Indiana to Host Valparaiso & Head to Michigan

Wednesday, April 22

Bloomington, Ind.

5:00 PM

Indiana University

Valparaiso

BLOOMINGTON, IN - April 14, 2026 - catcher\utility Avery Parker #18 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Indiana Hoosiers at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Mason Munn/Indiana Athletics

4/22/2026 12:00:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– Indiana Softball (34-12, 12-6 B1G) will have a quick stop at home for more midweek action before getting on the road for another Big Ten test.

The Hoosiers will host Valparaiso on Wednesday (April 22) at 5 p.m. at Andy Mohr Field before traveling for the team's final regular season road trip at Michigan from Friday to Sunday (April 24-26).

Valparaiso enters the matchup at 17-27 while Michigan is 28-17 overall and 7-11 in Big Ten play.

QUICK HITTERS:

IU's offense ranks top-15 nationally in many statistical categories: No. 15 Batting Average (.348), No. 7 On Base Percentage (.457), No. 8 RBI (334), No. 8 Scoring (8.00), No. 5 Total Runs (368), No. 7 Stolen Bases (106), No. 4 Triples (22).
Avery Parker became the program's career home run leader last weekend when she hit home run No. 46 against Iowa on Sunday (April 19).
Alex Cooper hit a grand slam against Notre Dame in the win on Tuesday (April 14). She hit a walk-off home run two years ago to defeat Notre Dame 5-3 in 2024 (April 16).
Of Indiana's 34 wins this year, 18 of them have been by run rule.
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.

LAST TIME OUT:

Out of Indiana's last four games, they split the group with two wins and two losses. The Hoosiers won the series at Iowa, 2-1, and lost to No. 25 Louisville, 8-7, in a 10-inning contest.
In that stretch, Indiana also played in its first two extra innings games of the year. Both of them went to 10 innings. There was the Louisville loss, and then Indiana also defeated Iowa in the series' second game, 9-7, in 10 innings. The Hoosiers trailed 7-2 in the top of the seventh before tying it up at 7-7 to reach extras. The Hawkeyes had two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh before Indiana had a rundown double play that allowed the game to continue after that.
Indiana's Avery Parker hit career home run No. 46 to become the program's all-time home run leader. She passed Indiana alum Taylor Minnick who hit 45 in last year's NCAA Tournament Regional in Fayetteville.
The Hoosiers have won five of their six Big Ten series and six of seven weekend series overall.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:

Valparaiso enters the weekend with a 17-27 mark and a 5-16 record in conference play. Most recently, the Beacons played in a series at Drake where they took one of three games.
In other series against in-state opponents, Valpo has wins over IU Indy, Indiana State and Notre Dame with a loss to Purdue and two losses to Indiana State.
Michigan is 29-17 on the year with a 7-11 showing in the Big Ten. Most recently, Michigan lost a series, 2-1, at Wisconsin and picked up a midweek win over Toledo on Tuesday (April 21).
The last time Indiana and Michigan met was in the 2024 Big Ten Championship game. Michigan won the game, 3-1, in Iowa City. The last time the Hoosiers and Wolverines met in Ann Arbor, Indiana picked up a sweep in 2023.
Michigan is 3-3 in their Big Ten series play this season, picking up wins over Ohio State, Purdue and Northwestern and losses to Nebraska, Washington and Wisconsin.

SERIES HISTORY:

Indiana leads the all-time series with Valparaiso, 13-0, and played them as recently as 2024 where IU picked up two wins. Michigan leads the all-time series with Indiana, 98-32.