Saturday, April 7
Bloomington, Ind.
1:00 PM ET
Indiana University
14-22, 0
4
vs
3
Nebraska
26-13, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
Nebraska
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
6
1
Indiana
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
1
4
14
3
Indiana Walks Off Nebraska, 4-3
4/7/2018 5:26:00 PM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana Softball improved to 7-1 in Big Ten action on Saturday as the Hoosiers defeated Nebraska in eight innings, 4-3. Sophomore Katie Lacefield brought in the game-winning run as she sent a bases-loaded single to plate freshman Taylor Lambert.
Lambert was 4-for-4 on the day to lead the bats, as Indiana's 14 total hits was the highest in a game this season. Freshman Maddie Westmoreland collected three RBI in the game, including a two-run homer.
"Lacefield having that moment was a lot of fun," said head coach Shonda Stanton. "There's nothing more special than a walk-off win in this game. Lambert had a great day at the plate, she was huge for us. A lot of people did the little things well for us – we had hitting, solid defensive plays and big pitches. It was a fun game between two good ball clubs who battled today."
The Huskers struck first as Alyvia Simmons, who reached on a leadoff single, scored on a Hoosier throwing error with two outs in the opening frame.
Nebraska's 1-0 lead remained intact until the fifth when Westmoreland knocked her sixth home run of the season on a two-run shot. The homer to left also plated senior Rebecca Blitz, who reached on a leadoff single.
However, the IU advantage did not last long as the Huskers responded with a two-run sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Nebraska used a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases for Simmons, who singled up the middle to score Bri Cassidy and Taylor Otte.
The Hoosiers answered by loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth on a walk to senior Taylor Uden and back-to-back singles from Lambert and sophomore Gabbi Jenkins. Westmoreland tied the game at 3-3 as her groundout plated Uden.
Each team put a pair of baserunners on in the seventh but left them stranded to head to extras.
Nebraska knocked a two-out single in the eighth but junior Tara Trainer collected her fourth strikeout of the day to keep the game tied. Trainer earned the win in the circle for Indiana, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Sophomore Emily Goodin gave a solid start for the Hoosiers, going 5.1 innings with two earned runs.
After Lambert led off the eight with her fourth hit of the game on a single up the middle, Jenkins moved her over on a sacrifice bunt. A groundout by Blitz sent Lambert to third before Westmoreland was intentionally walked. A walk to senior Rachel O'Malley loaded the bases for Lacefield, who singled through the right side to secure the win. It marked the first extra innings game for Indiana this season.
"I was really pleased with after they re-took the lead, we didn't back down. That's what I'm so proud of this group for – staying tough mentally, being resilient and throwing punches. We had some early opportunities that we didn't capitalize on and that can be frustrating, but we stayed the course. That's a huge difference between this team now and a month ago. It all comes down to building moments where you get more and more confident and that's what we've been doing lately."
Indiana and Nebraska will return to action tomorrow for the rubber match at Noon. Admission to all home games is free of charge.
Lambert was 4-for-4 on the day to lead the bats, as Indiana's 14 total hits was the highest in a game this season. Freshman Maddie Westmoreland collected three RBI in the game, including a two-run homer.
"Lacefield having that moment was a lot of fun," said head coach Shonda Stanton. "There's nothing more special than a walk-off win in this game. Lambert had a great day at the plate, she was huge for us. A lot of people did the little things well for us – we had hitting, solid defensive plays and big pitches. It was a fun game between two good ball clubs who battled today."
The Huskers struck first as Alyvia Simmons, who reached on a leadoff single, scored on a Hoosier throwing error with two outs in the opening frame.
Nebraska's 1-0 lead remained intact until the fifth when Westmoreland knocked her sixth home run of the season on a two-run shot. The homer to left also plated senior Rebecca Blitz, who reached on a leadoff single.
However, the IU advantage did not last long as the Huskers responded with a two-run sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Nebraska used a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases for Simmons, who singled up the middle to score Bri Cassidy and Taylor Otte.
The Hoosiers answered by loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth on a walk to senior Taylor Uden and back-to-back singles from Lambert and sophomore Gabbi Jenkins. Westmoreland tied the game at 3-3 as her groundout plated Uden.
Each team put a pair of baserunners on in the seventh but left them stranded to head to extras.
Nebraska knocked a two-out single in the eighth but junior Tara Trainer collected her fourth strikeout of the day to keep the game tied. Trainer earned the win in the circle for Indiana, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Sophomore Emily Goodin gave a solid start for the Hoosiers, going 5.1 innings with two earned runs.
After Lambert led off the eight with her fourth hit of the game on a single up the middle, Jenkins moved her over on a sacrifice bunt. A groundout by Blitz sent Lambert to third before Westmoreland was intentionally walked. A walk to senior Rachel O'Malley loaded the bases for Lacefield, who singled through the right side to secure the win. It marked the first extra innings game for Indiana this season.
"I was really pleased with after they re-took the lead, we didn't back down. That's what I'm so proud of this group for – staying tough mentally, being resilient and throwing punches. We had some early opportunities that we didn't capitalize on and that can be frustrating, but we stayed the course. That's a huge difference between this team now and a month ago. It all comes down to building moments where you get more and more confident and that's what we've been doing lately."
Indiana and Nebraska will return to action tomorrow for the rubber match at Noon. Admission to all home games is free of charge.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Trainer, Tara (8-12)
L: Kaylan Jablonski (18-8)
Batting:
RBI: Alyvia Simmons 2
SH: Bri Cassidy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alyvia Simmons 1 ; Bri Cassidy 1 ; Taylor Otte 1
SB: Alyvia Simmons 2 ; Tristen Edwards 1 ; Taylor Otte 1
Batting:
HR: Westmoreland, Maddie 1
RBI: Westmoreland, Maddie 3 ; Lacefield, Katie 1
SH: Jenkins, Gabbi 1 ; O'Malley, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Blitz, Rebecca 1 ; Westmoreland, Maddie 1 ; Uden, Taylor 1 ; Lambert, Taylor 1
SB: Ferrari, Makayla 1 ; Lacefield, Katie 1 ; Norton, Bella 1
HBP: Uden, Taylor 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
4
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballUT
/ SoftballUT
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C/IF
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