Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Opens 2015 Season at Kajikawa Classic
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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| 2015 Kajikawa Classic - Tempe, Ariz. | |
| Dates | Feb. 6-8, 2015 |
| Location | Tempe, Ariz. |
| Game 1 (Friday) | Indiana vs. Western Michigan • 6:45 p.m. ET | GameTracker |
| Game 2 (Friday) | Indiana vs. Oregon State • 10:15 p.m. ET | GameTracker |
| Game 3 (Saturday) | Indiana vs. San Diego • 4:30 p.m. ET | GameTracker |
| Game 4 (Saturday) | Indiana at No. 16 Arizona State • 7 p.m. ET | Live Stream | GameTracker |
| Game 5 (Sunday) | Indiana vs. Utah Valley • 11:30 a.m.ET | GameTracker |
| Radio | Listen Live |
| Game Notes | Indiana Game Notes |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
| Tournament Central | #Kajikawa Classic |
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -Indiana kicks off its 42nd season at the Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. The Hoosiers begin their 2015 campaign with a 5:45 p.m. ET matchup with Western Michigan and a 10:15 p.m. tilt with Oregon State on Feb. 6 before taking on San Diego and No. 16 Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 7. The Cream and Crimson close out its opening weekend of action with an 11:30 a.m. battle with Utah Valley on Sunday, Feb. 8.
This weekend will be the Hoosiers' fourth trip to the Kajikawa Classic in five seasons and third in a row. Last season, Indiana went 1-4 during the trip, defeating Bradley 6-3 in eight innings.
Visit Kajikawa Classic Tournament Central to keep up to date with all the latest scores and info from Tempe, Ariz.
A LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
The Hoosiers will play five different opponents in its opening weekend at the Kajiwaka Classic, kicking off the 2015 campaign with Western Michigan who finished 17-34 last spring. The Hoosiers will face the Broncos for the 21st time in program history. Indiana leads the all-time series, 10-9-1. The two teams last faced off in 2005, where they split a pair of games to each pick up a victory.
The Hoosiers' late Friday game features the sixth meeting with Oregon State. The last meeting resulted in a 2-1 Beavers' victory in eight innings in 2013.
On Saturday, Indiana opens the day with San Diego in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Toreros finished last season with a 26-21 mark.
The Saturday finale features a tilt against the tournament's host, Arizona State. The No. 16 ranked Sun Devils lead the all-time series, 1-5 with the last matchup coming in 2013. Arizona State finished 2014 at 46-12-1 and a trip to the NCAA Regional.
Indiana caps off the weekend with a Sunday morning showdown with Utah Valley, whom the Hoosiers will also face the following weekend in Henderson, Nev. The Wolverines ended 2014 with an appearance in the NCAA Regional after winning the WAC Tournament.
WHAT'S ON TAP FOR 2015
This season, Indiana will face eight teams that played in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, including three teams that advanced to the Super Regionals. Six Indiana opponents - Kentucky (No. 6), UCLA (No. 7), Michigan (No. 8), Georgia (No. 12), Arizona State (No. 16) and Notre Dame (No. 22) - rank in the Top 25 USA Today/NFCA Coaches Preseason Poll.
After playing in the Kajikawa Classic, the Hoosiers will travel to Henderson, Nev. the following weekend for the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic, playing Utah Valley again, University of Texas El-Paso, Cal State Northridge, New Mexico and Utah State.
On Feb. 19, Indiana will kick off competition in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. There, the Hoosiers will take on a Georgia team that went 49-15 last season, a UCLA squad who won 52 games in 2014, Loyola Marymount, Cal Poly and Brigham Young.
Indiana's final February slate will come in Orlando, Fla. at the Citrus Classic II Tournament. Indiana will face Georgia once again, as well as Omaha, Georgetown, Mississippi State and Notre Dame.
The Hoosiers will kick off the home portion of the year with back-to-back tournaments at Andy Mohr Field. The Hoosiers will host the Indiana Classic the first weekend of March with games against Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois and Saint Louis. The following weekend, Indiana hosts its annual Hoosier Classic and will square off against North Dakota State, Wright State, Bowling Green and IPFW.
Other non-conference matchups for the Hoosiers include Kentucky (March 18), Louisville (March 25), Ball State (April 21) and Indiana State (April 28).
Indiana opens up Big Ten play at home on March 20 against Rutgers. Other home Big Ten battles include Maryland, Purdue and Michigan State. The Hoosiers will face Illinois, Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State on the road.
The 2015 Big Ten Tournament will take place May 7-10 in Columbus, Ohio.
RETURNING IN 2015...
The Hoosiers welcome back 12 letterwinners this spring with all but one of those returners seeing starts last season. Seven of those were everyday players in the Hoosiers' 2014 lineup.
Senior Lora Olson is gearing up for her senior campaign. The right-handed pitcher made 36 appearances and a team-high 26 starts in 2014 and finished the year with a 3.98 ERA and eight wins.
