Hoosiers go for 2nd straight weekend sweep

Mostly sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures await the IU softball team for this weekend’s NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. The tournament marks the Hoosiers’ third weekend of play in three consecutive weeks.
  
The Hoosiers start tournament play 1 p.m. Friday against UCF. Following its matchup with the 5-6 Knights, the team will then take on 0-3 Massachusetts at 6 p.m.

Coming off of their undefeated record at the Georgia Tech Classic, the Hoosiers are looking for a repeat of their 5-0 run last weekend.

“We have such momentum going into this weekend because we know we can win and we know we can sweep,” freshman catcher and first baseman Kassi Farmer said.
    
Four of Farmer’s six runs on the season came at last weekend’s tournament, and the freshman is currently posting a .357 batting average.

Hitting was a strong point for the team as a whole last weekend, as it scored 28 runs in the five games played. The Hoosiers are posting an overall batting average of .290, while holding opponents to .284.

Pitching has also been a key element to the team’s recent success. While the Hoosiers allowed 32 combined runs at the Feb. 8-10 Kajikawa Tournament, they only allowed five total runs in the Georgia Tech Classic. The group is now posting a 3.08 earned run average.

“Coming off a weekend where we saw a lot of success, we need to come out and make sure that we’re doing the same things and get better each weekend,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said.   

The Hoosiers continue tournament play on Saturday with a 10:30 a.m. game against 4-1 James Madison, followed by a 1 p.m. matchup with 4-1 Fordham. They finish off the weekend with a Sunday matchup against 6-2 Pacific at 10 a.m.

While there is no clear front-runner in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, the Hoosiers are preparing for tough matchups every game.

“It just depends on who shows up to play,” Gardner said of this weekend’s competition. “I really want to make sure that we pitch well, play good defense and execute at the plate. The bottom line is we just have to continue to get better every week.”

The team is hoping to have a repeat clean sweep performance and improve upon their current 7-3 record.

“Basically, we just have the same focus of going pitch by pitch, game by game, focusing one thing at a time and just trying to get the win,” Farmer said.