Hoosiers look to win first of final 3 conference series

The IU softball team (23-23, 7-8), will head to Iowa City, Iowa, to play its first in a string of three conference series during the next three weekends.

The Hawkeyes are (20-22, 10-5) this season after winning five of their last six games, grabbing two of those victories at home, where they have maintained a 6-4 record.

Indiana will be Iowa’s second opponent during the last three games of a five-game homestand that began with a doubleheader against Northern Iowa on Thursday night.
The matchup will be a return to Big Ten play for both teams after a Hoosier loss to No. 9 Louisville on Wednesday night.
 
In Iowa’s last Big Ten matchup, it swept Michigan State 6-0, 7-1 and 4-1.
 
Sophomore pitcher Kayla Massey’s play was honored with a Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week award following the series. During the series, she posted a 2-0 record while keeping a 0.50 ERA in three appearances. She allowed just 10 hits in 14 innings of work, striking out 10.

Before their series against the Spartans, the Hawkeyes won two out of three games against Nebraska, opening the series with a 7-4 loss followed by a 7-6 win and a 6-4 win.

Junior Iowa pitcher Chelsea Lyon returns this season after leading the team with 15 victories and 120 strikeouts as a sophomore last season. Last year, she pitched 16 complete games and shut out opponents twice.

Freshman Megan Blank leads the Hawkeyes this season with 50 hits in 122 at-bats for a .410 average. She leads the team in walks and doubles and has driven in 22 runs.

Junior Brandi Wall is also not to be overlooked. She joined the Hawkeye lineup after freshman and sophomore seasons at Iowa Western Community College where she batted .458 with 10 home runs and 72 RBI. She was also named a member of the Canadian Women’s National Baseball Team for the second time in 2011.

As the Hoosiers gear up for Iowa this weekend, they remain nearly even in Big Ten play. They have a chance to move toward the top of the conference standings as Saturday’s first game against Iowa marks the beginning of a nine-game conference stretch against Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan State.
 
Currently, Iowa and Nebraska are just two games out of first place, where Michigan is currently ranked. Michigan State has yet to grab a Big Ten win this season.

And though the end of the road is near, the Hoosiers are starting to peak from the batters box.

Although the Hoosiers have been out-hit three of their last five games, they continue to drive in the runners they do get on base. The Hoosiers have driven in more runs in the last week than in their first six games combined.

This weekend’s games begin with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday followed by a game at 2 p.m. Sunday.