IU faces ups, downs in Oklahoma, wins at home

The Hoosiers faced difficult competition during break before returning to Bloomington for the Hoosier Classic on Friday.

On March 9-11, the Hoosiers competed in the Oklahoma Spring Festival in Norman, Okla. The Hoosiers finished the weekend 2-3, winning both games against Wichita State (6-18) and losing three games to then-No. 8 Oklahoma (24-3).

In the first game against Wichita State, Indiana pulled ahead to a 11-0 shutout in five innings. The Hoosiers put on a hitting clinic going 12-for-23, earning a .522 team batting average. Senior Heather Nelson went 2-for-3, batting in three of the team’s 10 RBIs.

However, in the next game, Oklahoma turned the bats around and gave Indiana a taste of its own medicine in a 14-0 Oklahoma win in five innings.

The rest of the tournament stayed close with a 6-3 Hoosier win against Wichita State on March 10, followed by a 4-1 loss to Oklahoma the following day. Oklahoma finished the home tournament, however, with another near shutout, defeating the Hoosiers 12-1 in the final game.

The Oklahoma Spring Festival was the fifth in a row for the Hoosiers before they returned to Bloomington on Friday.

In Friday’s games, Indiana defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago 4-3 and Central Michigan 5-3.

Both wins were the outcomes of late-inning rallies from junior Amanda Wagner and seniors Cassie Gogreve, Samantha Berenter and Lindsay Callahan.

Junior Kelsey Brannon also knocked in the insurance run in the Central Michigan game.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers continued their undefeated tournament play streak with a 4-2 win against Wright State.

The Hoosiers went into Sunday’s game against UIC just one win away from completing their first weekend sweep of the season on their first weekend home stand of the season.

— Justin Shockey