Indiana Closes Out Regular Season with Trip to Penn State

Friday, May 3

University Park, Pa.

6:00 PM

Indiana University

Penn State

Indiana Closes Out Regular Season with Trip to Penn State

5/1/2019 3:52:00 PM | Softball

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball (33-19, 8-12 Big Ten) travels to Penn State (23-29, 6-14 Big Ten) this weekend to close out the 2019 regular season. First pitch of the three-game set is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.

All three games will be streamed on BTN Plus. In addition, Sam Neidermann will be on the mic for a free radio broadcast, available on IUHoosiers.com.

SCOUTING PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions dropped three games to Michigan last weekend, but have picked up series victories against Maryland and Michigan State, while picking up a win versus Purdue and Ohio State. Penn State is batting .270 as a team, led by Toni Polk (.341, 58 hits, 35 runs, 13 HR) and Melina Livingston (.336, 40 hits, 29 runs and 18 RBI. In the circle, the Nittany Lions have posted a 3.63 ERA. Bailey Parshall (3.31 ERA, 10-15, 152.1 IP) has carried most of the workload, while Kylee Lingenfelter (3.14 ERA, 9-4, 78.0 IP) and Hannah Shields (4.57 ERA, 2-7, 69.0 IP) have seen significant time as well.

IU leads the all-times series against Penn State, 40-28. Last season, the Hoosiers swept the series in Bloomington. Tara Trainer earned all three wins in the circle and recorded her second career no-hitter in the final game. At the plate, Maddie Westmoreland batted .857 with nine RBI and a pair of homers. Gabbi Jenkins also had an impressive showing as she batted .750 with six hits and six runs.

LAST TIME OUT
Indiana took two of three from Rutgers last weekend at Andy Mohr Field. The Hoosiers picked up wins in the first two games of the weekend before falling on Sunday.

AS IT STANDS IN THE BIG TEN
• With the 2019 Big Ten Softball Tournament set to kick off next week in Bloomington, this weekend's action will determine final seeding.

• At 8-12 in conference play, the Hoosiers currently sit in seventh place in the Big Ten. IU is just one game back from sixth-seeded Rutgers, who hosts Michigan State this weekend.

• Penn State is currently in a three-way tie with Purdue and Illinois for ninth in the conference standings.

2019 BIG TEN SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT COMES TO ANDY MOHR FIELD
For the first time in history, the Hoosiers will host the Big Ten Tournament from May 9-11. Play in the tournament begins on Thursday with four games scheduled, Friday will also feature four games. Competition will conclude on Saturday with the two semifinal games followed by the championship game. For more information and tickets, visit the tournament central page under "Additional Links" on IUHoosiers.com.

The bracket for the tournament will be released following the final conference game on Sunday evening.

HOOSIERS SET PROGRAM STOLEN BASE RECORD
• The Hoosiers have set a new program record for single-season stolen bases, swiping 133 bags on the year. The previous high 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 74.

• The Hoosiers' 133 stolen bases is currently tied with the 1997 Iowa team for the third-most ever by a Big Ten team. IU is closing on the record of 144 set by Purdue in 2010.

• Nationally, Indiana ranks fourth in total stolen bases and fifth in stolen bases per game average (2.56).

• Junior Gabbi Jenkins and sophomore Taylor Lambert lead Indiana on the basepaths with 21 stolen bases apiece. For her career, Jenkins has 60 stolen bases, which is sixth most in program history.

TARA TRAINER IN THE RECORD BOOKS
• Trainer ranks second in Indiana history in career strikeouts with 780 (first - Amy Unterbrink with 1,089). Her 165 appearances is also good for second all-time (first - Unterbrink with 176).

• She is fourth in both victories (65) and innings pitched (719.2). Additionally, Trainer ranks third in games started (125).

• This season, Trainer's 208 strikeouts is the 9th most in a single season at IU. She has posted at least 171 strikeouts in every single year of her career.

NEWS AND NOTES
• For the first time since the 2012 season, the Hoosiers have reached 30 wins on the year. At 33-19, IU has the best record since the 2011 campaign (37-18).

• The Hoosiers came in at No. 46 in this week's NCAA RPI. The Nittany Lions sit at No. 146.

• Indiana has faced 14 opponents who are in the Top 100 of the RPI, for a grand total of 26 games. In addition, IU has eight opponents in the Top 50 with 14 total games coming against them, most notably a March 1 victory versus No. 7 LSU.

• As a staff, the IU pitching battery has tallied 385 strikeouts this year, fifth-most in Indiana program history. Trainer has 208 of those Ks, while junior Emily Goodin has a career-high 119 punchouts.

• A key to Indiana's success this season has been scoring first as the Hoosiers are 27-4 on the season when landing on the scoreboard first.

• Sophomore Maddie Westmoreland has batted her way to a team-best .333 average at the plate and has picked up at least one hit in 17 of the last 21 games. During that stretch, which dates back to the start of the Ohio State series on March 22, she is batting .424 with 25 hits, 13 RBI, 5 doubles, 5 home runs and 10 runs. In Big Ten play alone, she leads the team with her .429 average.

•Junior Katie Lacefield had a hot bat against Rutgers over the weekend, leading the team with a .625 average and four RBI. Lacefield had a pair of multi-hit outings, including tying her single-game career high in runs (2) and RBI (3) in the opener. The Columbia, Ill. native is having the best year of her career at the plate, as she has highs in batting average (.307), hits (43), RBI (33) and home runs (5).

• Freshman Brittany Ford continues to deliver in clutch pinch-hit situations, as her leadoff seventh-inning double started the rally in Saturday's win against the Scarlet Knights. Of her nine pinch-hit outings this year, Ford has delivered a base hit five times.