Friday, February 14
Durham, NC
5:30 PM
Indiana University
at
Duke
IU Softball To Play Duke and Syracuse in Big Ten/ACC Challenge
2/13/2020 4:22:00 PM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball (2-3) continues play early in the 2020 season this weekend as they travel to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina to compete in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Hoosiers will play a pair of games against host Duke (4-1), as well as two games versus Syracuse (2-1).
IU is coming off an opening weekend that saw them go 2-3 over their first five games. The Hoosiers picked up back-to-back wins over St. John's and Clemson to close out the Black and Gold Tournament. This after dropping a pair of games to UCF and one game to Duke.
All four games will be streamed this weekend on ACC Network Extra. Live stats and a radio broadcast for all games will also be available on IUHoosiers.com with Sam Neidermann on the call.
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
Duke: The Blue Devils also opened their season at UCF's Black and Gold Tournament going 4-1 over the weekend earning wins over Clemson, Indiana, St. John's and UCF. UCF took the first of their two meetings. Duke is batting .290 as a team led by a .538 average by Kristina Foreman, a .412 average from Rachel Crabtree and a .400 average from Jameson Kavel. They have also started hot in the circle with Shelby Walters (2-0) getting the bulk of the work this past weekend. She has a 1.54 ERA with 9 strikeouts over 13.2 innings pitched. The Hoosiers faced her and Peyton St. George (1-1) this past weekend. St. George has a 2.90 ERA with 10 K's over 9.2 innings pitched. The Blue Devils are in their third season in program history and are led by head coach Marissa Young.
Syracuse: The Orange opened the 2020 season in Miami, Florida at FIU's Felsberg Invitational going 2-1 over the weekend. After their first two games of the season against Cal and Michigan State were canceled, the Orange picked up wins over Penn State and Michigan State dropping one to FIU between them. Syracuse is batting .210 as a team coming into this weekend with Gabby Teran at the top of the stat sheet hitting .364. Alex Acevedo is also making solid contact for the Orange batting .300. In the circle Syracuse have Alexa Romero (2.33 ERA, 2-0, 12.0 IP) and Kaia Oliver (1.56 ERA, 0-1, 9.0) as the only pitchers to see action so far across their first three games. Syracuse is in their second season under the guidance of head coach Shannon Doepking.
BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE
•This season marks the third straight year IU has appeared in the Challenge, which began in 2016. Last season, IU faced the same two teams in the same location going undefeated on the weekend with a pair of wins against Duke and Syracuse.
OPENING WEEKEND NOTES
• In the circle Emily Goodin recorded her first two victories of the season (2-2). She is tied for 22nd in the nation in wins. Goodin went the distance on Saturday against Clemson earning her first complete game of the 2020 season.
• Emily Goodin also recorded 22 strikeouts over 21.1 innings pitched in IU's first five games. She is ranked 26th in the nation in total strikeouts.
• Junior infielder Grayson Radcliffe leads the IU starters in batting average following opening weekend at .385. She reached base seven times over the first five games with five hits and two walks with one RBI.
• Just behind Radcliffe are Hannah Davis and Annika Baez hitting .267 with four hits and three RBI's through the first five games. Baez hit her first home run of the season in Friday's game against Duke.
• Junior Taylor Lambert leads the roster in batting average after week one at .500 with three hits on six at-bats.
• The Hoosiers got to work on the base paths swiping six bags over the weekend. Freshman Columbia Holeman leads the roster with three, all coming as a pinch runner.
• Taylor Lambert and sophomore Tete Hart each hit their first triple of the season. They are each tied for 16th in the nation with one a piece.
• Freshman catcher Desiree Dufek hit her first career home run against St. John's on Saturday. She followed it up with an RBI single to end the ball game in the fifth inning.
• Josie Wood pitched 4.2 innings of work in relief to start the season recording five strikeouts.
• Hannah Davis, Desiree Dufek, Caraline Woodall, Kate Rehberg and Tatum Hayes all made their first career starts for IU.
RECAPPING 2019
In her second campaign at the helm of the Hoosiers, Stanton built upon the success of her inaugural season as the Hoosiers opened the year with a 14-0 mark, the best start in IU program history. Thanks to the hot start, Indiana earned a spot in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, the first ranking for the team since 1996. IU would spend six straight weeks ranked, picking up wins against two top-10 teams in No. 6 Georgia (Feb. 10) and at No. 10 LSU (March 1), the first time that has been done at Indiana. IU's final record of 36-21 was the best for the Hoosiers since the 2011 season, while the team's non-conference record (26-8) was the best since 1986. The team impressed on the base paths, setting the single-season IU steals record with 141, which is also good for the third-most by a Big Ten team in history.
