Indiana to Host Evansville & Illinois to Close Regular Season

Wednesday, April 29

Bloomington, Ind.

6:00 PM

Indiana University

Evansville

BLOOMINGTON, IN - April 22, 2026 - utility Alex Cooper #31 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the game between the Valparaiso Beacons and the Indiana Hoosiers at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Dani Meersman/Indiana Athletics

Indiana to Host Evansville & Illinois to Close Regular Season

4/28/2026 6:00:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– In the last week of the regular season, Indiana will host Evansville (April 29) and Illinois for the team's final Big Ten series (May 1-3) at Andy Mohr Field.

The Hoosiers go into the week at 37-13 and 14-7 in the Big Ten. Evansville is 21-24 while Illinois comes into the week at 14-36 overall and 3-17 in the conference.

QUICK HITTERS:

IU's offense ranks top-15 nationally in many statistical categories: No. 14 Batting Average (.352), No. 4 On Base Percentage (.459), No. 6 RBI (374), No. 8 Scoring (8.18), No. 1 Hit By Pitch (68), No. 6 Total Runs (409), No. 8 Stolen Bases (112), No. 2 Triples (25).
Avery Parker earned Big Ten Player of the Week after hitting .500 with five home runs and a double while not striking out once in Indiana's 3-1 week. The Hoosiers defeated Valparaiso and won the series at Michigan.
Avery Parker became the program's career home run leader last weekend when she hit home run No. 46 at Iowa on April 19.
Of Indiana's 37 wins this year, 20 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:

Indiana took care of business against Valparaiso (April 22) in a 14-1 win in five innings before winning a road series at Michigan, 2-1.
The Hoosiers took the Friday and Sunday games of the series, including an 11-2 win in five innings on Sunday. The Hoosiers blasted 13 home runs across the four-game stretch.
After the game on Sunday, Indiana broke its single-season program record of 409 runs and tied their single-season record for RBIs with 374.
Indiana has won 10 of their last 12 games dating back to April 8 in the win versus Butler.
Parker's two home runs against Michigan (April 26) put her at 50 and 51 career home runs.
In that Sunday win, Taylor Hess pitched a complete game and struck out three batters.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:

Evansville is 21-24 on the season and has a 12-12 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Purple Aces lost their most recent series at UIC after winning three games in a row (Bradley 2x and Northern Kentucky).
Niki Bode leads the way at the plate for the Purple Aces, posting a .team-high 407 batting average. Taylor Howe (.314) and Jess Willsey (.306) also have had strong seasons hitting for them.
Illinois comes into the week at 14-36 overall and 3-17 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini got swept versus Penn State in their last Big Ten series.
The Fighting Illini's Skylar Brennan (.324) and Adisyn Caryl (.318) are Illinois' two best hitters. Each of them have eight doubles on the season.
Abby Sabalaskey and Karley Yergler are the Illini's two-most consistent arms, each having at least 27 appearances and 50 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY NOTES:

Indiana leads the all-time series versus Evansville, 27-8. The Hoosiers have won five in a row against them and Wednesday's matchup will be the first meeting since 2023. Illinois leads the all-time series versus Indiana, 21-11. Indiana and Illinois have not faced one another since 2022.