Indiana University
Boise State
Indiana Softball Opens 2018 Season in Kajikawa Classic
2/8/2018 10:29:00 AM | Softball
For the sixth straight season, the Hoosiers will begin the season at the Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State. Indiana will play five games over the weekend, with battles against Boise State, Northwestern and San Jose State set to be streamed by FloSoftball. In addition, Indiana's Sunday battle against No. 23 Arizona State will be shown on Pac-12 Network. Three of Indiana's opponents advanced to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Live stats and a radio broadcast for all games will also be available on IUHoosiers.com.
WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
Friday, Feb. 9
Indiana vs. Boise State - 11:15 a.m. ET/9:15 a.m. MT
Indiana vs. Oregon State - 4 p.m. ET/2 p.m. MT
Saturday, Feb. 10
Indiana vs. Northwestern - 4 p.m. ET/2 p.m. MT
Indiana vs. San Jose State - 9:45 p.m. ET/7:45 p.m. MT
Sunday, Feb. 11
Indiana at No. 23 Arizona State - 1:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. MT
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
Boise State (Tempe Sports Complex): The Broncos are coming off a 33-20 2017 mark, tied for the second-most wins in program history. Boise State ended its season in the Regionals of the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC). Boise State was picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West Preseason Coaches Poll. The Broncos are led by Rebekah Cervantes, who was named a Fast Pitch News Preseason All-American. Indiana holds a 2-1 series lead against Boise State, with the last meeting resulting in a 5-4 Indiana win in 2014.
Oregon State (Farrington Stadium): The Beavers went 28-27 last season, earning a bid to the NCAA Regionals in Waco, Texas. Oregon State was picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12 Preseason Poll. The Beavers hold a 5-1 series advantage against Indiana. The teams last met in the 2015 Kajikawa Classic as Oregon State came home with a 10-6 win.
Northwestern (Tempe Sports Complex): Indiana's third opponent of the weekend is a familiar foe as the Hoosiers take on fellow Big Ten team Northwestern. The game will not count towards the conference record. The Wildcats went 25-29 last season and own a 64-38 series lead against Indiana. The WIldcats swept the series when the teams last met in 2014.
San Jose State (Tempe Sports Complex): The second Saturday opponent for the Hoosiers is a San Jose State squad that earned a bid to the UCLA Regional in last year's NCAA Tournament, won the Mountain West Conference and finished the year 37-19. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 2-1, with the last meeting coming in the form of a 10-7 San Jose State victory in the 2014 Kajikawa Classic.
Arizona State (Farrington Stadium): The final game of the weekend will be against tournament host Arizona State, who is ranked No. 23 in the first NFCA Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils went 31-22 last year and earned a bid to the Oxford Regional in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State leads the all-time series, 7-1, and earned a 4-2 victory in last year's Kajikawa Classic.
NEW FACES AT THE HELM
Head Coach Shonda Stanton was tapped to lead the Hoosiers after 18 years at Marshall. Stanton brought assistants Kendall Fearn and Chanda Bell to join her Hoosier staff. The 2017 NFCA Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year spent four years together at Marshall, posting a winning percentage of .616, the second-best four-year run in program history.
Another former member of the Herd now donning Cream and Crimson is Morgan Zerkle, who is serving as a graduate assistant manager along with Indiana Softball alum Michelle Huber. Zerkle graduated from Marshall in 2017 and was an NFCA All-American and CoSIDA Academic All-American in her senior season.
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2018
The Hoosiers have 55 games on tap in 2018, including 21 to be played at Andy Mohr Field. Indiana will play 16 games against teams who reached the NCAA Tournament last season and 10 against teams ranked or receiving votes in the Preseason USA Today/NFCA Poll.
The Hoosiers open the season with 23 straight games away from Bloomington. After the Kajikawa Classic, Indiana travels to tournaments in Atlanta, Ga., Homewood, Ala., Spartanburg/Greenville, S.C. and Norman, Okla. before opening home play on March 16 in the Hoosier Classic. Other non-conference tilts include Kentucky, Louisville, Western Kentucky and Butler. Home Big Ten battles for Indiana includes Ohio State, Nebraska, Penn State and Michigan. IU will travel to Michigan State, Maryland, Purdue and Rutgers. The 2018 Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Wisconsin in Madison from May 10-12.