For the second year in a row, pitcher Tara Trainer earned First Team NFCA All-Midwest Region honors as well as All-Big Ten accolades after leaving IU as one of the most decorated pitchers in Indiana history. This season, Trainer posted career-best numbers with a 1.82 ERA, 231 strikeouts and a 26-11 record. Trainer graduates second all-time in strikeouts (803), appearances (170) and games started (130). In addition, she is third in career wins (68) and innings pitched (742.0) and fourth in shutouts (19). Trainer became just the fourth Hoosier to be drafted in the National Pro Fastpitch league when she was selected 21st overall by the Aussie Peppers on April 15.
RETURNING IN 2020
The Hoosiers return six starters from last year's roster:
- Outfielders Gabbi Jenkins (.295, 46 hits, 25 runs, 21 SB in 2019) and Taylor Lambert (.289, 52 hits, 36 runs, 22 SB in 2019)
- Infielders Katie Lacefield (.313, 47 hits, 33 RBI in 2019) and Grayson Radcliffe (.293, 43 hits, 39 runs, 9 HR in 2019)
- Pitcher Emily Goodin leads the way in the circle after coming off a pair of career seasons (2.41 ERA, 129 K, 107.1 IP in 2019).
- Catcher/Designated Players Bella Norton returns to her role behind the dish after her best career season (.269, 42 hits, 24 RBI in 2019)
• IU brings back six of the top seven hitters from last season in terms of average, led by Lacefield, Jenkins and Radcliffe. Lacefield is the leading returner from last season in batting average at .313 followed closely by Jenkins (.295) and Radcliffe (.293)
• Indiana recorded a program record 141 steals in 2019. The Hoosiers return three base runners with over 20 steals each last season including Tete Hart with 23, Taylor Lambert with 22 and Gabbi Jenkins with 21.
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2020
The Hoosiers have 53 games on tap in 2020, including 16 to be played at Andy Mohr Field. Indiana will face 14 opponents who ended the 2019 season inside the top 100 RPI. They will also play five teams that made NCAA Regionals and two that advanced to the College World Series. The Hoosiers open the season with 25 of their first 26 games being away from Bloomington.
Following this weekend, Indiana will return to North Carolina where they will participate the Fairfield Crabtree Invitational hosted by NC State. Indiana is set to play a pair of games against Saint Joseph's and Bucknell, while also clashing with host school NC State.
Indiana heads west to Tucson, Ariz. the weekend of March 6 for the Wildcat Invitational. They will square off against SIUE, South Dakota and Boise State, who ended the season at No. 35 in the RPI, before taking on host Arizona who was a College World Series participant in 2019 and No. 4 in the final RPI of the season.
Rounding out tournament play, Indiana travels to Madeira Beach, Fla. on March 12 for the annual Spring Games. While in Madeira Beach, the Hoosiers will face Creighton, NCAA participant Toledo, Central Michigan, Brown, South Dakota State and Buffalo.
Play at Andy Mohr field starts on Mar. 10 as the Hoosiers play host to Miami (OH) at 4 p.m.
Wrapping up the non-conference schedule, Indiana will see three midweek games including NCAA Regional participants in Louisville and Notre Dame. The Cardinals will come to town on March 24 at 5 p.m. before the Hoosiers clash with the Fighting Irish on March 31 beginning at 4 p.m. Both teams were top 50 in RPI, Louisville was No. 38 in while Notre Dame checked in No. 39. Rounding out the nonconference schedule, Indiana will take on Morehead State on April 22.
Indiana opens up Big Ten play against Penn State at home March 20-22. Other conference home weekends include NCAA participants Ohio State (Mar. 27-29) and Minnesota (Apr. 17-19), who advanced to the Women's College World Series, before concluding the 2020 regular season at home vs. Iowa (May 1-3).
The Big Ten road slate commences on April 3-5 when the Hoosiers travel to College Park to take on Maryland. Other road games include Nebraska (Apr. 10-12) and Illinois (Apr. 24-26), who made NCAA Regionals last season, prior to the annual doubleheader vs. Purdue on April 29 in West Lafayette. This year's Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Illinois from May 7-9.
