Indiana University
Iowa State University
Hoosiers Set for Samford/UAB Tournament
2/23/2017 11:34:00 AM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball travels to Birmingham, Ala. this weekend for the Samford/UAB Tournament. Friday's and Sunday's games will be played at Samford, while Saturday's game will be at UAB.
The Hoosiers will play a pair of games against UAB, as well as single contests versus Iowa State, Samford and Murray State. Live stats and a radio broadcast for all games will be available on IUHoosiers.com.
WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
Friday, Feb. 24
Indiana vs. Iowa State - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
Indiana vs. UAB - 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 25
Indiana vs. Samford - 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Sunday, Feb. 26
Indiana vs. Murray State - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
Indiana vs. UAB - 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
Iowa State: The Cyclones are off to a 7-3 start, including posting a 5-0 record at last week's Tennessee State Tournament. Due to their performance in Tennessee, pitcher Hemma Hylen and infielder Sam Williams earned weekly Big 12 honors. Hylen (2-1, 1.33 ERA) boasts the best ERA on the team and has tossed 21.0 innings in the circle. Brianna Weilbacher (2-0, 1.40 ERA) and Savannah Sanders (3-2, 2.55 ERA) round out the Cyclones' pitching staff. At the plate, Iowa State is paced by Kelsey McFarland, who is batting .536 with 15 hits, 10 runs and 9 RBI. Williams is hitting .407 with 11 hits, 10 runs and 10 RBI.
Friday's game will be the 10th time in history Indiana and Iowa State have battled, with the Hoosiers holding a 5-4 advantage and winning five of the last six. The teams last met in a 1999 4-3 Indiana victory.
UAB: The Blazers are currently 1-7, with the team's lone win coming against Siena. Natalie Erwin leads the offense with a .368 average, 7 hits and 2 runs. Joanna Fallen is batting .333 with 8 hits and 2 runs. In the circle, the trio of Madison Hir (1-2, 2.62 ERA), Claire Bount (0-1, 3.58 ERA) and Cara Goodwin (0-2, 4.81 ERA) have seen the most innings.
Indiana and UAB have played just once before, a 1-0 Indiana victory in 2011.
Samford: Samford is 2-8, with wins coming against Missouri State and Longwood. The Bulldog offense is paced by four players hitting over .300, led by Shelby Maze, who is batting .436 with 17 hits and 8 runs. Samford has used five pitchers this season, with Grey Adams (1-3, 3.40 ERA) and Taylor DeCelles (1-2, 4.04 ERA) carrying most of the innings.
Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between Indiana and Samford.
Murray State: The Racers are off to the best start in the program's eight-year history at 8-2. As a team, Murray State is batting .338, with five Racers hitting .400 or better. Brenna Finck (17 hits, 11 runs), Kaylee Ranburger (14 hits, 11 runs) and Jessica Twaddle (12 hits, 12 runs) lead the bats. In the circle, the duo of Mason Robinson (6-1, 2.31 ERA) and Haven Campbell (2-1, 2.77 ERA) have combined for every start of the year.
This will be the third time IU and Murray State have played, with Indiana earning both victories in last year's Wilson/DeMarini Classic in Auburn, Ala.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana traveled to Austin, Texas last weekend for the Texas Invitational. The Hoosiers dropped a pair of games to Texas and single games to Louisiana Tech and South Carolina. The scheduled final game of the weekend against the Gamecocks was canceled on Sunday due to travel issues.
BATS WAKE UP IN AUSTIN
In the final two games of the Texas Invitational, the Hoosiers combined for 12 runs. Indiana's offense was led by junior Taylor Uden, who batted .417 over the weekend with 5 hits, 3 RBI and 2 runs. Junior Rebecca Blitz also put up an impressive showing, collecting four hits, including a 3-for-3 outing against Louisiana Tech. Senior CaraMia Tsirigos knocked the team's first homer of the young season, as she sent a three-run shot to left field against Texas on Saturday.
O'MALLEY IMPRESSES AT THE PLATE
Junior Rachel O'Malley continued her strong start to 2017 in Austin, collected three hits and three RBI. The Elk Grove Village, Ill. native is leading the team with a .320 average and six RBI. In addition, her eight hits is tied for the team-high.
TWO-OUT WONDERS
Indiana's offense has put up big numbers with two outs, as the Hoosiers are hitting .298 with two away. For the year, 25 of Indiana's 53 hits have come with two outs while 17 of the team's 22 RBI have been registered with two outs. Uden is responsible for five of those RBI, while O'Malley has four two-out RBI. Both Uden and O'Malley have five hits with two outs.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Juliana Sherry will be the voice of Indiana Softball in 2017. A broadcast of every game will be available on IUHoosiers.com.
Stay up-to-date with the Hoosiers by following @IUSoftball on Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2017
The Hoosiers have 54 games on tap in 2017, including 16 to be played at Andy Mohr Field. Of Indiana's 32 opponents in 2017, six are ranked in this week's USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, while another four received votes.
After the trip to Birmingham, Indiana travels to the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. and to a tournament in Memphis, Tenn. before opening home play on March 18 in the Hoosier Classic. Home Big Ten battles for Indiana includes Rutgers, Purdue, Maryland and Michigan State. IU will travel to Penn State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Michigan. The 2017 Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Michigan in Ann Arbor May 11-13.
2017 PROMOTION SCHEDULE
The 2017 promotions schedule was announced this week for the 16 games to be played at Andy Mohr Field. Giveaways for the season include schedule magnets, headbands, t-shirts, tank tops and more. Visit IUHoosiers.com for all the latest in IU Softball promotions.
