IU faces Ball State, Evansville this week

Just when the IU softball team started winning in the Big Ten, it goes back to non-conference action.

IU (8-24, 1-5) plays Evansville (11-21) in a home doubleheader today and travels to Ball State (24-9) on Wednesday.

“We are going to use these next non-conference teams to really build on our skills for the upcoming Big Ten games,” senior outfielder Jennifer Glueckert said.

The Hoosiers broke their 10-game losing streak against Michigan State with a 6-4 victory on Saturday and look to build off that feeling.

“We need to keep our energy and intensity up in the next couple games,” senior infielder Kristin King said.

Evansville is led by junior outfielder Jen Stahlhut, who is first on the team with a .313 batting average and 96 at-bats.

On the pitching side, freshman Kendall Kautz is first on the team with a 2.98 ERA, nine complete games and 75 strikeouts.

Glueckert leads the Hoosiers with a .360 batting average and two triples.
In the two-game series against Michigan State, junior pitcher Sara Olson (5-10) pitched 13.1 innings had 12 strikeouts and only gave up six hits.

On Wednesday, IU will face Ball State, a team it has more experience against. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series 40-30 and have won two of the last three matchups.

Senior infielder Jessie Ware leads the Cardinals with a .414 batting average and is tied for first with 4 HR.

Senior pitcher Elizabeth Milian leads the team with a 1.30 ERA, 18 complete games and 166 strikeouts.

After finally picking up a victory, the Hoosiers found out what they need to do to keep the winning ways.

“I think we learned that as soon as we get down, we need to come back and score again,” King said.