Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
University of Nevada
Softball Set to Open 2016 Campaign
2/11/2016 11:10:00 AM | Softball
THE LINEUP
Friday, Feb. 12.
2 p.m. ET Indiana vs. Nevada - Live Stats | Listen
4:30 p.m. ET Indiana vs. Fresno State - Live Stats | Listen
Saturday, Feb. 13
11:30 a.m. ET Indiana vs. Utah State - Live Stats | Listen
2:30 p.m. ET Indiana vs. Georgia State - Live Stats | Listen
Sunday, Feb. 14
11 a.m. ET Indiana vs. No. 21 Cal - Live Stats | Listen
TUNE IN
Lucas Corley will be the radio voice of Indiana softball in 2016 and will broadcast every game here.
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
The Hoosiers open up play against Nevada, the former team of head coach Michelle Gardner, who coached there from 2002-2008. Indiana and Nevada have faced off just once before when the Hoosiers picked up a 10-2 victory in the 2011 Kajikawa Classic. The Wolf Pack posted a 16-37 record in 2015, including a 6-18 mark in the Mountain West.
The second Friday opponent for Indiana is Fresno State, who has earned a victory in all four previous meetings. The Bulldogs went 40-16 last season with a 20-4 Mountain West record. The team received votes in the first USA Today/ NFCA Coaches Poll of the year.
Saturday will see the Hoosiers start the day with another Mountain West team in Utah State, an opponent last season in the Wilson/DeMarini Classic in Las Vegas. Indiana picked up the win in the first meeting in 1980, but Utah State has since won six straight. The Aggies finished the 2015 campaign with a 19-36 record and an 11-13 Mountain West mark.
Indiana and Georgia State will face off in the second game Saturday. The Panthers lead the series, 3-1. Saturday's meeting marks the first of two matchups between the teams this season as they will also do battle in Auburn, Ala. at the Wilson/DeMarini Classic. The Panthers posted a 38-22 record last year with a 14-10 Sun Belt record.
The final contest of the week pits the Hoosiers against No. 21 Cal on Sunday. The Golden Bears have won all previous seven meetings. Cal's 2015 campaign came to an end in the NCAA Regionals, finishing with a 39-18 overall record and a 10-14 Pac-12 mark.
WHAT ELSE IS ON TAP?
Beginning with Cal on Sunday, four of Indiana's 2016 opponents are ranked in the first Coaches Poll of the year. Additionally, three others received votes in the poll. The season features 24 games at Andy Mohr Field, including a stretch of 16 straight beginning March 12.
The Kajikawa Classic begins the first of four road tournaments to open the season. Next weekend, the Hoosiers head to South Beach for the Panther Invitational hosted by FIU and will face the Panthers, Delaware and Holy Cross. They then travel to Texas A&M Feb. 26-28 for the Texas A&M Invitational and will play the Aggies and UTEP twice with a single game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. On March 4, Indiana visits No. 3-ranked Auburn for the Wilson/DeMarini Classic and will also take on Georgia State again, Murray State and Bryant.
Following a mid-week showdown in Lexington against Kentucky, the Hoosiers open up home play at Andy Mohr Field on March 12 with the IU Classic. The tournament will feature meetings against Ohio, Evansville and Drake (DH). The following weekend sees Indiana hosting the Hoosier Classic and playing UIC, Western Illinois and Wright State. After a mid-week game against Indiana State on March 23, Indiana begins Big Ten play with back-to-back weekend series against Iowa and currently No.2-ranked Michigan.
Other home Big Ten meetings include Penn State (April 8-10) and Ohio State (April 29-May 1). Remaining non-conference games include Louisville (April 12) and Ball State (April 20).
Road conference series for Indiana begins with a doubleheader against Purdue on April 5. The Hoosiers also travel to Michigan State (April 15-17), Rutgers (April 22-24) and Maryland (May 6-8). Penn State will play host to the Big Ten Tournament beginning on May 12.
OFFENSIVE POWER RETURNS
The 2015 Indiana softball season featured plenty of offensive fireworks as the Hoosiers finished near the top of numerous categories in the program record book. That offense returns in almost its entirety in 2016.
SINGLE-SEASON MARKS
A grand slam by CaraMia Tsirigos against Penn State on April 11 was Indiana's 41st of the season, which broke the previous mark of 40 set in 2006. By the time the year had come to an end, the Hoosiers had smashed the record, hitting 51 long balls over the course of the season.
In addition to Tsirigos' bases-loaded knock, Indiana hit five other grand slams throughout the year. Senior Shannon Cawley belted a pair, while Kelsey Dotson, Michelle Huber and Katelyn Conenna each hit one.
Including her grand slam, Dotson blasted 14 home runs in 2015, almost tripling her total of five in 2014. The homers were just two shy of the single-season Indiana record set by Michelle Venturella in 1994.
Rebecca Blitz also made her mark in her debut season, plating 41 runs, which is seventh-most in a single season. It is also the most runs scored by an Indiana freshman since Aimee Lonigro scored 48 in 1994.
The Indiana bats finished second in program history in a variety of categories, such as runs scored (282), RBI (252) and walks (193).
JUMP IN AVERAGE
As a team, the Hoosiers combined for a .288 batting average, which sits at fourth-all time for a single season in Indiana history, and was up from .250 in 2014.
Speaking of batting averages, almost every returning Hoosier improved theirs significantly in 2015. Erin Lehman, who hit .224 in 2014, led the team with an impressive .360 mark. Also significantly raising their average was Dotson (.250 in 2014 to .349 in 2015), Conenna (.200 in 2014 to .310 in 2015), Huber (.211 in 2014 to .292 in 2015) and Kayla Mathewson (.111 in 2014 to .273 in 2015).
SINGLE-GAME RECORDS
A seven-RBI showing from Dotson in Indiana's 15-7 win against Lehigh on Feb. 27 tied a single-game high, matching Monica Armendarez's performance against Michigan State on April 24, 1996. Cawley also landed herself on the list as she brought in six runs - including a grand slam - against Maryland on April 4 to put herself in a three-way tie for third most in a game.
Other single-game records tied include: Dotson (against Lehigh on Feb. 27) and Cawley (against Utah State on Feb. 15) with two home runs and Cawley's four runs scored against Michigan State on April 24.
