Scouting this weekend’s Louisville Slugger Desert Classic

The Hoosier softball team will continue its season this weekend in Las Vegas at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic.

Indiana (2-2) faces Utah (2-2) at 2:15 p.m. in its Friday opener.

In its previous tournament, Utah hit .360 in its wins against Western Michigan and Portland State. Utah features senior infielder Whitney Holm, who hit three home runs throughout their season opening tournament.

The Hoosiers will have to bat around senior pitcher Genarra Nielson. Nielson pitched 17 strikeouts while allowing only five runs in 19 total innings throughout the tournament.

The Hoosiers’ next game will be against Long Beach State (3-2).

The 49ers swept the Big West Conference weekly honors with their performance this past weekend. Sophomore Erin Jones-Wesley and freshman Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi were named Pitcher of the Week and Player of the Week, respectively. Young players lay the foundation for this team, as Jones-Wesley went undefeated while pitching 24 strikeouts in three games with a 1.64 ERA. Tupua-Tautalatasi averaged .368 after knocking her first homer of the season in the 49ers win against Fresno State in the final game of the tournament.

Opening Saturday the Hoosiers will face Brigham Young University (3-2).

After a season-opening 22-5 loss against Oregon State, the Cougars defeated No. 15 Texas A&M 3-2 in the second game of the Kajikawa Classic. Throughout the tournament this past week, senior outfielder Delaney Willard hit .529 while scoring six runs and batting in nine. Williard also collected three home runs. After losing their second game of this past Saturday, BYU defeated its second-straight ranked opponent in a 2-1 win against No. 11 Oregon.

The Hoosiers have yet to concede a run against the Cougars, going 2-0 since 2004. The Cougars will look for a successful return to the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic this weekend after going 4-1 this past year, losing only to then-No. 18 Stanford.

Following the BYU game, the Hoosiers then face Utah State (2-2).

The Aggies feature six returning starters from this past season, including three pitchers: juniors Mandy Harmon and Shelbi Tyteca and senior Dani Chaplin. Junior Christine Thomsen led the Aggies’ offensive power this past week with a .600 slugging percentage while only striking out once in nine at-bats. Indiana has only recorded one win in five games against Utah State.

In the final game of the tournament, the Hoosiers are set to face Memphis (2-2).
The Tigers, who recently placed fourth in the Conference USA preseason poll, feature junior pitcher Carly Hummel and senior first baseman Jessica Philips.  After a loss to No. 2 Alabama in the season opener, the Tigers recorded 11 hits with a six-run inning to defeat this past year’s NCAA regional finalist Jacksonville State in the Mardi Gras Invitational this past weekend.

The Hoosiers look to overcome a weekend of stiff competition to keep the momentum going from their crushing 9-1 win against Santa Clara in five innings this past Saturday.