Indiana Set for Road Test at Wisconsin

Friday, April 19

Madison, Wis.

6:00 PM

Indiana University

Wisconsin

4/18/2019 10:21:00 AM | Softball

Watch Live Live Stats Indiana Game Notes (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball (31-15, 6-8 Big Ten) hits the road for the first of the final three Big Ten series of the season as the Hoosiers visit Wisconsin (30-8, 7-5 Big Ten) for a three-game set. First pitch of the series is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Both teams received votes in this week's USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll.

All three games will be streamed on BTN Plus. In addition, live stats will be available on IUHoosiers.com.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
The Badgers have posted an impressive 23-3 non-conference mark, including putting together an 11-game winning streak earlier in the year and starting the season 14-1 with victories against then-No. 9 Texas and No. 15 Arizona State. Common opponents between IU and Wisconsin have included USF (USF won, 7-1), Furman (Wisconsin won, 4-1) and Northwestern (Northwestern swept series). The Badgers swept Penn State and Iowa to start Big Ten action before dropping three games to the Wildcats last weekend. Wisconsin is batting .303 as a team, tied for second in the Big Ten, and lead the conference with 50 home runs. The Badger bats are led by Kayla Konwent (.483, 56 hits, 43 RBI, 29 runs, 13 HR) and Taylor Johnson (.371, 43 hits, 35 runs, 31 RBI). In the circle, the Badgers have posted a 1.77 team ERA led by Haley Hestekin (2.00 ERA, 13-3, 101.1 IP) and Kaitlyn Menz (1.83 ERA, 13-5, 88.0 IP).

The Badgers lead the all-time series, 24-16. The last time these two teams met was in the 2016 Big Ten Tournament as the Hoosiers came away with a 4-0 win. Then-freshman pitcher Tara Trainer tossed a complete game shutout in the victory, fanning six batters. The last time the Hoosiers played at Goodman Diamond was last season's Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers went 1-1 at the field, defeating Illinois before falling to Minnesota in the Semifinals.

LAST TIME OUT
Indiana took the series against Maryland last weekend at Andy Mohr Field, winning the opener and the rubber match. Despite falling in the middle game, IU outscored Maryland in the series. 21-5, including earning a pair of run-rule victories.

TARA TRAINER DRAFTED BY NPF'S AUSSIE PEPPERS
• On Monday, Indiana senior pitcher Tara Trainer was selected by the Minnesota-based Aussie Peppers with the 21st pick in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch Draft.

• Trainer became the fourth Hoosier to be drafted by the NPF in history, joining Morgan Melloh (2011), Tory Yamaguchi (2008) and Stormy Hanson (2004).

• At 22-7, Trainer is the first Hoosier to reach at least 20 wins in a season since Morgan Melloh did so in 2011, in addition she now ranks seventh in single season wins. For her career, Trainer's 64 victories is good for fourth all-time.

• Trainer collected nine more strikeouts against the Terrapins, bringing her season total to 195, 11th-most in a single season at Indiana. Trainer now owns four of the top 12 spots in the record book for single season strikeouts. Her 767 career strikeouts continues to stand as the second-most in program history.

• Trainer has made 159 appearances in her IU career, which is second all-time at Indiana. In addition, her 123 games started is third all-time while her 696.2 IP is fourth.

CLOSING IN ON STOLEN BASE RECORD
•The Hoosiers have stolen 119 bases on the season, just one short of tying the Indiana single-season program record of 120 set in 1987.

• Indiana has nearly double the stolen bases of any other Big Ten team as Nebraska is the next closest with 60.

• Nationally, Indiana ranks fourth in total stolen bases and sixth in stolen bases per game average (2.59).

• Three different Hoosiers have 19 stolen bases to lead the team - Taylor Lambert, Gabbi Jenkins and Makayla Ferrari. Jenkins now has 58 stolen bases in her career, good for sixth in program history.

NEWS AND NOTES
• For the first time since the 2012 season, the Hoosiers have reached 30 wins on the year. At 31-15, IU has the best record since the 2011 campaign (37-18).

• The Hoosiers came in at No. 40 in this week's NCAA RPI. The Badgers are on spot ahead at No. 39.

• Indiana has faced or will face 17 opponents who are in the Top 100 of the RPI, for a grand total of 32 games. In addition, IU has eight opponents in the Top 50 with 14 total games coming against them. Not including future opponents Wisconsin and Rutgers (RPI - 82), IU has a 14-12 mark in games against Top 100 teams this season, most notably a March 1 victory versus No. 6 LSU.

• Freshman Taylor Askland saw her first career action in the circle in Saturday's finale against Maryland, tossing the final inning.

• Freshman Brittany Ford delivered three pinch-hit singles against Maryland over the weekend, two of which brought in a run. First, she singled in the fifth inning Friday to seal a walk-off run-rule win. She again delivered an RBI single in the second game of the series before loading the bases on a third-inning single in the finale.

• Sophomore Maddie Westmoreland has batted her way to a team-best .320 average at the plate and has picked up at least one hit in 12 of the last 15 games. During that stretch, which dates back to the start of the Ohio State series on March 22, she is batting .429 with 18 hits, 10 RBI, 5 doubles and 7 runs.

• Sophomore Grayson Radcliffe's bat has been on fire as she again turned in an impressive weekend against the Terrapins, batting .750 with three multi-hit outings and a 1.375 slugging percentage. Dating back to Indiana's March 31 win against Michigan State, Radcliffe is batting .519 with 14 hits, 14 RBI and nine runs. In that nine-game stretch, she has posted six multi-hit outings and reach base successfully in every single game. For the season, Radcliffe leads the team in home runs (7), RBI (31) and total bases (70).

WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2019
Including this weekend, the Hoosiers have just nine contests remaining in the regular season. Indiana will host Rutgers for Senior Weekend April 28-28 before traveling to Penn State May 3-5. IU will then return home to host the 2019 Big Ten Tournament.