IU Softball

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

We score 3 more in the 4th; gave up a couple in the bottom half of the 4th and then Uden hits her second solo homer on the day for a 7-2 lead going into the bottom of the 5th.  

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

Top of the 6th and Maddie Westmoreland with a 2-run homer; IU leads 9-2.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

Solo shot by Bella Norton.  10-4 IU in the top of the 7th.   

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

It's an IU sweep as the women take the second game 11-4.  

3-game home stand this next weekend vs. Michigan.

[mamasa 15,969]

IU vs Michigan today at 6 pm.  My boss is a big UM fan- he's taking his kids to the weekend games.

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball closes out home play this weekend as the Hoosiers host Big Ten-leading No. 15 Michigan is a series that could decide the Big Ten regular season title. The Hoosiers, with a 15-2 conference record and a .882 winning percentage, are just behind the Wolverines, who sit at 13-1 with a .929 winning percentage. Both teams have six Big Ten games remaining.
 
First pitch of the series is slated for Friday at 6 p.m. Sunday's game will feature pre-game Senior Day festivities as their Hoosiers honor their five seniors. Admission to all home games is free of charge and all three games will be streamed on BTN Plus.
 
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Wolverines bring a 14-game winning streak into the weekend, with their lone conference loss coming against Iowa on March 23. Michigan is hitting .322 as a team, led by Faith Canfield (.413, 64 hits, 38 runs, 35 RBI), Madison Uden (.381, 40 hits, 29 runs, 27 RBI) and Tera Blanco (.370, 44 hits, 24 runs, 42 RBI). Uden is the younger sister of Indiana senior Taylor Uden. The Wolverines' team ERA of 1.03 is second-best in the nation as they have used three pitchers this season - Meghan Beaubien (0.74 ERA, 27-2, 160.1 IP), Blanco (1.35 ERA, 9-2, 82.2 IP) and Sarah Schaefer (1.45 ERA, 2-3, 48.1 IP).
 
Michigan leads the all-time series, 85-28, having won the last 15 meetings. The last time the Hoosiers defeated the Wolverines came in a 7-2 victory on March 31, 2012.
 
SENIOR WEEKEND
• Five Hoosiers are getting set to play their final weekend at Andy Mohr Field - Rebecca Blitz, Emily Kirk, Aimilia McDonough, Rachel O'Malley and Taylor Uden.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

Forgot the women were playing -- too much AAU monitoring and refreshing Romeo's thread every 10 seconds.

Michigan took the first game of the 3-game series Friday night by a score of 5-1 but IU bounced back this afternoon with a 5-4 win thanks to a Taylor Uden solo shot in the bottom of the 7th.   They'll do it again Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm.  Regular season ends next weekend with a 3-game road trip to less than beautiful Rutgers.

Friday night recap

[Aaron 4,537]

18 hours ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Forgot the women were playing -- too much AAU monitoring and refreshing Romeo's thread every 10 seconds.

Michigan took the first game of the 3-game series Friday night by a score of 5-1 but IU bounced back this afternoon with a 5-4 win thanks to a Taylor Uden solo shot in the bottom of the 7th.   They'll do it again Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm.  Regular season ends next weekend with a 3-game road trip to less than beautiful Rutgers.

Friday night recap

Winner tomorrow is almost certainly going to be Big Ten Champ as IU has a Rutgers team that is in toilet next weekend (What sport isn't Rutgers terrible at) and I doubt Michigan loses any of their last 4 games. I expect both teams to win out after tomorrow and winner will be leading Big Ten. Who would of thought that for IU at beginning of season.  

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

Over on the softball diamond it's scoreless through 6.  Ladies had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the 6th with the bases loaded and 1 out but consecutive strikeouts ended the threat.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

It's such a nice day, the women decided to play extra innings.  No score at the end of regulation.  Both teams with 4 hits.  Trainer still on the mound for IU.   Softball trivia -  Taylor Uden's sister, Madison, plays 3rd base on the Michigan team.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

Michigan scores 2 in the top of the 9th and the Hoosiers can't respond.  Taylor Uden's sister, Madison, hit the double that scored both of Michigan's runs.  Oh, the irony of it all.   Final score in 9 innings 2-0.

