Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Hit the Road to Face Illinois
3/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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| Indiana (10-23, 1-3 B1G) at Illinois (8-20, 0-3 B1G) - Champaign, Ill. | |
| Date | March 28-29 |
| Location | Eichelberger Field • Champaign, Ill. |
| Game 1 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. ET| |
| Game 2 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. ET| |
| Game 3 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. ET| |
| Radio | Listen Live |
| Video ($) | Illinois All-Access |
| Game Notes | Indiana | Illinois |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Hoosiers head to Champaign, Ill. this weekend for their first road conference series of the season as Indiana (10-23, 1-2 Big Ten) will do battle with Illinois (8-20, 0-3 Big Ten).
The three-game set will now be played with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon followed by a single game on Sunday due to projected cold weather on Friday.
Stay tuned to IUHoosiers.com and @IUSoftball for all the latest news and info from Champaign.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hoosiers traveled to Louisville on Wednesday to face the Cardinals in a mid-week battle. A double by Katelyn Conenna scored Shannon Cawley to tie the game up at 1-1 in the second inning. However, Louisville responded with five unanswered runs to win the game, 6-1.
Indiana opened up Big Ten play at home last weekend, hosting Rutgers in the Scarlet Knights' first-ever conference series. Rutgers picked up game one of the series, 11-5, and looked like they were well on their way to a victory in game two as the Scarlet Knights held a 7-0 fifth-inning lead. However, the Hoosiers stormed back and scored eight unanswered, including Erin Lehman's game-winning RBI single to score Katelyn Conenna in the bottom of the seventh. In game three, the Scarlet Knights jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but it looked like another Indiana comeback was in the works as a grand slam by Conenna - her first homer of her career - made in 8-6 in the bottom of the fifth. Rutgers added two more runs in the sixth and with two Indiana runners on base and two outs, the game was called due to Rutgers' travel schedule.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
The Illini have started their year 8-20, including nine straight losses. Illinois was swept by No. 15 Minnesota last weekend the first conference series of the season. The team has picked up a few impressive wins this season, defeating Mississippi State in Starkville, 4-3 and run-ruled New Mexico in six innings, 12-4.
The duo of Alyssa Gunther and Allie Bauch lead the team in hits, combining for 61 on the year. Bauch also paces the Illini in runs scored (19) and doubles (9). Nicole Evans is a constant threat to go yard, hitting nine homers on the season to rank third in the conference.
Indiana and Illinois have faced off 24 times before, with the Illini holding a 17-7 series lead. The last matchup resulted in a series sweep for Illinois in 2013.
O'MALLEY MAKING HER MARK
Freshman Rachel O'Malley picked up a pair of hits against Louisville, marking the seventh time she has recorded multiple base knocks in a game. Six of her seven games with two hits have come in the last 14 games. Since the March 7 matchup against Austin Peay, O'Malley has recorded at least one hit in 10 of 14 games and is batting .421 with 16 hits, six hits and eight RBI.
DOTSON'S BIG YEAR
Junior Kelsey Dotson has had a fast start to her season, hitting .326 with 29 hits - including six homers and six doubles - 11 runs, 27 RBI and 16 walks. For comparison, through 33 games last season, Dotson was hitting .220 with 13 hits, five runs and nine RBI. She finished the 2014 year with 30 hits (five homers and six doubles), 11 runs, 23 RBI and 13 walks.
BLITZ ATTACK
Indiana freshman Rebecca Blitz had a big week, picking up four hits, three runs, two RBI and two walks in the series against Rutgers. Blitz' patience at the plate paid off in a big way in Indiana's 8-7 victory on Saturday as she drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 7-7. In that game, she went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Blitz currently leads the team in hits (36) and runs scored (21).
GRAND OLE TIME
Conenna's grand slam against the Scarlet Knights on Sunday marked the third time this season a Hoosier has gone yard with the bases loaded. Dotson hit one in Indiana's 15-7 win against Lehigh on Feb. 27 while Shannon Cawley earned hers in a 9-5 loss to North Dakota State on March 16.
Indiana is fifth in the conference with 28 homers on the year, which is only two shy of the 30 home runs the team hit all of last season. In total, 10 different Hoosiers have homered so far this year.
CONENNA'S HOT STREAK
Including her RBI double at Louisville and her grand slam versus Rutgers, Conenna has not connected with the ball in four straight games in which she has played. In the month of March, the junior has registered six hits as she leads the Hoosiers in batting average at .429.
COMEBACK KIDS
Indiana's 8-7 comeback win on Saturday tied with last season's 7-run deficit at Ohio State as the biggest comeback in the last 20 years in Indiana's history. For the season, Indiana has scored 29 runs in the sixth inning, second only to 32 third-inning runs. On the other side of the ball, Indiana's pitching and defense has shined in the late innings, with opponents scoring 23 runs in the sixth and 15 in the seventh inning, the lowest two totals of all seven innings.
The late surge also applies to the season, as the Hoosiers hit .310 with 119 hits - including 24 doubles and 11 homers - in the last 14 games. This is in comparison with the first 19 games of the season that saw Indiana hit .263 with 132 hits - including 19 doubles and 17 homers. In addition, the Hoosiers have only registered 54 strikeouts in the last 14 games, while they struck out 105 times in the first 19.
TV TIME
Both games of Indiana's doubleheader with Purdue on April 8 will be shown on the Big Ten Network. In addition, seven Hoosier games will be available live on BTN Plus, a subscription-based web platform.
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 link in the schedule.
WHAT ELSE IS ON TAP FOR 2015?
The Hoosiers will face off in their first road conference series this weekend with a three-game set at Illinois. Other Big Ten road battles include Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State. At home, Indiana will play host to Maryland, Purdue and Michigan State.
Remaining non-conference matchups for the Hoosiers include Ball State (April 21) and Indiana State (April 28).
The 2015 Big Ten Tournament will take place May 7-10 in Columbus, Ohio.
Media Contact: Caitlin Davis, davis288@indiana.edu