Fellow senior Miranda Tamayo, who is returning to the Hoosiers after not playing last year, joins Olson in the circle this season. Tamayo has made three career appearances for the Hoosiers, two in 2012 and one in 2013.
Indiana will look to fill the loss of Breanna Saucedo, who led the team with a .335 batting average, 65 hits and 30 runs before graduating in 2014. However, Indiana does have much of its 2014 offensive firepower back this year, including senior Brianna Meyer and junior Kassi Farmer. Last season, the duo combined for 49 runs and 80 hits to be two of the top three scoring leaders. Meyer led the team with seven home runs, while Farmer tied with fellow junior Kelsey Dotson for a team-high 23 runs batted in.
Sophomore CaraMia Tsirigos is looking to follow-up a big freshman campaign that saw the Atlanta, Ga. native hit six home runs, while earning an on-base percentage of .364. Erin Lehman is another sophomore coming off a productive season after scoring 16 runs on 24 hits last season.
After being sidelined in 2014 with an injury, senior Shannon Cawley is primed for a big year. In her first two seasons in Cream and Crimson, Cawley hit .301 while combining for 93 hits, 44 runs and 47 RBI, including a team-best 26 in 2013.
THE GREAT EIGHT
Indiana welcomes eight new faces to the 2015 squad this spring. Freshmen Rebecca Blitz, Denisa Brooks Kennedy Cribbs, Mena Fulton, Rachel O'Malley, Sarah Thompson, Taylor Uden and Emily Kirk will all don the Cream and Crimson for the first time in their careers.
•Hailing from Birmingham, Ala., Rebecca Blitz led her high school to a winning-tradition, while hitting .583 and swiping 34 bases in her senior campaign.
•Named Columbus North's Team MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Team Captain, Denisa Brooks recorded a career batting average of .482, while earning a fielding percentage of .945.
•San Gabriel, Calif. - native Kennedy Cribbs hit .417 last season, which ranks 12th in her high school's history. For her efforts, Cribbs picked up First Team All-League, First Team All-Area and Team MVP honors.
•Bloomington's own Mena Fulton, who led South to its first-even State Championship appearance last season is a four-time All-Conference selection and was named the Bloomington Herald-Times Player of the Year.
•During her senior season, Rachel O'Malley hit a school-record 11 home runs and 47 RBI, while picking up numerous accolades, including Chicago Sun-Times All-Area.
•Named the Top Female Athlete at Center Grove in 2014, Sarah Thompson hit .372 with 35 hits, 28 runs and 17 RBI in her senior season. In addition, the Greenwood, Ind. native is a multiple All-District selection.
•Also named the Female Athlete of the Year at her high school after her senior year, Taylor Uden knocked in 38 runs, while hitting .473 with nine home runs. She was named First Team All-Section in both her junior and seniors seasons.
•Emily Kirk, a Round Rock, Texas native, is set for her Indiana debut. Kirk was a three-time First Team All-District selection and recorded 253 strikeouts her senior season, while helping her high school to a Co-District Championship.
SHUTTING THE DOOR
Indiana succeeded in preserving leads in crunch time last season. When the Hoosiers were ahead after four or more innings, IU boasted a 13-3-1 record.
EARLY FIREPOWER
The Hoosiers' offense jumped on opposing pitchers for 63 of their 190 total runs in the first two innings alone last season. Those two innings were outscored only by the fifth, which saw 35 Indiana runs in 2014.
TUNE IN AND LISTEN UP
Every 2015 Indiana softball game will be broadcasted LIVE on IUHoosiers.com with Will Chukerman on the call. In addition, fans can also follow along with GameTracker, just click on the appopriate link in the schedule.
PERNICIARO JOINS STAFF
Head coach Michelle Gardner added a new face to the 2015 coaching staff as Mike Perniciaro joined the Hoosiers on July 8, 2014. Perniciaro works primarily with hitting and the infield, as well as assists with recruiting.
Perniciaro, who brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience to the Hoosiers, most recently served as the associate head coach at the University of Mississippi. In his three seasons with Ole Miss, Perniciaro coached 32 letterwinners and led the Rebels to school records in hits (396), walks (150) and stolen bases (79).
Prior to his tenure at Ole Miss, Perniciaro spent six seasons as the head coach for the Wichita State softball team, where he led the program to 168 wins. While leading the Shockers, Perniciaro coached Britnee Barnett to the most career hits in Wichita State's history (249).
He also served as the head coach for Northwestern State University during the 2005 campaign, which saw the Lady Demons amass a 35-28 record while averaging 4.7 runs per game.
As an assistant at Auburn University, he guided the Tigers to two NCAA Regional Tournament Appearances in 2002 and 2004. The Tigers also ranked as high as #12 in the nation in 2004. Following a successful 2004 campaign, the Tigers' staff earned South Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Before his time with Auburn, Perniciaro spent two years with the University of Georgia and was instrumental in the start-up of the program. He coached the Bulldogs to their first-ever winning season in 1998.
Perniciaro and his wife, Shannon, have two children: Nicholas (4) and Alexander (3).
Media Contact: Caitlin Davis, davis288@indiana.edu
