Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Face No. 25 Northwestern This Weekend
4/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 17, 2014
| No. 25 Northwestern- April 18-20 - Sharon J. Drysdale Field | |
| Date | April 18-20, 2014 |
| Location | Evanston, Ill. |
| Game 1 | Indiana at Northwestern • 5 p.m. ET (GameTracker) |
| Game 2 | Indiana at Northwestern • 2 p.m. ET (GameTracker) |
| Game 3 | Indiana at Northwestern • 1 p.m. ET (GameTracker) |
| Radio | Free Audio |
| TV (Sunday Only) | Big Ten Digital Network (Subscription Required) |
| Game Notes | Indiana |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook |
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After playing its last seven games in Bloomington, the Indiana softball team will hit the road and travel to Northwestern this weekend for a three-game Big Ten conference series with the No. 25-ranked Wildcats in Evanston, Ill. A free radio broadcast with Will Chukerman will be available for each of the weekend's games, while Sunday's 1 p.m. ET game will be streamed live on the Big Ten Digital Network (subscription required).
A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS
Under 13th-year head coach Kate Drohan, Northwestern is currently ranked 25th in the latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll . The Wildcats are 24-11 on the season and sit in a tie for sixth in the Big Ten after posting a 6-6 mark in conference games.
NU ranks second in the B1G and 16th in the NCAA in team batting average (.328), with seven players hitting at a .300-or-better clip. Emily Allard leads the Wildcats with a .389 average this season.
In the circle, Northwestern's staff has a combined 4.02 earned run average in 219.2 innings pitched. Kristen Wood has provided a majority of work with 117.1 innings tossed this spring and leads the team with 150 strikeouts, good for third in the Big Ten.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Hoosiers and Wildcats will meet for the 101st time in program history with Northwestern owning a 61-38 advantage in the all-time series.
The two squads first met in the 1977 season where Indiana topped NU 6-3. The Hoosiers would go on to win the next 9 of the next 11; however, the Wildcats would take the following nine-straight games. In more recent hitsory, Northwestern has been victorious in 21 of the two teams' last 26 games dating back to 2000, but the Hoosiers have taken three of the last six. The two teams last met on May 9, 2013 at the Big Ten Tournament in Lincoln, Neb. The Hoosiers fell in that contest, 6-3.
LAST TIME OUT
The Indiana softball team split its non-conference midweek doubleheader with visiting Ball State on Wednesday, April 16, taking game one 3-2 before dropping the second game of the evening, 6-3.
Indiana's offense outhit Ball State in each game, combining for 20 through both contests and registered lead off hits in 9-of-13 innings played. The Hoosiers bats also tallied at least one hit in 11 of those 13 innings which included five for extra bases.
Kelsey Dotson paced Indiana at the plate with multiple-hit performances in both contests including her fourth homerun of the season in the nightcap, while Brianna Meyer reached base in her 15th-straight game and hit .571(4-for-7) in the twinbill with a double and an RBI. Breanna Saucedo's hit-streak improved to a team-best, 10 games with singles in each meeting, tying her previous 10-game stretch from March 14-30 earlier this season.
SOFTBALL ADDS HOME GAMES
The Hoosiers will add home games to its 2014 slate on Wednesday, April 30 when the Hoosiers host Valparaiso at Andy Mohr Field. The 4 p.m. doubleheader will open with the conclusion of the two team's rain-suspended matchup from March 1 at the Wildcat Invite in Tuscon, Ariz. The Hoosiers are will resume play with a 5-0 lead in the top of the ffith inning and a runner on third with two outs.
Game two of that twinbill be start approximately 20 minutes following the conclusion of game one.
IN GOOD COMPANY
With her first hit against Penn State on April 11, redshirt senior Breanna Saucedo earned her 200th career hit, making her just one of five IU softball players to earn 200-or-more hits in a career. She currently has 206 hits, putting her fifth on the all-time list. She needs just eight more hits to tie her for fourth (Aimee Lonigro had 214 from 1994-97). Saucedo is also fourth in runs scored, recently passing Marjie Ledgerwood's 102 runs from 1987-90, and is only four stolen bases shy of tying for the sixth-most in program history (Julia Hamilton - 51 from 2005-08).
AFTER SIX...
The Hoosiers have been able to shut the door in the final innings this season. When the Hoosiers lead after the sixth inning, Indiana has posted an 8-1 record.
TURNING THINGS AROUND
After a slow start to the 2014 campaign, junior Brianna Meyer has turned things around at the plate, hitting .360 (32-for-89) in the last 29 games. During that span, Meyer has earned a hit in all but eight contests and has reached base in 34-of-42 games including the previous 15-straight contests.
SAUCEDO SHINES
After missing nearly all of the 2013 season due to injury, redshirt senior Breanna Saucedo has quickly made an impact in the Hoosiers' lineup in her return this spring
- Currently riding a 10-game hit streak, matching a her previous 10-game stretch from March 14-30, where she hit .471 (16-for-34), surpassing her previous seven consecutive games with a hit (Feb. 8 through Feb. 21)
- Leads team in batting average (.342), runs scored (25), hits (52), triples (2) at bats (152) and plate appearances (159)
- Reached base in all but six games this season
- Registered a hit in 36-of-43 games played
- Hitting .455 against ranked teams to boost her career average against Top 25 programs to .309.
LET'S COMPARE
The Indiana pitching staff has given up fewer walks per game that its opponents this spring, issuing just 2.45 free passes per contest compared to opposing teams' 3.10 walks/game. IU hurlers have also posted an average of 5.67 strikeouts per game while opponents have averaged 4.44.
