Louisville defeats Hoosiers in close game

In the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs, the IU softball team still had one chance to salvage what looked like another road loss. \nIt seemed as if they would seize the moment when freshman right fielder Jennifer Glueckert singled to give the Hoosiers their first hit of the day, and was followed by sophomore second baseman Sarah Padove’s shot to left field .\nLater in the inning both runners moved up on a wild pitch to put runners at second and third for junior Jennilee Huddleston. But when Huddleston grounded out the only shot the Hoosiers had fired, a win turned out to be a blank.\nIU lost 1-0 to a Louisville squad that sophomore pitcher Monica Wright kept in check. IU coach Stacey Phillips said she was pleased with Wright’s performance.\n“I thought Monica pitched really well and kept the offense off balance,” Phillips said. “Unfortunately the defense didn’t help her, and we couldn’t put the ball on the bat.”\nDespite their late push, the Hoosiers managed to end the game scoreless and that lack of offense was largely the reason for IU’s loss. The Hoosiers, who have been on a relatively cold streak, didn’t post any offense on the board until the sixth inning. \nThe game was one that lacked much offensive output from either side. \nLouisville had five hits, but they all came as the result of the performance of a few. Only seniors Audrey Rendon and Courtney Moore registered hits in the game, while sophomore Brooke McCrain earned the lone RBI for the Cardinals.\nThe Cardinals managed to get hits in tight spots. \nThough they didn’t have a large amount of offense on the day, they were able to bat in Rendon for their only run on the day. Phillips said they failed to make in-game adjustments to stop Louisville’s experienced hitters.\nThat tough hitting was exactly what the Hoosiers were missing. Phillips said her team needed someone to lead.\n“We needed someone to step up and hit the ball,” Phillips said. “We need to take advantage of the opportunities available to us instead of letting them slide by.”\nThough the Hoosiers didn’t have someone step up when they really needed it, Glueckert and Padove provided a spark for the Hoosiers. Phillips said she was happy with the two players, but they needed more of that from others.\n“I was excited to see those two (Glueckert and Padove) do their job by getting in scoring position,” Phillips said. “Hitting with two outs is the name of the game and we didn’t do that today.”