ARIZONA NATIVES
The Hoosiers have four Arizona natives on the roster, tied for the second-most of any state. Senior Taylor Uden and freshmen Annika Baez, Taylor Lambert and Maddie Westmoreland all hail from Arizona.
RETURNING IN 2018
• Indiana went 23-31 last season, with a 9-14 Big Ten mark.
• The Hoosiers return the top four hitters from last season in terms of batting average. Led by senior Rebecca Blitz, who hit .333 with 54 hits and 29 runs in 2017.
• Blitz had 16 stolen bases last season and her 60 career stolen bases is currently fifth all-time at Indiana.
• Senior Taylor Uden is the leading returner in home runs as she knocked seven last season.
• In the circle, Tara Trainer, who carried the majority of the workload in 2017, begins her junior season. Entering the 2018 campaign, she is sixth in IU history with 356 strikeouts. She was a NFCA Third Team All-Region selection last season.
• Redshirt sophomore Josie Wood returns to the circle after missing last season with an injury. During her freshman season in 2016, Wood split the majority of innings with Trainer and posted a 13-9 record.
• The Hoosier defense returns the majority of the lineup that recorded a .966 fielding percentage a year ago, the third-best in program history. The IU infield will be anchored in part by senior shortstop Rachel O'Malley, who was a member of the 2017 Big Ten All-Defensive Team.
NEW IN 2018
Annika Baez
A 2017 Premier Girls Fastpitch All-American ... finished her career at Ironwood Ridge High School with a .498 average and 159 hits ... named 2017 Team MVP, First Team All-Southern Arizona and Second Team All-State after batting .528 with 57 hits, 51 RBI, 18 doubles and six home runs during her senior season ... awarded 2016 All-Southern Arizona First Team accolades after posting a .455 average with 41 RBI, 11 doubles, eight homers and an on-base percentage of .484 ... earned Team MVP and Division II All-State Honorable Mention accolades in 2016 to lead Ironwood Ridge to a 33-4 record and a Division II State Championship, its second in three years ... in 2015, Baez hit .515 with 39 RBI, 16 doubles and four homers with a .559 on-base percentage ... played travelball for AZ Cats where she guided the team to three straight PGF Premier Berth victories, a 2016 first-place finish in TCS Fireworks, a 2017 Dorado Classic championship, as well as three OnDeck National Elite Camp victories ... previously played travelball with fellow Hoosier Taylor Lambert ... daughter of Rudy and Alfa, Baez has one brother, Nathan, and one sister, Gabrielle.
Karly Combs
Named a 2017 Premier Girls Fastpitch All-American ... hit .411 with a .516 on-base percentage and .979 fielding percentage during her senior season ... in 2017, was also named Third Team All-State, All-MIC Conference, Hamilton County All-Softball Team, The Times All-County and Am Fam All-County ... led Carmel to a MIC Conference runner-up finish ... was the 2016 Indiana State 4A middle infielder fielding percentage leader after recording a .975 percentage at second base ... at the plate, Combs hit .390 with a .451 on-base percentage in 2016 and was tabbed to the All-MIC Conference team ... led the Carmel Greyhounds to back-to-back MIC Conference Championships ... was a four-time Scholar Athlete selection, as well as a member of the National Honor Society ... played travelball for Indiana Magic Gold for three years and most recently played for Indiana Dreams with fellow Hoosiers Makayla Ferrari, Emily Goodin and Riley Hecklinski ... helped the Indiiana Dreams to a 2017 Triple Crown Nationals runner-up finish ... with the Magic Gold, Combs was a 2016 Atlanta Legacy Runner-Up, as well as a 2015 Colorado IDT Runner-up and a 2014 Triple Crown Nationals Runner-Up ... the daughter of Dave and Dana, and has one brother, Jake, who is an IU senior and manager for the Indiana Softball team.