IU is coming off an opening weekend that saw them go 2-3 over their first five games. The Hoosiers picked up back-to-back wins over St. John's and Clemson to close out the Black and Gold Tournament. This after dropping a pair of games to UCF and one game to Duke.
All four games will be streamed this weekend on ACC Network Extra. Live stats and a radio broadcast for all games will also be available on IUHoosiers.com with Sam Neidermann on the call.
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
Duke: The Blue Devils also opened their season at UCF's Black and Gold Tournament going 4-1 over the weekend earning wins over Clemson, Indiana, St. John's and UCF. UCF took the first of their two meetings. Duke is batting .290 as a team led by a .538 average by Kristina Foreman, a .412 average from Rachel Crabtree and a .400 average from Jameson Kavel. They have also started hot in the circle with Shelby Walters (2-0) getting the bulk of the work this past weekend. She has a 1.54 ERA with 9 strikeouts over 13.2 innings pitched. The Hoosiers faced her and Peyton St. George (1-1) this past weekend. St. George has a 2.90 ERA with 10 K's over 9.2 innings pitched. The Blue Devils are in their third season in program history and are led by head coach Marissa Young.
Syracuse: The Orange opened the 2020 season in Miami, Florida at FIU's Felsberg Invitational going 2-1 over the weekend. After their first two games of the season against Cal and Michigan State were canceled, the Orange picked up wins over Penn State and Michigan State dropping one to FIU between them. Syracuse is batting .210 as a team coming into this weekend with Gabby Teran at the top of the stat sheet hitting .364. Alex Acevedo is also making solid contact for the Orange batting .300. In the circle Syracuse have Alexa Romero (2.33 ERA, 2-0, 12.0 IP) and Kaia Oliver (1.56 ERA, 0-1, 9.0) as the only pitchers to see action so far across their first three games. Syracuse is in their second season under the guidance of head coach Shannon Doepking.
BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE
•This season marks the third straight year IU has appeared in the Challenge, which began in 2016. Last season, IU faced the same two teams in the same location going undefeated on the weekend with a pair of wins against Duke and Syracuse.
OPENING WEEKEND NOTES
• In the circle Emily Goodin recorded her first two victories of the season (2-2). She is tied for 22nd in the nation in wins. Goodin went the distance on Saturday against Clemson earning her first complete game of the 2020 season.
• Emily Goodin also recorded 22 strikeouts over 21.1 innings pitched in IU's first five games. She is ranked 26th in the nation in total strikeouts.
• Junior infielder Grayson Radcliffe leads the IU starters in batting average following opening weekend at .385. She reached base seven times over the first five games with five hits and two walks with one RBI.
• Just behind Radcliffe are Hannah Davis and Annika Baez hitting .267 with four hits and three RBI's through the first five games. Baez hit her first home run of the season in Friday's game against Duke.
• Junior Taylor Lambert leads the roster in batting average after week one at .500 with three hits on six at-bats.
• The Hoosiers got to work on the base paths swiping six bags over the weekend. Freshman Columbia Holeman leads the roster with three, all coming as a pinch runner.
• Taylor Lambert and sophomore Tete Hart each hit their first triple of the season. They are each tied for 16th in the nation with one a piece.
• Freshman catcher Desiree Dufek hit her first career home run against St. John's on Saturday. She followed it up with an RBI single to end the ball game in the fifth inning.
• Josie Wood pitched 4.2 innings of work in relief to start the season recording five strikeouts.
• Hannah Davis, Desiree Dufek, Caraline Woodall, Kate Rehberg and Tatum Hayes all made their first career starts for IU.
RECAPPING 2019
In her second campaign at the helm of the Hoosiers, Stanton built upon the success of her inaugural season as the Hoosiers opened the year with a 14-0 mark, the best start in IU program history. Thanks to the hot start, Indiana earned a spot in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, the first ranking for the team since 1996. IU would spend six straight weeks ranked, picking up wins against two top-10 teams in No. 6 Georgia (Feb. 10) and at No. 10 LSU (March 1), the first time that has been done at Indiana. IU's final record of 36-21 was the best for the Hoosiers since the 2011 season, while the team's non-conference record (26-8) was the best since 1986. The team impressed on the base paths, setting the single-season IU steals record with 141, which is also good for the third-most by a Big Ten team in history.
