Friday, March 22
Columbus, Ohio
2:00 PM
Indiana University
at
Ohio State
No. 22 Indiana Begins Big Ten Play at Ohio State
3/21/2019 1:22:00 PM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - No. 22 Indiana Softball (25-5) begins Big Ten play this weekend as the Hoosiers head to Columbus for a three-game set against Ohio State (15-9). Due to projected low temperatures, Friday's game has been moved up to a 2 p.m. first pitch.
All three games will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
IU IN THE RANKINGS
• The first NCAA RPI of the season was released on Monday with Indiana coming in at No. 26. Overall, the Big Ten came in as the fourth-best conference RPI.
• For the sixth-straight week, the Hoosiers, who continue to be on the best start in Indiana program history, find themselves ranked in the weekly polls.
• The Hoosiers dropped three spots in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll to No. 22.
• Indiana received a No. 20 ranking in the ESPN/USA Softball poll and were ranked No. 20 by Fastpitch News and No. 25 by College Sports Madness.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes went 2-3 last weekend in Phoenix, Ariz. and open home play with the Hoosiers. Ohio State has played a pair of IU's common opponents, falling to LSU, 7-2, on Feb. 16 and defeating Duke on Feb. 23, 6-0. The Buckeyes are batting .270 as a team, led by Emily Clark (.380, 27 hits, 23 RBI) and Lilli Piper (.346, 27 hits, 18 runs). In the circle, the pitching staff has been strong with a team ERA of 1.78 led Morgan Ray (1.44 ERA, 7-4, 72.2 IP) and Kat Duvall (1.56 ERA, 1-3, 27.0 IP).
Indiana leads the all-time series, 64-45-1. The teams last met in 2018 as the Hoosiers swept then-No. 18 Ohio State in Bloomington. Katie Lacefield batted .500 with four hits and three runs in the series while Maddie Westmoreland went .429 with two homers in the sweep. Senior Tara Trainer collected two of the wins, collecting 0.50 ERA and striking out 21 Buckeyes. IU's sweep of the Buckeyes highlighted a remarkable turnaround for the program last season as IU went on to sweep five Big Ten opponents.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana opened up play at Andy Mohr Field last weekend by hosting the annual Hoosier Classic. IU went 3-2 over the weekend, falling to Ohio and Northwestern while picking up wins against Toledo, Saint Francis and in the rematch against Ohio.
NEWS AND NOTES
• Indiana remains off to its best start in program history at 25-6. The Hoosiers are just one-win shy of tying last season's victory total of 26.
• Senior Tara Trainer continues to lead the nation in victories (18) and strikeouts (149). In addition, her 1.36 ERA is 36th in the country while her four shutouts is 12th nationally. Trainer's 721 career strikeouts is second all-time in program history while her 60 career wins is fourth all-time.
• Indiana has stolen 88 bases this season, more than double any other Big Ten program as Rutgers has the second-most with 43. The Hoosiers are third in the nation in total stolen bases and rank fifth with a 2.84 stolen bases per game average. In addition, the 88 stolen bases in a single season already ranks fifth all-time in Indiana history. Sophomore Taylor Lambert leads the way with 17 stolen bags and her 0.55 stolen bases per game average is 45th in the country.
• Junior Gabbi Jenkins has reached base successfully in 12 straight games and has collected at least one hit in 11 of the last 12 games and 13 of the last 15. Since Indiana's March 2 game USC Upstate, Jenkins is batting .415 with 17 total hits. For the season, she currently leads the Hoosiers with a .337 average and 28 hits.
• IU knocked seven home runs during the Hoosier Classic, including five in the final two games on Sunday. Freshman Juvia Davis went yard twice in Indiana's 13-6 win against Saint Francis, including a grand slam on her first career homer. Sophomore Grayson Radcliffe also knocked a grand slam against the Red Flash. On the season, the Hoosiers are hitting an impressive .600 with the bases loaded.
• Sophomore Annika Baez collected three home runs over the weekend and is tied with junior Katie Lacefield for the team lead with five longs balls on the season.
• The Indiana pitching staff has been impressive as a group this season as the team's 1.82 ERA is 19th in the nation. In addition, the team's 4.23 strikeout-to-walk ratio is good for ninth best in the country.
• Junior Emily Goodin is a perfect 5-0 in the circle this year, collecting 66 strikeouts with a 1.62 ERA in 47.2 innings of work.
• IU's 14-game winning streak earlier this season was the longest for the program since the 2011 squad put together a 15-game streak from April 9 to May 7 and stands as the fifth-longest winning streak in school history.