Makayla Ferrari
A three-time All-State and four-time All-Conference selection ... batted .520 with a .547 on-base percentage, 12 stolen bases and six homers during her senior campaign ... named 2017 Team MVP, All-Area, All-District and to the North vs. South All-Star Game ... in her junior season, she reached base safely in 27 of 28 games and hit .483 with a .900 slugging percentage ... knocked 42 base hits, including 17 doubles, and was a perfect 7-for-7 in swiping bags ...also tied the school record with 30 RBI in 2016 ... was named her team's MVP three times and recorded the highest batting average on the team in three different seasons ... played in the North vs. South All-Star Game as a freshman ... also played volleyball and competed in indoor track at Valparaiso ... played travelball for Indiana Dreams, where she won the 2016 PGF Tournament in Crown Point, was runner-up in the Triple Crown Nationals and took a trip to the PGF Nationals in Huntington Beach, Calif. ... daughter of Michael and Tammy, Ferrari has one sister, Taylor.
Riley Hecklinski
Led Zionsville to its first-ever Regional victory in 2016 while hitting .353 with 20 RBI, 15 doubles and a .990 fielding percentage ... earned All-State Honorable Mention honors while also being named the team's Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year ... in 2015, hit .346 with 25 RBI, 12 doubles and a .586 slugging percentage. ... also played basketball at Zionsville ... played travelball with Indiana Dreams and previously played for Finesse Fastpitch ... led Indiana Dreams to the PGF Elite National Tourney in 2014 and 2016, while also being picked to participate in the OnDeck National Camps ... The daughter of Tiffany and Jeff, Hecklinski has two brothers, Mikey and Jr. Indiana Athletics is a family tradition for Hecklinski as her great grandfather, Russ Deal, is a member of the IU Athletics Hall of Fame and was a team captain of the 1945 Big Ten Championship football team. Her grandfather, Mike Deal, was a member of the 1967 Rose Bowl squad and her uncle, Mark Deal, played football at IU and currently serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Alumni Relations for Indiana. In addition, her cousin Carrie Deal-Powers played volleyball for the Hoosiers from 2005-06.
Carolyn Kuhn
Hit .431 with a .542 on-base percentage, 19 runs and 14 stolden bases on her way to earning team captain, MVP and All-Conference nods ...A 2016 All-Conference and All-Area selection as she batted .408 with 30 runs scored and a .583 on-base percentage ... in the outfield, the lefty had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage ... earned a pair of varsity letters for the Glenbrook South basketball team and was a member of both the Student Council and the National Honors Society ... played travelball for Illinois Chill and led the team to the PGF Nationals ... also played for the Indiana Dreams... daughter of Charlie and Susan ... has one younger brother, Charlie.
Taylor Lambert
Finished her career at Cienega with a two state titles, a .472 batting average, .510 on-base percentage and 77 stolen bases ... guided Cienega to a 5A State Championship her senior season as she hit .504 with 40 stolen bases ... named 2017 Offensive Co-MVP ... a three-time Southern Arizona Division II First Team selection ... led Cienega to a State championship in 2015, as well as an All-Section title in 2014 ... posted at least a .400 batting average in all four seasons at Cienega ... in her junior season, Lambert hit .494 with 41 hits, 25 runs and 15 stolen bases as a team captain. ... during the team's championship run in 2015, Lambert batted .400 with 40 hits, 18 RBI, 25 runs and 14 stolen bases ... in her freshman season, Lambert posted a .500 batting average with 26 hits, 21 runs, 10 RBI and eight stolen bases ... played travelball for the Oro Valley Suncats and the AZ Cats ... with the AZ Cats, Lambert played with fellow Hoosier Annika Baez and won the 2016 Colorado Fireworks ... daughter of Danny and Brenda, Lambert has one sister, Gabriela.
Maddie Westmoreland
A four-year starter for Sandra Day O'Connor High School ... posted a .379 batting average with a .982 fielding percentage as a catcher while leading the team in home runs ... led Division 1 in home runs and RBI as a freshman on her way to being named All-Section and All-State ... during her sophomore season, Westmoreland led her team to a State Championship ... was a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society and the President of the Society of Female Scholars ... played travelball for Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier and finished third in the country in the 2016 PGF Nationals ... daughter of Randy and Pam ... has one sister, Hannah.
