Evansville 'Ace' spoils Hoosiers' home opener

Valuable lessons can be learned from a loss.\nBut it becomes harder to accept losing as a learning experience when it happens twice in one day. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned in the softball team's 5-2 and 4-3 losses to Evansville Tuesday was a tutorial in "Maggie Ross 101."\nThe ace of the Aces' pitching staff was the Missouri Valley Conference's Pitcher of the Year in 2000, and if any Hoosiers (9-17) didn't know of her abilities before, they know now.\n"We made her into an All-American," coach Diane Stephenson said. "She looked really good. We just couldn't hit her."\nRoss didn't start either of the two games, but was inserted at crucial moments in the Hoosiers' comeback attempts. When the day was done, Ross walked away with two saves, having given up only two hits in 6 2/3 innings.\n"She's really a good pitcher," catcher Brooke Monroe, a junior, said. "We just couldn't capitalize off her today."\nPerhaps it was the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd for the first time this season, but the Hoosiers got down early in the first game and weren't able to recover. The Aces took a 1-0 lead on a controversial play as UE senior Jessica Huff tried to score from second base. Monroe tagged Huff, who had seemingly slid over the plate, but the home plate umpire called Huff safe.\n"I thought I got her," Monroe said after the game. "Plays can go either way. They can either make you or break you. It was a tough call."\nHuff struck again later with a solo home run in the fourth off of IU junior starter Alison Cooke, her fourth of the year. \nThe Hoosiers responded in the bottom of the fourth as a freak play allowed them back into the game. Sophomore Katie Joy nailed a line drive that hit Ace pitcher Lissa Conn in the foot. It apparently stunned Conn, as she overthrew first base on the play, allowing freshman Heather Stillians to move to third base. Conn then loaded the bases by walking IU freshman Crystal Cooke. Consecutive RBI singles by senior Melissa Narewski and freshman Abby Stark gave IU its only two runs of the game. \nWith the bases still loaded, Evansville coach Gwen Lewis turned to Ross, who retired sophomore Stormy Hanson and Monroe to end the inning and any chance IU had at a comeback. The Aces won 5-2.\n"I thought we came out ready to win, but we got down a couple runs; it kind of deflated us," Monroe said. "We didn't really bounce back the way we should." \nTwo positive notes from game one were the play of Stark and senior Jen Smith. Stark, who has struggled at the plate, was the Hoosiers' offensive leader in game one, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. The hits were Stark's first in March. Smith came on in relief of Cooke and pitched three hitless innings.\nGame 2 represented a chance at redemption for the Hoosiers, especially for Cooke as starting pitcher. After taking the loss in Game 1, Stephenson decided to stick with Cooke as the starter in Game 2.\n"In the first game, (Alison) got hit pretty hard, she gave up a lot of hits and I don't think she really came with her A game," Stephenson said. "But I think the second game she definitely threw well enough to win."\nCooke had reason for optimism when the Hoosiers took a 2-0 lead in the third, as Hanson smacked a home run … barely. Aces left fielder Emily Winterscaught the ball, but she dropped the ball over the fence.\n"Yeah, (it was a) real long fly ball," Hanson said. "I was just happy to get a hit."\nThe home run sparked the Hoosiers, who scored again when Stark drove Cook home with an RBI double in the fourth. But once again, it was Ross to the rescue. Ross entered in the fifth and shut out IU during the final three innings.\nThe Hoosiers didn't help themselves in the field either, as two crucial errors in the fourth and fifth innings led to Evansville scores. When all was said and done, the Hoosiers had dropped four runs, the lead and the doubleheader. Cooke (7-10) took the complete-game loss, tossing her 14th complete game of the season.\n"I don't know what happened," Stephenson said. "We play not to lose, and we're losing right now. That's a problem. We need to be more aggressive at the plate and more solid in the field. We have to play to win. That's it"