Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Prepared for Spring Break Contests
3/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 8, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana softball team continues its road schedule at the Florida State Invitational on March 10-12 in Tallahassee, Fla. The Hoosiers take a 5-8-1 record against tournament opponents Tulsa, Troy State and Appalachian State. Indiana opens with a 10:30 a.m. contest against Tulsa, followed by a 3:30 p.m. game against Troy on March 10. IU continues play on March 11 with its final pool matchup against Appalachian State at 12:30 p.m. The Hoosiers then enter bracket play at 3:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Game times for Sunday and the remainder of the tournament will be determined by Indiana's seed and results after its first round game.
TULSA PREVIEW
The Tulsa Hurricane enter the tournament with a 11-5 record on the season, including a 6-3 loss to Kansas in the final game of the Best Western Airport-Tulsa Festival. UT is scheduled to face No. 10 Oklahoma on Wednesday, March 8 at 6 p.m., before making the trip to Tallahassee.
First baseman Katie Torres leads the Hurricane at the plate with a .413 batting average, followed by shortstop/second baseman Kelli McGlasson (.400).
Head coach John Bargfeldt is in his first season with the Hurricanes.
Tulsa leads the series 2-1 over Indiana, including a 5-3 victory in 2005.
TROY PREVIEW
Troy State comes into the weekend with an 11-10 record. UAB swept Troy in a March 7 doubleheader, 2-0 and 10-2.
Infielder Jessica Lyle leads the batting effort for the Trojans with a .327, followed by catcher Felicia Hammer with a .281.
Veteran head coach Melanie Davis enters her 15th season with the Trojans, accumulating a 514-275-2 overall record with the program.
Indiana and troy are tied art one in the all-time series between the two schools, while Troy won the last game in 2003, 3-0.
APPALACHIAN STATE PREVIEW
Appalachian State comes into the Florida State Invitational on a six game winning streak en route to an 8-8 record on the season.
Third baseman Lindsay Glover paces Appalachian State at the plate with a .489 average, followed by outfielder Mary Lutz with a .333 average.
Head coach Willie Rucker has led the Mountaineers to a 78-164 record over his seven years at the helm of the Appalachian State softball program.
This is the first meeting between the two squads.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Indiana continues its spring break trip with contests against Stetson and Liberty on March 15 and 16. Stetson is currently 14-3 on the season with six more games before it meets the Hoosiers. Liberty is 8-4 on the season and has nine more games prior to its matchup against Indiana.
LOUISVILLE RECAP
The Indiana softball team fell short against the No. 21 Louisville Cardinals at the IU Softball Field on March 7, dropping its home opener 2-0. Junior center fielder Kim Richards, sophomore left fielder Julia Hamilton and freshman shortstop Stephanie Pellerito each recorded a hit, while senior Megan Roark recorded seven strikeouts in the loss.
The loss dropped Indiana to 5-8-1 on the season, while Louisville improved to 13-2 overall.
"It is good to know that we can compete with such a high caliber team like Louisville," head coach Stacey Phillips said. "If we had played our game, we definitely could have turned this game around and perhaps have ended up on top."
Louisville scored its first run in the top of the second inning followed by an insurance run in the top of the fourth to record the victory.
In the bottom of the third, Hamilton reached second on a two-out single and a steal to give Indiana a chance to score. The Cardinals, however, survived the threat as Bogado grounded out to shortstop to end the frame.
Despite the loss, it served as an early season confidence booster for the Indiana.
"I feel like we were right there with them," Richards said. "We just need to string it all together. We have to go out and attack strikes, have better pitch selection and all together make things happen on defense and offense."
Roark and senior pitcher Mariangee Bogado combined to strikeout 11 Cardinals and allowed just five hits.
"Our pitchers came through today to keep us in the game throughout," Phillips said. "Defensively we were solid. We are a good team, but need to string more consistent at bats and just put it all together."
HINES AMONG THE BIG TEN
Through games of March 6, senior right fielder Lauren Hines stands atop the Big Ten standings in both batting average (.462) and slugging average (.795). Overall, Hines ranks among the Big Ten leaders in eight categories.
BATTING AVERAGE: 1st, .462
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE: 1st, .795
ON BASE PERCENTAGE: 1st, .542
WALKS: T-4th, 8
DOUBLES: T-8th, 4
TOTAL BASES: T-4th, 31
HOMERUNS: T-5th, 3
HITS: T-9TH, 18
SENIOR HURLERS
The duo of senior Mariangee Bogado and Megan Roark look to carry the bulk of the load for IU, while junior Christy Wahl will also see some action throughout the season.
Bogado has struck out a team-leading 85 batters in nine appearances and 54 innings in the circle, while Roark has fanned 59 in 44 innings of action. Bogado has posted a 2.33 ERA on the young season, while Roark is not far behind with a 3.02 average.
The 2006 campaign marks the first season both Bogado and Roark are in top form, as Roark sat out a part of 2004 due to injury, while Bogado missed most of last season recovering from an injury.
In 2004, Bogado, in the absence of Roark, led IU with a 1.62 ERA and fanned a record-setting 207 batters in the process. In 2005, Roark held most of the duties in the circle, posting a 2.97 ERA and struck out 219 batters. Roark and Bogado are fifth and sixth, respectively, in IU's single-season strikeout total.
