Indiana University Athletics
Northwestern and Illinois Await Hoosier Softball
4/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Northwestern & Illinois Game Notes in PDF Format
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April 13, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana continues its conference slate as it travels to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern on April 14-15 at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. Following its games against the Wildcats, IU wraps up the weekend with a doubleheader against Illinois in Champaign, Ill., on April 16, at Eichelberger Field.
Indiana's games against the Wildcats are set for 4 p.m. and noon (CT) starts, while its twin bill is set for a noon (CT) first pitch on April 16, against the Fighting Illini.
NORTHWESTERN PREVIEW
Northwestern brings a 26-10 record into the weekend series, and stands at 6-2 in conference games.
Tammy Williams paces the Wildcat s' offense with a .384 batting average, followed by Katie Logan with a .374 clip. Eileen Canney leads NU in the circle with a 1.43 ERA through 122 innings.
Head coach Kate Drohan is in her fifth year at the helm of the Wildcats, accumulating a 162-79 record.
Northwestern leads the series 50-35 over Indiana, with Northwestern winning both meetings in 2005.
ILLINOIS PREVIEW
Illinois is 17-23 on the season and 3-5 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini are currently tied for sixth with the Hoosiers in the league standings.
Jenna Hall leads the Fighting Illini with a .495 batting average, while Rachelle Coriddi boasts a .336 clip.
Head coach Terri Sullivan is in her seventh season, tallying a 218-151-2 record.
Illinois leads the series 7-3 over Indiana, with Indiana claiming a series sweep of the Fighting Illini in 2005.
KENTUCKY REVIEW
Indiana posted a solid series sweep over Kentucky with scores of 2-0 and 6-5 in games one and two, respectively.
In game one, senior pitcher Mariangee Bogado shouldered the load for the Hoosiers, throwing a no-hitter and blasting the game-winning two-run homer to give IU the 2-0 win.
In game two, the Hoosiers needed extra innings to fend off the Wildcats. In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore third baseman Jennilee Huddleston waited for the third pitch of the count before she shot a game-winning double to left center to score Bogado, sealing the series sweep with a 6-5 victory.
WHAT'S COMING UP
After Indiana's series against Northwestern and Illinois, the Hoosiers return home for a contest against IPFW on April 18 at 4 p.m. at the IU Softball Field
QUEEN OF THE MOUNTAIN
For senior pitcher Mariangee Bogado, her final season as a Hoosier is playing out to be her best campaign in her career. With the conference season underway, Bogado is ranked in the top six of 13 different pitching and batting categories. Below is a list of where the Mariana, Venezuela ranks in Big Ten conference games only.
BATTING AVERAGE: T-6th, .417
HITS: T-2nd, 10
DOUBLES: T-2nd, 3
EARNED RUN AVG.: 2nd, 0.71
OPPOSING BAT AVG.: 6th, .162
INNINGS PITCHED: 1st, 39.2
WINS: T-2nd, 3
BATTERS STRUCK OUT: 1st, 53
BATTERS STRUCK OUT LOOKING: T-7th, 7
APPEARANCES: T-1st, 8
GAMES STARTED: 1st, 6
GAMES FINISHED: T-6th, 2
GAMES IN RELIEF: T-6th, 2
WHAT IT MEANS
This weekend's Big Ten conference games carry with them postseason implications. Northwestern currently stands third in the standings and is three games ahead of Indiana, while Illinois is tied for sixth with the Hoosiers. With only the top eight teams making the league's postseason tournament, IU needs to grab a pair of wins to stay in the conference race.
LEAVE IT IN THE PAST
The Indiana softball team is in the process of erasing the memory of one of the toughest seasons in IU history. In 2004, the Hoosiers posted a 13-41 overall record, including a 2-18 clip in conference games.
In 2005, the Hoosiers have already eclipsed last season's overall win total with an 20-17-1 record on the year, while they dismissed last year's Big Ten wins total in a single weekend, upending Ohio State and Penn State to open conference action 3-1. The start is IU's best since opening 5-0 in 1997. Indiana is currently 3-5 in league affairs.
With IU's series sweep of Kentucky, the Hoosiers claimed their second 20-win season since 1997.