[OliviaPope40 7,442]

Thank you all of you for updating this. I have been busy with school and work hopefully after next week when school is done. I hope to have more time.

[mamasa 15,969]

Program is on the upswing!  Friday is now a doubleheader, with the first pitch at 1, and no game Sunday!

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Softball closes out the regular season this weekend as the Hoosiers travel to Piscataway, N.J. to face Rutgers. The Hoosiers remain in contention for both a regular season Big Ten title and a top four seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament, which secures a first round bye. Entering this final weekend, the Hoosiers sit at third place in the conference with a 16-4 mark, trailing Michigan (16-2) and Minnesota (15-3).
 
First pitch of the series is slated for Friday at 3 p.m. All three games will be streamed on BTN Plus. Live stats are available on IUHoosiers.com.
 
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights sit at 17-30 on the season with a 2-15 Big Ten mark. Rutgers' two Big Ten wins came in the second conference series of the season as the Scarlet Knights took two from Penn State. Hitting .257 as a team, Rutgers is led by Rebecca Hall (.379, 58 hits, 26 runs, 38 RBI) and Jess Hughes (.309, 47 hits, 34 runs, 17 RBI). The pitching staff is led primarily by Whitney Jones (4.23 ERA, 8-15, 124.0 IP) and Cambria Keefer (5.11, 5-8, 87.2 IP).
 
Rutgers leads the all-time series. 8-7. Last season, Indiana won the first two games at Andy Mohr Field to clinch the series before the Scarlet Knights won the final game. One of IU's win saw the Hoosiers put up 23 runs, the most in a Big Ten game in program history and the most in any single game since 1978.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Indiana closed out home play last weekend by playing host to No. 15 Michigan.
 
• The Wolverines took the series, but the Hoosiers used a Taylor Uden walkoff solo home run to win the Saturday game in nine innings, 5-4. It marked the first victory against the Wolverines since 2012.
 
• Indiana saw an Andy Mohr Field record crowd of 856 watch the Hoosiers defeat Michigan Saturday afternoon.
 
• Junior Tara Trainer was key for Indiana against Michigan as she tossed 20.1 innings and started all three games. She collected 16 strikeouts and capped the weekend with a nine-inning complete game.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

The wheels fell off today as Rutgers swept both games 3-0 and 5-4.

In the first game, Rutgers scored all of its runs in the 6th.  Hoosiers with just 4 hits.  Rutgers with 6 hits, but 2 were home runs off Trainer.

Goodin started game 2 and lasted into the 5th when Rutgers scored 4 runs.  We tied it up in the top of the 7th but Rutgers got the winning run in the bottom of the inning.  For the game we only had 4 hits and committed 2 errors.  Rutgers banged out 11 hits, 7 off Goodin.

Game #3 Saturday at 1:00 ET

[OliviaPope40 7,442]

 

[OliviaPope40 7,442]

Indiana Softball closed out the 2018 regular season with a 4-3 victory against Rutgers, plating the game-winning run in the seventh inning. With a 17-6 Big Ten record, the Hoosiers have secured a bye in next week's Big Ten Tournament and have matched 2011 as the most conference wins in a single season since 1994.
 
The Hoosiers were led by a 3-for-4 performance from sophomore Gabbi Jenkins and a 2-for-3 outing by freshman Maddie Westmoreland.
 
Sophomore Emily Goodin earned the win in the circle, tossing 1.2 hitless innings of relief as she retired all five batters she faced in order.
 
"Great bounce back win," said head coach Shonda Stanton. "I know yesterday didn't go as hoped. It was great to see us get out to the 3-0 lead. Rutgers fought back and then we were first up to come back. Even though the weekend as a whole didn't go as we hoped, we have some momentum going into the Big Ten Tournament. I'm really proud of this group and the way they've truly battled in conference play."
 
