Hoosiers Head West for Series at No. 9 UCLA

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– After a two-game non-conference break, Indiana Softball will resume Big Ten play this weekend (April 3-5) at No. 9 UCLA for a three-game series.

The Hoosiers enter the weekend with a 27-7 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the Big Ten. UCLA is 29-5 with a 10-2 showing in the Big Ten. Each of the squads stack up in the top four of the conference, as UCLA is No. 3 and Indiana is No. 4.

QUICK HITTERS:

The Hoosiers' prolific offense ranks top-15 nationally in a number of statistical categories: No. 9 (.366), No. 4 On Base Percentage (.477), No. 8 RBI (272), No. 7 Scoring (8.94), No. 6 Total Runs (304), No. 3 Stolen Bases (91), No. 2 Triples (19).
Avery Parker and VanBrandt each have 10 home runs on the season thus far. Josie Bird is just behind them with nine. Parker needs one home run to tie and two home runs to break the program's career record of 45.
After not playing home throughout the entire month of February, the Hoosiers were 8-3 at Andy Mohr Field in the month of March. For all games in March, the Hoosiers posted an 11-3 record.
Against Portland State in the Littlewood Invitational (Feb. 12), VanBrandt hit for the cycle as part of a 5-for-5 day where she also totaled two home runs.
UCLA will be the fourth ranked opponent that Indiana has faced this season.

LAST TIME OUT:

Indiana had a solid 2-0 weekend to close out March at Andy Mohr Field. The Hoosiers faced Detroit Mercy for a two-game set and won the Friday game, 8-0 in six innings, and then closed out Saturday with a 7-5 win.
Friday notably featured freshman Aubree Hooks throwing her first career collegiate no-hitter. Hooks went 6.0 innings and nearly had a perfect game as she only allowed one walk, and no Titans reached base via error.
Hooks is the first Hoosier freshman to throw a no-hitter since Jasmine Reyes did so against IU Indy on March 7 in the 2025 season.
In the two-game series, three Hoosiers recorded a triple as Aly VanBrandt had one in the Friday game while Madalyn Strader and Ellie Goins both had one in game two of the series.
The two wins over the Titans marked the Hoosiers as winners of six of their last seven games.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:

UCLA enters the weekend with a 29-5 record and a 10-2 conference showing so far in their second season as members of the Big Ten.
The Bruins come into the weekend following their first series loss, after they went 1-2 at top-10 ranked Nebraska in Lincoln. Prior to those games, UCLA had not lost since February 14.
The Bruins picked up series sweeps against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Rutgers prior to last weekend.
UCLA owns notable non-conference victories over LSU, Auburn, Duke, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Florida, among others.
Megan Grant (.532) and Jordan Woolery (.515) are the team's top two bats at the plate and rank No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the Big Ten's best for batting average. Grant has 23 homers while Woolery has 20. Tinsley Taylor is the team's ace in the circle, posting a 2.91 ERA and a 16-3 record to go along with 90 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY:

Indiana and UCLA's series history dates back to 1998. The Hoosiers won the initial meeting, 6-2, but the Bruins have won the next three to hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. Last year was the first meeting between the two teams as conference foes when UCLA won 5-4 in the quarterfinal of the Big Ten Tournament.

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Players Mentioned

Josie Bird

Ellie Goins

Aubree Hooks

Avery Parker

Jasmine Reyes

Madalyn Strader

Aly VanBrandt

Indiana University Athletics