Going for first Big Ten win

Having split both of its doubleheaders this week, the IU softball team goes into this weekend's competition against Illinois and Purdue in search of its first win in Big Ten play.\nThe Hoosiers head to Illinois (23-16, 3-5 Big Ten) tonight for a 6 p.m. game. IU (11-21-1, 0-8) and the Illini will also battle at noon Saturday in Champaign, Ill. The Hoosiers then travel to West Lafayette to take on rival Purdue (29-15, 0-6) in a doubleheader starting at noon Sunday.\nSophomore outfielder Abby Stark said the Hoosiers can be successful through the rest of the Big Ten season if they can play like they did in their 4-3 loss to Michigan last weekend. \n"(The Michigan game) was a good morale booster for us," Stark said. "We have the rest of the Big Ten to go, and if we play like we did as well as we did (against Michigan), we are going to win a lot more games."\nIllinois comes into the weekend on a three-game winning streak, including a doubleheader sweep of Indiana State on Wednesday. Both of the Illini wins over Indiana State were shutouts, including a five-inning no-hitter. Purdue enters its games vs. IU following a sweep of Ball State. The Boilermakers also traveled to play Notre Dame yesterday.\nPurdue swept IU in last year's games, posting 3-1 and 4-1 victories, but IU leads the all-time series 19-16. Last year was the first time in school history the Hoosiers had taken on the Illini. Illinois and IU split their games, with Illinois winning 2-1 and IU posting a 5-0 shutout.\nSenior captain Brooke Monroe said the Hoosiers will have to limit their miscues to have success against the Illini and Boilermakers this season.\n"We need to come out a lot more aggressive to win and cut down on our mistakes," Monroe said.\nIn recent games, IU coach Diane Stephenson has switched up the Hoosier batting order. In the doubleheader against Evansville, Stephenson's top four hitters were Monroe, Stark, junior third baseman Stormy Hanson and first baseman Heather Stillians.\nStephenson said the move was an attempt to generate more offense by putting hot hitters together in the order.\n"I am just trying to pack in people that are swinging their bats well," Stephenson said. "We are trying to find different parts of the order to score."\nSophomore shortstop Lindsay Hamma leads Illinois, hitting .462 with 10 doubles and 24 RBIs. Freshman pitcher Abby Lovejoy and sophomore hurler Sherri Taylor lead the Illini pitching staff. Lovejoy is 7-0 on the year with a 1.92 ERA. Taylor has a 12-12 record with six shutouts and 18 complete games in 21 starts and a 2.18 ERA.\nFreshman infielder Andrea Hillsey leads Purdue's offense. Hillsey is hitting a team-high .362. Senior shortstop Katie Crabtree is hitting .340 for the Boilermakers with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. The Purdue pitching staff boasts two 10-game winners, with senior Nicole Crouse having a 10-5 record and junior Leighann Burke sporting a 12-7 mark on the year. Crouse leads the Boilermaker pitchers with a 1.55 ERA and six shutouts.\nThe Hoosiers look to carry the momentum from their win in the nightcap of their doubleheader Wednesday at Evansville into the weekend games. IU's win over Evansville gave Stephenson the 400th win in her coaching career.\n"If you stay somewhere long enough, you're bound to add up some numbers," Stephenson said of reaching the milestone. "It is always nice, and I always think that those things are very indicative of the players that you have had come through your program"