IU jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, carrying that advantage into the sixth frame. After sophomore Katie Lacefield was hit by a pitch, Westmoreland doubled just inside the left field line to bring her in. It marked the 51^st RBI for Westmoreland, tied for the second-most ever in a single season in program history.
 
Junior pitcher Tara Trainer retired six of the first seven Scarlet Knights she saw until a walk and single put two on for Rutgers in the third. However, a pair of foul-outs ended the threat.
 
After both teams went down in order in the fourth, senior Rebecca Blitz and Jenkins both beat the Rutgers' defensive shift on back-to-back two-out singles. But IU couldn't take advantage as a flyout left them stranded.
 
Westmoreland led off the sixth her second double of the day before senior Taylor Uden drew a walk. Sophomore Bella Norton then moved both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. The Hoosiers continued the small ball approach as senior Rachel O'Malley perfectly laid down a bunt towards the first base line, allowing pinch runner Makayla Ferrari to score and push Indiana's to 2-0. IU added another run as freshman Annika Baez, in to pinch hit, delivered on an RBI single to third base, plating Uden.
 
The Scarlet Knights would put up a big sixth inning of their own to tie the game up at 3-3. After a leadoff walk to Jess Hughes and a single from Hailey Hoklotubbe, both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Rebecca Hall plated the first Rutgers run of the day as she singled through the ride side to score Hughes. An RBI fielder's choice from Myah Moy cut the IU lead to 3-2 before the tying run came in on a Hoosier throwing error on Anysaa Iliopoulos' single.
 
Indiana answered right back in the seventh as Blitz and Lacefield led off with back-to-back singles. Westmoreland bunted both runners over setting things up for Uden, who sent a fly ball to center, allowing Jenkins to come home on the sacrifice fly.

Goodin then sent the Scarlet Knights down in order to secure the victory.
 
The bracket for the Big Ten Tournament will be officially announced on Sunday, but the Hoosiers have secured the No. 3 seed. Next week's Big Ten Tournament will be played in Madison, Wis. with first round action beginning Thursday.

http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2018/5/5/softball-indiana-ends-regular-season-with-4-3-victory-at-rutgers.aspx

[OliviaPope40 7,442]

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Indiana Softball earned a No. 3 seed in this week's Big Ten Tournament and will face the winner of Thursday's matchup between No. 6 Illinois and No. 11 Maryland. Indiana's quarterfinal game will be Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

By earning a top four seed, the Hoosiers clinched a first round bye as it marks the best seed for the program since 2011. The Hoosiers earned the three seed this season after posting a 17-6 Big Ten mark, tying with 2011 as the most conference wins since 1994. 

The 12-team, single-elimination tournament begins Thursday with first-round games and continues through Saturday's championship game. This year's tournament will be held at Goodman Diamond on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Once again this season, BTN will televise all 11 games of the Big Ten Softball Tournament live, with each game also available on the BTN2Go platform, either online at btn2go.com or through the BTN2Go app.

For more information on this year's tournament, including details on how to purchase all-session and single-session tickets, CLICK HERE.
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2018/5/6/softball-iu-earns-no-3-seed-in-big-ten-tournament.aspx

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,687]

The women were scheduled to play Illinois at 2:30 ET in Madison, WI but rain has thoroughly screwed up the schedule.  Unknown just when the Hoosiers will be able to start their game as the Wisconsin - Minnesota game is in the bottom of the 4th and has to conclude before the Hoosiers vs. Illinois can start.  Minny leads 4-0 and is the designated home team.

Once the rain stopped, the Badgers brought in some unusual help to aid drying out the field.

[TheWatShot 15,488]

The last couple decades, Wisconsin's athletic department has had a knack for thinking outside the box.

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

Tied at 1 going to the b of the 3rd

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

Taylor Uden with the walk off homer. Hoosiers advance.