Coach believes team close to 'breakout'

Close.\nThat word has defined the first three weeks of the IU women's softball season.\nClose to bringing in runners to score.\nClose to securing the holes in the defense.\nClose to getting the win to put them over the top.\nDespite not being able to capitalize on chances against ranked opponents so far this season, coach Stacey Phillips said she believes her young team is ready for a defining win as the cream and crimson head off for a seven-day Florida road trip.\n"I think we are on the verge of a breakout," Phillips said. "We are playing top competition and we are playing them close. We think about how level of a playing field we are with them and how we are right there. We just need that one breakout and we hope we are able to hit that notch this weekend."\nIU has been close to winning in all three of its games against ranked opponents University of Oklahoma and University of Louisville. While the Hoosiers showed flashes of brilliance, they were unable to score runs with runners in scoring position.\n"We played solid defense, we could sharpen it up a bit," Phillips said. "We just need to hit the ball. We had runners in scoring position four of the seven innings and we need to capitalize on it. We aren't having the sense of urgency to get that runner across."\nWith a roster containing nine freshmen and sophomores, Phillips said she believes once the team learns how to win big games, it will be easier to have success against top teams.\n"We need to know how it feels to win," Phillips said. "We are capable of knowing what it looks, feels and tastes like to win this year, but we have to get there to feel it and so we can want it more."\nHeading into a stretch where the Hoosiers could play 11 games in 10 days, the cream and crimson will rely heavily on the pitching of seniors Megan Roark and Mariangee Bogado. Having friendly competition between two high-caliber pitchers makes the whole team better, Bogado said.\n"I think it's like a battle between Megan and me," Bogado said. "It helps push us to do better every time. If she strikes out 10 batters, I want to strike out 12 batters the next game. It's competition."\nThat competition has spread throughout the team and has the team members supporting each other more so than in previous years.\n"I think this team is much more of an actual team than the last two years," sophomore infielder Jennilee Huddleston said. "We are all ready to pick each other up when we need to."\nPhillips said she believes this weekend the team can break through and play for a championship.\n"We hope that we can play a team like Florida State in their stadium and win," Phillips said. "No matter who we are playing, we need to play consistently. We are really battling ourselves a little more than who we are actually playing. We need to not focus on who we are playing and just focus on winning the game"