Indiana Softball Heads West for Hillenbrand Invitational

Friday, February 23

Tucson, Ariz.

11:00 AM

Indiana University

Central Michigan

Indiana Softball Heads West for Hillenbrand Invitational

2/22/2024 5:00:00 PM | Softball

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– Indiana Softball has another five-game set ready for this weekend as the Hoosiers head westward to Tucson, Ariz. for the Hillenbrand Invitational, hosted by the University of Arizona.

Over the course of Feb. 23-25, Indiana will play Central Michigan, No. 17 Arizona twice, Drake and Marshall.

QUICK HITTERS:

The Hoosiers are off to a hot start to the 2024 season, opening with back-to-back 4-1 weekends in both the NFCA Leadoff Classic and the Troy Invitational.
Indiana has logged wins over No. 15 Oregon, Kansas, and Troy twice, among others.
The only losses have come to No. 5 Clemson by a score of 3-2 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic and a 7-4 loss to Gardner-Webb in the Troy Invitational.
Indiana's Brianna Copeland was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for her stellar performance at the Trojan Invitational last weekend.
Indiana will face off against host of the Hillenbrand Invitational and No. 17 Arizona along with Central Michigan, Drake and Marshall. This year's matchup will mark back-to-back seasons facing off against Arizona.

LAST TIME OUT:

Last weekend, Indiana went 4-1 at the Troy Invitational, defeating Florida A&M and Troy twice, but dropping the lone game against Gardner-Webb, 7-4.
The Hoosiers outscored their opponents, 34-9, including two shutout wins over Florida A&M, winning 8-0 (F/6) on Friday, Feb. 16 and 12-0 (F/5) on Sunday, Feb. 18.
Over that weekend, a number of Hoosiers had standout performances. Redshirt senior Cora Bassett hit for a .500 batting average, going 7-for-14 at the plate, including one triple. Junior Taylor Minnick was 6-for-15 at bat (.400) with a triple and six RBI.
Freshman Savannah Oden recorded her first of her collegiate career against Florida A&M on Feb. 18.
Senior Macy Montgomery in the win over Florida A&M on Feb. 16 threw a complete game with 10 strikeouts, four hits and no runs.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:

Central Michigan is off to a 1-4 start to the season, opening their season last weekend in the South Alabama tournament and picking up a win over Northern Illinois.
Host and No. 17 ranked Arizona is 10-1 and has won nine of their ten wins by run-rule. The Wildcats split their two games against No. 15 Arkansas, each one finishing with a 3-2 score.
Drake has been impressive thus far, going 4-1 after one weekend of play. The Bulldogs dropped their opener to Omaha and then won four in a row over Western Illinois, Butler, Northern Illinois and then defeated Omaha.
Marshall has opened the year at 6-4, including two wins over Big Ten opponent Michigan State. Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton was previously the head coach at Marshall, going 560-430-2 in 18 seasons.
She led the Thundering Herd to two NCAA Tournament appearances, a Conference USA regular season and tournament championship, as well as two MAC titles.

Full notes in the PDF form attached.