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No. 19 Indiana Set for Black and Orange Challenge

 

  BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball (9-0), who moved up five spots to No. 19 in this week's USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, travels south to Macon, Ga. this weekend for the Black & Orange Challenge, hosted by Mercer.
 
The Hoosiers' 9-0 start is the second-best in program history, led only by an 11-0 record in 1990. In addition, it is the longest winning streak for the program since a 14-game streak towards the end of the 2011 season.
 
Live stats and a radio broadcast for all games will be available on IUHoosiers.com. Sam Neidermann will be providing play-by-play on the radio broadcast.
 
IU IN THE RANKINGS
• IU moved up to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll, marking the first time the Hoosiers have cracked the top 20 in the Coaches Poll since a No. 19 ranking on April 17, 1996. Last week's No. 24 ranking was the first time IU has been included in the rankings since 1996.
 
• Indiana also received a No. 19 ranking in the ESPN/USA Softball poll. It is the first time since 2011 IU has been ranked in that poll. Last week, IU received 21 votes in the poll and last season, received a single vote midway through the year.
 
• The Hoosiers were ranked No. 16 by College Sports Madness this week and received a pair of No. 13 rankings by Softball America and Fastpitch News.
 
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION
Akron: The Zips stand at 5-3-2 on the year, including a pair of ties in the season-opening Blue Hose Invitational. Last week, Akron went 3-2 at the Madeira Beach Tournament. Akron's offense has been hot, batting .340 as a team led by a .500 average from Sydney Jascoe. Adrian Smith has seen the majority of innings, collecting a 2.76 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 38.0 IP. The Zips lead the all-time series against Indiana, 4-3, with the last meeting coming in 2001 with a 4-1 Akron win.
 
Loyola Chicago: The Ramblers also enter the week undefeated at 9-0 having swept last weekend's Runnin' Bulldog Tournament in Boiling Springs, N.C. Loyola is hitting .375 as a team, led by Allyson Ivey (.545, 12 hits). Kiley Jones (0.60 ERA, 5-0, 30.0 IP) and Keenan Dolezal (0.42 ERA, 4-0, 21.2 IP) have split most of the time in the circle.  Last season, Loyola Chicago went 23-27 with a 9-16 MVC record. IU leads the all-time series, 4-2, including winning the last meeting in 2011.
 
North Carolina A&T: The Aggie have played just two games this season, dropping a pair of games to Appalachian State. A season ago, NC A&T went 7-37 with a 4-11 MEAC record. Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the teams.
 
Mercer: The tournament host Bears are off to a 3-8 start, but did pick up a win against a Big Ten team in Rutgers in the season opener. Mercer is coming off a 33-19 2018 season that saw the Bears earn an 11-5 Southern Conference record. Mercer is hitting .252 as a team with Allie Jones (.382, 13 hits) leading the way. Bailey Pattison (3.64 ERA, 25.0 IP) and Lynn Gardner (4.11 ERA, 3-2, 32.1 IP) have carried most of the innings. This weekend will mark the first meeting between IU and Mercer.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana won a pair of games against Duke and Syracuse in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Overall, the Big Ten got the best of the ACC, winning the event, 23-13. Along with Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois and Wisconsin all earned sweeps last weekend.
 
TRAINER NAMED BIG TEN PITCHER OF THE WEEK
• Senior pitcher Tara Trainer was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday. Trainer appeared in all four games over the weekend, collected a 2-0 record and a save on her way to a 0.41 ERA. Both of Trainer's wins came in complete game outings. The right-handed pitcher recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed just two walks.
 
• In the weekend opener against Duke, Trainer carried a perfect game through 6.0 innings and a no-hitter through 6.2. She finished the game with a one-hit shutout and allowed no walks. Trainer returned to the circle later that day in a relief appearance as she tossed 1.0 scoreless innings to earn a save against Syracuse. On Saturday, she again got the start against Duke and tossed a complete game with no walks allowed. She surrendered just four hits and one run in the victory. Trainer's third start of the weekend came on Sunday against Syracuse, providing 2.0 shutout innings.
 
