Hoosiers hope to improve offense in Florida

The IU softball team gears up for its second weekend of games with the Fairfield Inn and Suites USF tournament in Clearwater, Fla., where the Hoosiers will face University of Alabama at Birmingham and DePaul on Friday.

The team looks to build on its 2-3 start from last weekend in Arizona. Sophomore pitcher Jessica Dobson said she feels the Hoosiers need to continue doing what they have been doing thus far. IU surrendered only 16 runs in five games during the Kajikawa Classic, and Dobson said she thinks the Hoosiers can continue playing well on defense in Florida.

“We did a great job of moving the ball around and keeping them off balance,” she said.
“I know we used a lot of off-speed pitches, and they were on their toes the whole game, and I don’t think they knew what to expect so we’re just going to carry that over into this weekend.”

A sore spot for the Hoosiers last weekend was the inconsistent offense; they scored 17 runs in two victories but managed one run in their three losses. Junior outfielder Lindsay Callanan said it comes down to staying patient at the plate.

“We need to make better adjustments in our at bats and learn off of each other and what the pitcher is throwing to the earlier batters so we can make adjustments down the lineup,” Callanan said.

Callanan said the Hoosiers feel confident about any team they may come up against and see bright things on the horizon no matter who their opponent happens to be.

“We go out there and play just like it’s another team,” she said. “They put their pants on the same way that we do, we have been playing softball just as long as they have and we like to go out and attack every team the same. And if they are ranked, they are ranked. We can compete with anybody.”

— Dennis Glade