiana University

8-21, 0

Ohio State

19-5, 0

Ohio State

Indiana

IU Clinches Series Against No. 18 Ohio State with DH Sweep

3/23/2018 8:32:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (PDF) - Game One Box Score (PDF) - Game Two Photo Gallery - Game One Photo Gallery - Game Two

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana Softball swept Friday's doubleheader against No. 18 Ohio State to secure a victory in its first Big Ten series of the season, winning 6-0 and 9-3.

It marked the first ranked win of the season for the Hoosiers and the first time since 2013 IU has taken back-to-back games against a ranked opponent.

"It was an outstanding day and a full day of softball," said head coach Shonda Stanton. "We've been preaching all year that it's all about getting better for Big Ten play and we finally did put it all together."

Indiana 6, Ohio State 0
In game one, junior Tara Trainer tossed a complete game shutout as she two-hit the Buckeyes and recorded 12 strikeouts for the win.

Offensively, Indiana saw multi-hit performances from senior Rebecca Blitz, sophomore Katie Lacefield and freshman Maddie Westmoreland.

"Tara gave us an exceptional day with 12 K's and our offense came alive," said Stanton. "Maddie with the big hit – she was phenomenal all day. She did it all for us and it was nice that she clutched up. Lacefield had an outstanding day. Up and down the lineup, we did so many things well and we put the pressure on them on stolen bases with the next 60 feet."

The Hoosiers got on the board in the first as Westmoreland sent a two-run homer to right field to bring in Blitz, who reached on a walk.

Indiana doubled the lead in the following frame, sparked by a leadoff double to left center by Lacefield. A walk to freshman Taylor Lambert and a fielder's choice from sophomore Gabbi Jenkins loaded the bases for Blitz, who singled to short to plate Lacefield. A sacrifice fly by Westmoreland scored Lambert to push the IU advantage to 4-0.

Lacefield started the scoring again in the fourth as she knocked her first career homer on a solo shot to left center. Lambert scored her second run of the game a few batters later as a bunt single by Blitz brought her home.

In the circle, Trainer retired 12 of the first 14 batters she faced to keep Ohio State from getting anything going offensively.

The best chance for Ohio State came in the fifth as the Buckeyes put two runners on for the first time in the game on a walk to Becca Gavin and a two-out single by Bailee Sturgeon. However, a pop-up in foul territory to first baseman Taylor Uden ended the threat.

Indiana 9, Ohio State 3
Game two saw the Hoosiers match their season-high in runs as they battled back from a 2-0 fourth-inning deficit to secure the series with the win.

Westmoreland chipped in four RBI in the win, bringing her total to seven on the day, while adding another home run. The freshman has now hit a home run in each of the last three games to bring her total to five on the year.

In the circle, the Hoosiers saw another complete game two-hit performance, this time from sophomore Emily Goodin. Goodin allowed just two earned runs and one walk while striking out seven Buckeyes.

After three quiet innings from the bats of both teams, Ohio State took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on an RBI double by Emily Clark and a fielder's choice from Ashley Goodwin.

However, the Hoosiers used a five-run fifth frame to take the lead for good, collecting five hits in the inning. Uden put Indiana on the board as she sent a single up the middle to bring in junior Sarah Galovich, who reached on a leadoff walk. Blitz tied the game at 2-2 on her single to center, scoring Lambert. Westmoreland then knocked a three-run homer to left center to give the Hoosiers a 5-2 advantage.

Ohio State got one run back in the sixth on a Hoosier fielding error, plating Clark to trim Indiana's lead to 5-3.

Another big inning came for Indiana in the sixth as IU plated four runs on a pair of hits and an OSU throwing error. Lambert brought home Uden on a double to left center before a double steal allowed her to come home. Jenkins scored her second run of the game on a throwing error on a single by Blitz. Westmoreland brought in the final run of the day on a perfectly laid down bunt single to score Blitz.

"Goodin in game two was outstanding," said Stanton. "Our pitching was outstanding today. Just seeing the competitiveness and grittiness out of her, which was huge. What I'm most pleased with is we got down early and we didn't panic. We had that huge five-run inning and then we extended the lead and we needed that. I couldn't be more pleased with our team today. It was just a collective team effort."

Indiana will close out the series against Ohio State on Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission is free for all IU home games. The promotion for the game is Lil' Sis Day as the Hoosiers encourage all those in the Lil' Sis program to arrive by 11:15 a.m. for the pre-game activity.