In OSU series, Hoosiers win 1 of 3

The IU softball team went 1-2 this weekend in its Big Ten opening series against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. The three-game matchup marked the team’s first of eight series in Big Ten play.

In the series opener on Friday, the Hoosiers fell 9-5 to the Buckeyes. After neither team posted runs in the first two innings, IU took the lead 3-0 in the top of the third.

Ohio State responded with three runs of its own in the bottom of the third to tie the game. In the remaining four innings, the Buckeyes drove in six runs to the Hoosiers’ two, securing the win.

Sophomore infielder Brianna Meyer and senior infielder Amanda Wagner both posted two runs in the matchup, with sophomore utility player Shannon Cawley claiming the other run for the Hoosiers.

After a combined pitching effort by junior Meaghan Murphy, sophomore Lora Olson and freshman Brooke Boetjer, Olson would take the loss to fall to 6-6 on the season.

“We did a lot of things right,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said of the Hoosiers’ weekend series. “We scored runs, I had three kids absolutely tear it up at the plate this weekend. We battled on Friday, we battled at the plate and we were able to score runs, but we didn’t have a complete game.”

IU claimed the win in the team’s Saturday afternoon matchup, snapping the Buckeyes’ seven-game winning streak. The two teams went back and forth for nearly three hours before the Hoosiers secured the 6-4 win in a nine-inning game.

“We did a great job of bouncing back and hanging in there the second game,” Wagner said.

IU dropped the series finale 8-2 in the second game of their Saturday doubleheader. The Buckeyes led the entire game, with the Hoosiers’ lone runs coming in the fourth inning. Wagner and Cawley each posted a single run in the team’s three-hit, two-run effort. Murphy took the loss for the Hoosiers, falling to 9-9 on the season.

“(Ohio State) started off the game with a homerun, which was kind of a tone setter,” Gardner said. “We still battled and did good things. Pitching wise we’ve got to get stronger, and that hopefully will come around.”

IU falls to 16-16 on the season, while going 1-2 in conference play and 4-4 in away games.

“(We’re going to) just keep pushing through and keep our focus on our goal to be Big Ten Champs and eventually make the post season,” Wagner said.

Gardner said the team is planning on getting some rest this week, as well as practicing defense and technical aspects of their game. She cited poor weather conditions as one disadvantage for the team this year, as they were able to begin practicing outside in February last year.

“It’s tough right now because it’s so grueling getting to this point. It’s been a long road already and there is a lot of Big Ten play to be done,” Gardner said. “What’s different for us right now is during the week while we’re here we haven’t been able to be outside. That plays into it too, not getting all of the defensive work in that we would do normally in between series.”

The Hoosiers return to action March 29, in East Lansing, Mich., for a three-game series with Michigan State.

“It’s still early and we’ve got a lot of season left to play,” Gardner said. “What I love about our schedule is we have a Big Ten Tournament at the end of the season, so we still have a long way to go and a lot of time to put everything together.”