• For the first time in Indiana history, the Hoosiers have defeated two top-10 teams this season. IU bested then-No. 6 Georgia, 6-4, on Feb. 10 before defeating then-No. 10 LSU on March 1, 7-3.
All three games will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
IU IN THE RANKINGS
• The first NCAA RPI of the season was released on Monday with Indiana coming in at No. 26. Overall, the Big Ten came in as the fourth-best conference RPI.
• For the sixth-straight week, the Hoosiers, who continue to be on the best start in Indiana program history, find themselves ranked in the weekly polls.
• The Hoosiers dropped three spots in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll to No. 22.
• Indiana received a No. 20 ranking in the ESPN/USA Softball poll and were ranked No. 20 by Fastpitch News and No. 25 by College Sports Madness.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes went 2-3 last weekend in Phoenix, Ariz. and open home play with the Hoosiers. Ohio State has played a pair of IU's common opponents, falling to LSU, 7-2, on Feb. 16 and defeating Duke on Feb. 23, 6-0. The Buckeyes are batting .270 as a team, led by Emily Clark (.380, 27 hits, 23 RBI) and Lilli Piper (.346, 27 hits, 18 runs). In the circle, the pitching staff has been strong with a team ERA of 1.78 led Morgan Ray (1.44 ERA, 7-4, 72.2 IP) and Kat Duvall (1.56 ERA, 1-3, 27.0 IP).
Indiana leads the all-time series, 64-45-1. The teams last met in 2018 as the Hoosiers swept then-No. 18 Ohio State in Bloomington. Katie Lacefield batted .500 with four hits and three runs in the series while Maddie Westmoreland went .429 with two homers in the sweep. Senior Tara Trainer collected two of the wins, collecting 0.50 ERA and striking out 21 Buckeyes. IU's sweep of the Buckeyes highlighted a remarkable turnaround for the program last season as IU went on to sweep five Big Ten opponents.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana opened up play at Andy Mohr Field last weekend by hosting the annual Hoosier Classic. IU went 3-2 over the weekend, falling to Ohio and Northwestern while picking up wins against Toledo, Saint Francis and in the rematch against Ohio.
NEWS AND NOTES
• Indiana remains off to its best start in program history at 25-6. The Hoosiers are just one-win shy of tying last season's victory total of 26.
• Senior Tara Trainer continues to lead the nation in victories (18) and strikeouts (149). In addition, her 1.36 ERA is 36th in the country while her four shutouts is 12th nationally. Trainer's 721 career strikeouts is second all-time in program history while her 60 career wins is fourth all-time.
• Indiana has stolen 88 bases this season, more than double any other Big Ten program as Rutgers has the second-most with 43. The Hoosiers are third in the nation in total stolen bases and rank fifth with a 2.84 stolen bases per game average. In addition, the 88 stolen bases in a single season already ranks fifth all-time in Indiana history. Sophomore Taylor Lambert leads the way with 17 stolen bags and her 0.55 stolen bases per game average is 45th in the country.
• Junior Gabbi Jenkins has reached base successfully in 12 straight games and has collected at least one hit in 11 of the last 12 games and 13 of the last 15. Since Indiana's March 2 game USC Upstate, Jenkins is batting .415 with 17 total hits. For the season, she currently leads the Hoosiers with a .337 average and 28 hits.
• IU knocked seven home runs during the Hoosier Classic, including five in the final two games on Sunday. Freshman Juvia Davis went yard twice in Indiana's 13-6 win against Saint Francis, including a grand slam on her first career homer. Sophomore Grayson Radcliffe also knocked a grand slam against the Red Flash. On the season, the Hoosiers are hitting an impressive .600 with the bases loaded.
• Sophomore Annika Baez collected three home runs over the weekend and is tied with junior Katie Lacefield for the team lead with five longs balls on the season.
• The Indiana pitching staff has been impressive as a group this season as the team's 1.82 ERA is 19th in the nation. In addition, the team's 4.23 strikeout-to-walk ratio is good for ninth best in the country.
• Junior Emily Goodin is a perfect 5-0 in the circle this year, collecting 66 strikeouts with a 1.62 ERA in 47.2 innings of work.
• IU's 14-game winning streak earlier this season was the longest for the program since the 2011 squad put together a 15-game streak from April 9 to May 7 and stands as the fifth-longest winning streak in school history.
• For the first time in Indiana history, the Hoosiers have defeated two top-10 teams this season. IU bested then-No. 6 Georgia, 6-4, on Feb. 10 before defeating then-No. 10 LSU on March 1, 7-3.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
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P
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