No. 16 IU Defeats No. 10 LSU, Splits Day One of Purple and Gold Challenge

Friday, March 1

Baton Rouge, La.

3:30 PM

Indiana University

14-1

Stephen F. Austin

12-6

Stephen F. Austin

Indiana

No. 16 IU Defeats No. 10 LSU, Splits Day One of Purple and Gold Challenge

3/2/2019 12:47:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (PDF) - SFA Box Score (PDF) - LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 16 Indiana Softball split day one of the Purple and Gold Challenge, highlighted by a 7-3 win against No. 10 LSU in the nightcap. Along with Indiana's Feb. 10 win against then-No. 6 Georgia, it is believed to be the first time in program history the Hoosiers have beaten two top-10 teams in one season.

The first game of the day saw the Hoosiers' winning streak come to an end at 14 games as they dropped their first game of the 2019 season.

Game One: Stephen F. Austin 1, No. 16 Indiana 0
KEY MOMENTS
• Sophomore Grayson Radcliffe collected the first hit of the game in the second as she sent a one-out triple down the left field line. The ball bounced off the glove of Stephen F. Austin left fielder Madison Clements and appeared to hit the top of the wall, but the umpires ruled that it stayed in the field of play and would go down as a triple. IU stranded Radcliffe at third as a groundout and flyout ended the inning.
• The Ladyjacks put two on in the fourth after Bryana Novegil was hit by a pitch and Triniti Kendzior singled through the left side with one out. After a pop-up got the second out of the frame, a miscommunication on another pop-up led to a dropped flyball and gave Novegil enough time to come all the way home and give Stephen F. Austin a 1-0 lead. The Ladyjacks threated further as a bunt single loaded the bases, however Trainer collected her fifth strikeout of the day to limit the damage.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Trainer took the loss, but pitched 7.0 solid innings as she struck out eight and the only run surrendered was unearned.
• Radcliffe pushed her hitting streak to seven games in the win while junior Katie Lacefield saw her reached base streak end at nine games. In addition to her second-inning triple, Radcliffe also collected a hit in the seventh on a one-out double to right center.
• The Hoosiers' 14-game winning streak goes down as the fifth longest in IU history.

Game Two: No. 16 Indiana 7, No. 10 LSU 3
KEY MOMENTS
• Sophomore Taylor Lambert led off the game with a single through the left side before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from Radcliffe. Lambert then scored as junior Bella Norton popped a bloop single to shallow left field.
• IU took advantage of three LSU errors in the second inning to extend the lead to 2-0. After sophomore Karly Combs reached on a fielder's choice, freshman Tete Hart re-entered the game running at first base. Hart stole second before advancing to third on an LSU throwing error. She then scored as LSU had trouble fielding a sacrifice bunt attempt by junior Gabbi Jenkins.
• The Tigers tied the game up in the bottom of the second on an RBI double from Georgia Clark and a two-out RBI single by Elyse Thornhill.
• IU once again capitalized on an LSU error in the third, plating a pair of runs on an overthrow by the Tiger second baseman. After Radcliffe was hit by a pitch and Lacefield walked, a double steal moved both into scoring position with two outs. After a ball hit by sophomore Camryn Woodall appeared to have been caught by the Tigers, the second baseman dropped it then overthrew it to first base, allowing enough time for Radcliffe and Lacefield to score.
• The Hoosiers added an insurance run in the fifth as sophomore Annika Baez sent a sacrifice fly to centerfield, plating freshman Juvia Davis.
• Two more IU runs came across in the sixth to make it 7-2. First, Lambert knocked a one-out double to left, bringing in Hart. Lambert then came home on a two-out single to left by Lacefield.
• A solo home run by LSU's Amanda Doyle cut the IU lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth. The Tigers further threatened in the seventh as a two-out rally had runners on first and second base but Trainer was there for her seventh strikeout.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Trainer earned the win as she went 6.0 innings of relief, allowing just one run. Junior Emily Goodin received her first start of the year, tossing the first inning.
• Lambert led the way with a 2-for-4 effort and two runs and an RBI. In addition, she made a spectacular play in centerfield in the fourth inning as she robbed Thornhill of a potential game-tying two-run home run.
• Lacefield collected a hit, a run and RBI along with drawing a pair of walks.
• At 15-1, Indiana remains off to its best start in program history.

HEAD COACH SHONDA STANTON
"Executing in the first inning was key for bouncing back and setting the tone for our offense in game two. There's no stat for the pressure we were able to apply. We put the ball in play hard and forced them to make mistakes and we capitalized on those mistakes. Our aggressiveness on the bases helped, I thought we clutched up offensively, made outstanding plays like the catch in center. Goodin gave us the start we needed to go one time through the lineup and Tara came in and had the performance we needed out of our ace. Lambert was a stud today on both sides of the ball and Lacefield clutched up and had some big moments.

"I talked to the team before the game about doing a little extra and we felt we like the dugout energy was there a little extra, we had that little extra on favorable counts and putting the ball in play hard in those situations. We had a little extra on pounding the zone when we needed to, a little extra on outstanding plays. It was just a total solid team win."

UP NEXT
Indiana returns to action tomorrow to take on USC Upstate at 1 p.m. ET and Illinois State at 3:30 p.m. ET.