Softball team opens season with 2 wins, 3 losses in tourney

Weeks of preparation left the Hoosiers itching to get their season started. When it began, they responded with a 5-2 victory against Virginia in the Triangle Classic at North Carolina State. But the young Hoosiers were unable to maintain their momentum, as they walked away from Raleigh with a 2-3 record.\nCo-captain and sophomore Stormy Hanson said she feels the team proved it had the ability in the first game of the tournament. The next step is playing confidently during each game.\n"The first day, we came out ready to play and expecting to win against Virginia," Hanson said. "We're at the point where we know we can win; we just have to put it all together every game."\nJunior Alison Cooke led the Hoosiers against the Cavaliers, pitching seven innings, while recording four strikeouts to earn the win. At the plate, IU was led by sophomore Lisa Mattke, who went 2-for-3, and junior Brooke Monroe, who went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs.\nAfter their Friday afternoon victory against Virginia, the Hoosiers suffered their first defeat at the hands of Elon College in nine innings. The 5-4 loss was the first of three one-run losses for the Hoosiers during the weekend. \nMonroe again led the Hoosiers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Hanson turned in a multiple-hit game for IU, going 2-for-2 while scoring a run and knocking in another.\nMattke turned in another strong performance, this time on the mound, where she pitched all nine innings, allowing only two earned runs.\nWhile the Hoosiers tallied 10 hits against the Phoenix, IU was unable to find contributors at the bottom of the lineup. Of the Hoosiers' 29 hits for the tournament, 21 were supplied by the top four hitters in the batting order.\n"We should have produced more hits," Hanson said. "The upper half produced, but the bottom half, we have to find the right combination. We just didn't face the caliber of pitchers we're going to face in the Big Ten."\nSaturday, the Hoosiers faced the Blackbirds from Long Island, and suffered another extra-inning loss, 1-0. IU wasted an exceptional outing from Cooke, who went eight innings, yielding only four hits.\nThe Hoosier bats fell silent against the Blackbirds, as the team managed a mere three hits.\nA 1-2 record sent the Hoosiers into the bronze bracket and a meeting with Radford, which the Hoosiers shut out 4-0.\nMattke again led the Hoosiers, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored. Junior Moe Bullock also had a strong game, going 2-for-2, scoring 2 runs.\nOn the mound, freshman Heather Stillians turned in an outstanding game, pitching seven scoreless innings.\nWhatever confidence the Hoosiers gained from their victory evaporated in their final game of the tournament, in which they fell 2-1 to Ohio.\nThe Hoosiers struggled at the plate, managing two hits. Another stellar pitching performance went to waste, as Cooke picked up another tough loss after seven strong innings.\n"Our pitching staff had an excellent performance for the weekend," Hanson said. "I feel bad for Alison (Cooke) and Lisa (Mattke), who (lost) the one-run games."\n Hanson felt the team proved it can play well. \n "The bottom line is we came out flat against Ohio," she said. "We need to get to the point where we're ready to play every game the second we step onto the field for warm ups"