Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Illinois State
Indiana Travels to Oklahoma for Final Road Non-Conference Tournament
3/8/2018 3:54:00 PM | Softball
IU's game against Oklahoma will be available on Fox Sports Go through Fox Sports Oklahoma. A live radio broadcast for all games can be found on IUHoosiers.com as Griffin Weinberg will provide play-by-play.
WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
Friday, March 9
1 p.m. ET vs. Illinois State
6 p.m. ET at No. 5 Oklahoma
Saturday, March 10
1 p.m. ET vs. Illinois State
Sunday, March 11
Noon ET vs. No. 18 South Carolina
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
Illinois State: The Redbirds currently sit at 8-12 on the season and are winners of four of their last six games. Illinois State is coming off a 3-2 weekend at the LSU Tiger Classic, where they earned a pair of wins against Purdue and defeated Florida Atlanta. The Redbirds took No. 10 LSU and No. 23 McNeese State to extra innings, but ultimately fell in both contests. Batting .203 as a team, the Redbirds are led by a .322 average from Allison Spence, who has 19 hits and four runs. In the circle, Illinois State has used six different pitchers but have primarily relied on Sarah Finck (2.85 ERA, 6-4, 66.1 IP) and Morgan Day (3.12 ERA, 2-5, 42.2 IP).
Illinois State leads the all-time series, 21-17. The last time the two teams faced each other resulted in a 3-1 Redbird victory in 2011.
Oklahoma: The Sooners, who have won four national championships in their program history, are coming off back-to-back titles and went 61-9 in 2017. This season, Oklahoma sits at 14-2 and are winners of five straight. At the plate, the Sooners are hitting .348 as a team, led by Sydney Romero (.511, 24 hits, 13 runs, 14 RBI) and Jocelyn Alo (.435, 20 hits, 15 runs, 17 RBI). Oklahoma's pitching has been stellar with a 0.61 team ERA. The Sooners have mostly relied on Paige Parker (0.30 ERA, 8-1, 46.1 IP), Paige Lowary (0.34, 2-1, 20.2 IP) and Mariah Lopez (1.67 ERA, 3-0, 21.0 IP).
At No. 5, the Sooners are the highest ranked opponent for the Hoosiers since playing No. 2 Michigan in the 2016 Big Ten Tournament. In addition, they are the highest ranked non-conference opponent since playing No. 3 Auburn in 2016. Oklahoma holds a 9-2-1 series record and took all three games in 2012.
South Carolina: The No. 18-ranked Gamecocks, who are coming off a third straight NCAA Regional final appearance, are riding a 16-game winning streak into the weekend. At 19-1, South Carolina is off to its best 20-game start in program history. As a team, the Gamecocks are hitting .307, led by Kenzi Maguire (.420, 21 hits, 24 runs) and Mackenzie Boesel (.410, 25 hits, 22 runs, 21 RBI). The South Carolina pitching staff is carrying an impressive 1.19 ERA, splitting innings between Dixie Raley (0.62 ERA, 5-0, 34.0 IP), Cayla Drotar (1.33 ERA, 9-0, 58.0 IP) and Kelsey Oh (1.51 ERA, 5-1, 37.0 IP).
Indiana owns an 11-7-1 series advantage, but the Gamecocks have won the last five. South Carolina took a pair of games last season in the Texas Invitational, 13-5 and 8-0.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hoosiers visited South Carolina last weekend for the Wings Etc. Classic. Indiana dropped two games to both Furman and USC Upstate, but defeated Delaware State, 9-4.
HOOSIER QUICK HITS
• The Hoosiers put up a season-high nine runs to defeat Delaware State on Saturday. After being tied through three innings, IU put up five unanswered to secure the win. Sophomore Emily Goodin went 4.1 scoreless innings in relief to earn her first victory of 2018.
• Freshman Maddie Westmoreland had a big weekend in the Wings Etc. Classic as she went .385 with five hits. Westmoreland collected a career-high three RBI in Indiana's victory against Delaware State.
• Indiana's two leadoff hitters - sophomore Gabbi Jenkins and senior Rebecca Blitz had an impressive weekend at the plate in South Carolina. Jenkins batted .429 with six hits, four runs, two RBI and two stolen bases while Blitz added a .412 average with seven hits, four RBI and two stolen bases.
• On the season, Jenkins and Blitz are leading the way offensively for Indiana. Jenkins is hitting .351 with 20 hits, 7 runs and 4 RBI while Blitz is batting .306 with 19 hits, 5 runs and 5 RBI.
• The Hoosiers have 24 stolen bases on the year, the second-most in the Big Ten. Jenkins has seven stolen bags, which is fifth-most in the conference, while Blitz has six. Blitz's 66 career stolen bases ranks fourth in Indiana program history:
Career Rankings:
1. Aimee Lonigro (1994-97) - 90
2. Karleen Moore (1984-87) - 83
3. Khara Good (1996-99) - 71
4. Rebecca Blitz (2015-pr.) - 66
• Junior Tara Trainer's 58 strikeouts this season currently stands at third-most in the Big Ten. The Lebanon, Ohio native has 414 strikeouts in her career, the sixth-most in IU program history:Career Rankings:
1. Amy Unterbrink (1983-86) - 1089
2. Gina Ugo (1993-96) - 664
3. Megan Roark (2003-06) - 577
4. Mariangee Bogado (04-06) - 569
5. Morgan Melloh (2011) - 494
6. Tara Trainer (2016-pr.) - 414
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2018
The Hoosiers have 55 games on tap in 2018, including 21 to be played at Andy Mohr Field. This year, Indiana will play 16 games against teams who reached the NCAA Tournament last season and nine against teams ranked or receiving votes in this week's USA Today/NFCA Poll.
The Hoosiers open the season with 23 straight games away from Bloomington. After this weekend's trip to Norman, Indiana will visit and Lexington, Ky. before opening home play on March 16 in the Hoosier Classic. Other non-conference tilts include 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.