For the second year in a row, pitcher Tara Trainer earned First Team NFCA All-Midwest Region honors as well as All-Big Ten accolades after leaving IU as one of the most decorated pitchers in Indiana history. This season, Trainer posted career-best numbers with a 1.82 ERA, 231 strikeouts and a 26-11 record. Trainer graduates second all-time in strikeouts (803), appearances (170) and games started (130). In addition, she is third in career wins (68) and innings pitched (742.0) and fourth in shutouts (19). Trainer became just the fourth Hoosier to be drafted in the National Pro Fastpitch league when she was selected 21st overall by the Aussie Peppers on April 15.
RETURNING IN 2020
The Hoosiers return six starters from last year's roster:
- Outfielders Gabbi Jenkins (.295, 46 hits, 25 runs, 21 SB in 2019) and Taylor Lambert (.289, 52 hits, 36 runs, 22 SB in 2019)
- Infielders Katie Lacefield (.313, 47 hits, 33 RBI in 2019) and Grayson Radcliffe (.293, 43 hits, 39 runs, 9 HR in 2019)
- Pitcher Emily Goodin leads the way in the circle after coming off a pair of career seasons (2.41 ERA, 129 K, 107.1 IP in 2019).
- Catcher/Designated Players Bella Norton returns to her role behind the dish after her best career season (.269, 42 hits, 24 RBI in 2019)
• IU brings back six of the top seven hitters from last season in terms of average, led by Lacefield, Jenkins and Radcliffe. Lacefield is the leading returner from last season in batting average at .313 followed closely by Jenkins (.295) and Radcliffe (.293)
• Indiana recorded a program record 141 steals in 2019. The Hoosiers return three base runners with over 20 steals each last season including Tete Hart with 23, Taylor Lambert with 22 and Gabbi Jenkins with 21.
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2020
The Hoosiers have 53 games on tap in 2020, including 16 to be played at Andy Mohr Field. Indiana will face 14 opponents who ended the 2019 season inside the top 100 RPI. They will also play five teams that made NCAA Regionals and two that advanced to the College World Series. The Hoosiers open the season with 25 of their first 26 games being away from Bloomington.
Following this weekend, Indiana will return to North Carolina where they will participate the Fairfield Crabtree Invitational hosted by NC State. Indiana is set to play a pair of games against Saint Joseph's and Bucknell, while also clashing with host school NC State.
Indiana heads west to Tucson, Ariz. the weekend of March 6 for the Wildcat Invitational. They will square off against SIUE, South Dakota and Boise State, who ended the season at No. 35 in the RPI, before taking on host Arizona who was a College World Series participant in 2019 and No. 4 in the final RPI of the season.
Rounding out tournament play, Indiana travels to Madeira Beach, Fla. on March 12 for the annual Spring Games. While in Madeira Beach, the Hoosiers will face Creighton, NCAA participant Toledo, Central Michigan, Brown, South Dakota State and Buffalo.
Play at Andy Mohr field starts on Mar. 10 as the Hoosiers play host to Miami (OH) at 4 p.m.
Wrapping up the non-conference schedule, Indiana will see three midweek games including NCAA Regional participants in Louisville and Notre Dame. The Cardinals will come to town on March 24 at 5 p.m. before the Hoosiers clash with the Fighting Irish on March 31 beginning at 4 p.m. Both teams were top 50 in RPI, Louisville was No. 38 in while Notre Dame checked in No. 39. Rounding out the nonconference schedule, Indiana will take on Morehead State on April 22.
Indiana opens up Big Ten play against Penn State at home March 20-22. Other conference home weekends include NCAA participants Ohio State (Mar. 27-29) and Minnesota (Apr. 17-19), who advanced to the Women's College World Series, before concluding the 2020 regular season at home vs. Iowa (May 1-3).
The Big Ten road slate commences on April 3-5 when the Hoosiers travel to College Park to take on Maryland. Other road games include Nebraska (Apr. 10-12) and Illinois (Apr. 24-26), who made NCAA Regionals last season, prior to the annual doubleheader vs. Purdue on April 29 in West Lafayette. This year's Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Illinois from May 7-9.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballSB: 5-17-25 NCAA Fayetteville Regional Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, May 18
SB: 5-16-25 Postgame Press Conference
Friday, May 16
Softball: NCAA Fayetteville Regional Media Availability
Thursday, May 15
NCAA Columbia Regional Day 2 Postgame Press Conference
Saturday, May 18