• This marks the third Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award for the Lebanon, Ohio native who earned it twice last season. In addition, Trainer earned three Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week accolades in 2016.
 
• Trainer also earned an accolade from the NFCA as she was tabbed as a Selected Top Performance.
 
NEWS AND NOTES
• Sophomore Camryn Woodall had a breakout weekend in Durham, batting .444 with four hits, three RBI and two runs. In addition, she knocked her first career homer Sunday against the Orange. For the season, Woodall's .375 is currently leading the Hoosiers.
 
• IU stole nine more bases over the weekend to move its total to 26 on the season, compared to just eight stolen bases by opponents. Sophomore Taylor Lambert is leading the way as she is a perfect 8-for-8 on attempts this season.
 
• A well-balanced approach at the plate guided the Hoosiers over the weekend as nine had at least one hit while seven registered two or more base knocks. In addition, 12 different Hoosiers scored at least one run in Durham.
 
•  The Indiana pitching staff turned in an ERA of 1.25 over the weekend and held opponents to a batting average of .180. Junior Emily Goodin picked up a pair of wins as she was very solid in the circle, tossing 3.2 scoreless frames. Redshirt junior Josie Wood earned the save against Syracuse on Sunday, tossing 2.1 hitless innings. Indiana's 1.31 team ERA is currently the best of any Big Ten teams.
 
•Trainer reached a pair of milestones over the weekend, becoming just the fourth Hoosier pitcher in history to reach 100 games started and the third with 600 strikeouts.
 
• During the first weekend of the season, Trainer surpassed Megan Roark (2003-06) for all-time career strikeouts:
1. Amy Unterbrink (1983-86)  1089
2. Gina Ugo (1993-96)             664
3. Tara Trainer (2016-pr.)     600
 
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2019
The Hoosiers have 56 games on tap in 2019, including 17 to be played at Andy Mohr Field. Indiana will play 17 games against 2018 NCAA Tournament participants and nine games against teams who finished the season ranked or receiving votes in the final USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll of the year. In addition, Indiana will play 14 games against teams who finished in the top 50 of the 2018 NCAA RPI. This week's Coaches Poll saw four opponents either ranked or receiving votes.

The Hoosiers open the season with 19 straight games and 25 of the first 26 away from Bloomington. After this weekend's Black & Orange Challenge IU will visit LSU for the Purple & Gold Challenge. Indiana will open home play at Andy Mohr Field against in-state foe Butler on March 5. The Hoosiers return to the road that weekend to play in the USF-Clearwater Parks and Recreation Showcase Tournament before staying in the Sunshine State for a Tuesday night doubleheader against Florida Gulf Coast on March 12. IU's final tournament weekend features the annual Hoosier Classic March 15-17 at Andy Mohr Field. The final non-conference game of the season is a March 26 visit to Louisville. Road Big Ten battles include Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State. Home conference contests feature Michigan State, Purdue, Maryland and Rutgers.

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5 hours ago, mamasa said:

This is a really exciting program now. New coach is really getting the most out of the team!


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

She's in year two and is doing a significant job compared to when Gardner was coach. She has an assistant who was a pitcher at a local high school around Indy that was really good. 

Edited by OliviaPope40

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14-0 after taking care of Loyola Chicago by a score of 3-1.  Trainer with the win giving up 5 hits, 1 bb and 8 k.  Our Hoosiers with just 4 hits, but Woodall, Radcliffe and Baez made their hits count each getting an rbi.  8 on the season for Woodall and 10 each for Radcliffe and Baez.  

Next weekend a trip to Baton Rouge to play 5 games and then our home opener on Tuesday, March 5, against Butler.

 

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2 in a row as Tara Trainer earns her second straight @BigTen Pitcher of the Week honor.  Trainer was phenomenal in the circle this weekend:  4-0 record     0.28 ERA      37 strikeouts       25.0 innings pitched

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Big game on Friday @ #10 LSU.

@IndianaSB: #IUSoftball moves up 3️⃣ spots in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll to No. 16. It is the best ranking for the program since the poll began in 1995. #GoIU

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/softball/d1/usa-today/nfca-coaches

Noteables:

10 - LSU

23 - Minnesota

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