Column: Softball starts off season on a good note

Although the weather is still cold in most parts of the country, the softball season has begun.

Through their first two tournaments, the Hoosiers are 7-3 and starting to heat up.

IU lost three of their first five games in the Kajikawa Tournament to three top-25 ranked Pac-12 conference teams.

Losing to highly ranked teams will help build character for this team in the long run.
This past weekend at the Georgia Tech Classic, Indiana went undefeated in the tournament.

The Hoosiers won all five games, including two wins against the home team, No. 24 Georgia Tech.

IU really brought out their bats by outscoring opponents 28-5 in their five victories.

To start off the tournament, the Hoosiers beat Miami (Ohio) 10-0 in five innings, including their first mercy rule win of the season.

Junior pitcher Meaghan Murphy tossed a no-hitter, which was the first for the program since 2009.

Not only was the pitching there, but the team also hit the ball really well.

Senior infielder Breanna Saucedo, sophomore utility Shannon Cawley and freshman catcher Kelsey Dotson all had multiple-hit games against the RedHawks.

IU also had two 2-1 victories against Marshall during their next two games.

These early season wins will help provide confidence to a team with four more nonconference tournaments until Big Ten play.

One of the main reasons for the program’s success is due to head Coach Michelle Gardner.

Gardner has helped transform this program and got them back to prominence and what it is today.

Gardner’s first two seasons were a bit of a struggle. The Hoosiers went 22-75 in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

IU was having problems defeating teams like Radford, Long Island and Jacksonville State in Gardner’s first two seasons.

After the first two losing seasons, the program enjoyed success during the next two years. 

In 2011, the Hoosiers went 37-18 and 17-3 in Big Ten play.

The next year, IU finished the season at 30-25.

This was the first time since 1989 and 1990 that the Hoosiers posted two back-to-back 30-win seasons. 

It’s impressive to see the major change after Gardner’s first two seasons at the helm.

During her time at Indiana, there have been 10 players to earn All-Big Ten honors, including three First Team All-Big Ten players.

There were only two First Team All-Big Ten players through 2001-10.

Players like Morgan Melloh, Sara Olson and Jennifer Glueckert helped build this program back to where it is today.

This just shows that Gardner is recruiting the right players and developing their skills to help bring success back to this program.

When IU starts to play home games in mid-March, they will be playing on the brand new Andy Mohr Field.

This facility will really help this program’s ability to recruit and please the athletes’ playing experience on the field.

But before then, there are three more nonconference tournaments the team has to play in.

This upcoming weekend, the Hoosiers head to Florida for the NFCA Leadoff Classic for another five-game weekend.

IU needs to continue their early season success into the next three weekend tournaments to set themselves up for the rest of the year.
­
— amsiegal@indiana.edu