Indiana Softball to Play in Tiger Invitational

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– Indiana Softball will return to play this weekend with another southern trip as it is set to compete in the Tiger Invitational from Feb. 28 to March 2 at Clemson.

The invitational will feature games against Lafayette, East Carolina, Clemson and one more game against any of the three teams depending upon the weekend's results.

Indiana enters the weekend with a 10-3 record and looking to rebound after two losses at No. 12 Texas Tech last weekend.

QUICK HITTERS:

Indiana has opened its season with a 10-3 record with its only losses coming to FIU and No. 12 Texas Tech. The Hoosiers went 4-0 in the Puerto Vallarta Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Indiana returns seven of its nine starters in the field from 2024 with a plethora of new talent coming in, including eight new freshmen and two transfer from Power-4 schools.
Melina Wilkison, a redshirt junior outfielder from Greensburg, Ind. joins the Hoosiers after spending three seasons at Ohio State. Wilkison was a two-year starter for the Buckeyes, including being an NFCA All-Region and All-Big Ten performer in 2023. She missed almost all of 2024 due to injury.
The eight freshmen make up the No. 28 ranked recruiting class on Extra Innings Softball for the class of 2024.
Brianna Copeland, Taylor Minnick and Avery Parker were all named to the Big Ten's preseason Players to Watch List.

LAST TIME OUT:

Last weekend, Indiana split its four-game set in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic in Lubbock, Texas. The Hoosiers defeated UIC, 7-4, and beat UTEP in a 12-2 run-rule over five innings.
After trailing 1-0 early against UIC, Indiana exploded for six unanswered runs to go up 6-1 after five innings. Avery Parker and Taylor Minnick both hit a solo home run in that stretch.
Indiana's bats were on fire against UIC, with three home runs in five at bats between Alex Cooper, Melina Wilkison, and Avery Parker in the third inning to build a commanding 4-0 lead off the bat.
Both of Indiana's losses last weekend came to host school and No. 12 Texas Tech. Tech won 8-0 over five innings in game one and won 7-2 in the second battle. Indiana led 1-0 through 4.5 innings in the second game before Texas Tech put up seven runs in the bottom of the fifth.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:

Indiana's opponents this weekend of Clemson, East Carolina and Lafayette have all varied results through the first three weekends of play.
Clemson comes into their second consecutive home weekend with a 10-6 record. The Tigers own notable victories over Ohio State and Georgia along with close losses to Ole Miss, Auburn and Kentucky.
A year ago, Clemson posted a 35-19 mark in 2024 and reached the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional before being eliminated.
East Carolina is 9-5 to open the 2025 season and has won four of its last five games. The Pirates took two wins over No. 22 Boston in the Pirate Clash at ECU. Two of their losses were to Virginia (4-2) and South Carolina (1-0) who both received votes in the top 25 polls.
Lafayette is 0-8 to open the season after a 5-37 campaign a year ago.

SERIES HISTORY NOTES:

Indiana and Clemson played last year in the NFCA Leadoff Classic when Clemson won 3-2 in Clearwater, Fla.
The game against East Carolina will be the first time the programs have played since 2012.
Indiana and Lafayette will meet for the first time ever on Friday.

Indiana University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Alex Cooper

Brianna Copeland

Taylor Minnick

Avery Parker

Melina Wilkison

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