Falling back

At 0-12 in the Big Ten, the IU softball team is off to its worst start in school history to begin conference play. Illinois (25-16, 5-5 Big Ten) and rival Purdue (31-16, 2-6) both swept the Hoosiers in a two-game series over the weekend.\nThe Illini knocked off the Hoosiers by counts of 2-1 and a 9-4 affair that ended in eight innings. In Friday\'s game against Illinois, IU freshman pitcher Katie Witham got the starting nod. Witham allowed just two runs on eight hits over six innings, but took the loss as the Hoosiers' offense managed only four hits and one run off of Illini sophomore pitcher Sherri Taylor.\nIt appeared that IU may have scored the tying run in the sixth inning, but Abby Stark was called out at a close play at the plate, keeping the score at 2-1. IU was unable to push across the tying run in the seventh, and went down in defeat.\nThe Hoosier offense came to life in Saturday's game as they knocked Taylor out of the game by posting three runs in the first two innings. Jumping out to a 3-0 lead after two innings and 4-1 lead after three innings, IU was in control. But Illinois chipped away, scoring single runs in every inning from the third to the sixth to knot the score at 4-4.\nIllinois scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning on two Hoosier errors to claim a 9-4 lead. Freshman Illini hurler Abby Lovejoy shut down the Hoosier hitters, allowing only three hits and one run in her six innings of work.\nFollowing Saturday's match-up with the Illini, IU (11-25-1, 0-12) traveled to West Lafayette to battle Purdue in a doubleheader. Three Hoosier errors in the opener put IU in a 5-0 deficit after five innings. The Hoosiers rallied with three runs in the sixth to cut the Purdue lead to 5-3, but the Boilermakers added a run in the bottom of the sixth to increase their advantage. IU was unable to score in the seventh and fell 6-3 to Purdue.\nMuch like the second game of the Illinois series, IU jumped out to an early lead in the nightcap of the doubleheader against Purdue. Leading 3-1 after three innings and 3-2 heading into the seventh, it appeared as though the Hoosiers might get their first conference win. The same thing that has hampered the team all year came back to cost them \nthe victory. With the help of four more Hoosier errors, Purdue\nhad a five-run seventh inning to take a 7-3 lead. IU closed to within 7-4 in the bottom of the seventh, but was not able to keep the rally alive.\nSenior captain Brooke Monroe led the Hoosier offense on the weekend, going 6 for 13 in the four games and knocking two more home runs to take the team lead with seven on the year. Monroe also had four runs scored and two runs batted in on the weekend.\nThe Hoosiers return to the field as they host IU-Purdue University Indianapolis on Tuesday at the IU Softball Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.