Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Take on a Pair of State Rivals
4/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Ball State/Indiana State Notes in PDF Format
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April 24, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana softball team wraps up its non-conference schedule as it takes on Ball State and Indiana State on April 24 and April 26, respectively. The Hoosiers first take on Ball State in Muncie, Ind., for 4 p.m. first pitch on Monday, while it closes the non-conference schedule in Terre Haute, Ind., with 3 p.m. game against the Sycamores on Wednesday.
BALL STATE PREVIEW
Ball State brings an 12-20 record into the game with the Hoosiers. Terri Laux is in her 10th year with the Cardinals, accumulating a record of 221-273-1.
Amanda Pick heads the offensive charge for Ball State with a .333 batting average and 31 hits. Abby Gross paces the Cardinals with 17 RBI, while holding the team's second best average with a .290 clip. Pick also shoulders the pitching duties for BSU with a 2.04 ERA in 25 appearances, while Abby Zollman follows closely with a 2.96 ERA in 11 appearances.
Indiana leads the series 36-26 and won the last meetings in 2005, 6-0.
INDIANA STATE PREVIEW
The Sycamores own a 21-23 record on the season.
Head coach Brenda Coldren is in her fourth year with the Sycamores program, leading Indiana State to a 64-123 record in her time at the helm.
Katie Armour paces the Sycamores batting efforts with a .377, while Stephanie Spychaj follows closely with a .333 clip.
Darcy Wood has made 35 appearances for ISU, recording a 1.76 ERA in the process with a team-leading 212 strikeouts.
Indiana leads the series 48-17 and has won the six of the last eight meetings.
WEEKEND IN REVIEW
Indiana hit itself back into the contention for the conference tournament, going 3-1 against conference foes Wisconsin and Iowa. The Hoosiers' wins over the Badgers and Hawkeyes were the first for an IU squad since 2004 and 1998, respectively.
Indiana swept the Badgers by scores of 3-1 and 9-1, while out-hitting Wisconsin in both matches.
Against Iowa, IU run-ruled the Hawkeyes in game one, 12-4, before falling in the second game, 3-2. The split of the series moved Indiana into eighth in the conference standings and into contention for a spot in the Big Ten tournament.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Indiana returns to the diamond on April 28 when it travels to Minneapolis, Minn., for its last conference-road series. The two teams will battle on April 28 at 3 p.m., followed by a noon matchup on April 29.
BOWLING `STRIKES'
Senior pitcher Mariangee Bogado has posted a team-leading 238 strikeouts on the season. The feat is the most fanned batters for a Hoosier pitcher since Gina Ugo (1993-96) punched out 273 in 1996. Previous to that effort, IU Hall of Famer Amy Unterbrink (1983-86) registered 370 strikeouts in 1986 for the school record.
BEST IN THE BUSINESS
Senior right fielder Lauren Hines is well on her way to posting the best batting average in the last nine years.
Currently the Hoosier owns a .426 clip, just below Monica Armendarez's (1995-98) season mark of a .437 in 1997. If the season ended today, the senior would finish with the third-best mark in a season, and the best average since Stormy Hanson registered a .382 clip in 2003.
HITTING ZONE
One of IU's top goals since the beginning of the season was to improve its offensive output. The Hoosiers have accomplished that and more with a .266 batting average on the season and a .239 ledger in conference games.
The 2006 Hoosiers also have managed to record the best batting average in nine years. The last time the Hoosiers had above a .266 came in 1997 when they registered a .293 clip.
STEP UP TO THE PLATE
The Indiana pitching staff has prided itself on being one of the best in the Big Ten. Not only have senior pitchers Mariangee Bogado and Megan Roark and junior hurler Christy Wahl done that, they have combined to be one of the best contingents in IU history.
The threesome has allowed only 241 hits on the season, which ranks fifth all-time in the IU record book for a season.
THIS IS MY FIELD
Indiana is on its way to rewriting the record books in fielding percentage. In 2006, the Hoosiers own a .971 average on the season, which if the season ended today would become the all-time highest for any Hoosier squad since the inception of the program more than 30 years ago. The current record is a .963 posted by the 1986 Hoosiers.
Incidentally, the 1986 squad made it all the way to the Women's College World Series.
