Hoosiers stress need to "stay together" this weekend

The IU softball team (19-28, 3-13 Big Ten) takes on Wisconsin (35-9, 12-5 Big Ten) this weekend in its final home Big Ten series.

Game one is set for 6 p.m. Friday, followed immediately after by game two of the series. The Hoosiers will close out the series with a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday, which will also be senior day.

“We just need to stay together (this weekend),” junior outfielder Jenna Abraham said. “Obviously we’ve been struggling with some injuries, and we just need to stay as a team and keep working hard.”

The Hoosiers are 6-6 in games played at Andy Mohr Field this season, while the Badgers hold a 10-6 record at away games.

Wisconsin has been receiving votes in the national rankings, as one of the first three teams out in the most recent polls.

The Badger offensive attack is led by the .427 batting average of junior outfielder Mary Massei, while the team posts a .308 batting average. Massei is also second in the Big Ten Conference in hits this season with 64. Senior outfielder Whitney Massey is tied with IU’s senior infielder Amanda Wagner for most doubles in the Big Ten with 15.

Senior Meghan McIntosh leads off the Badger pitching squad with a 1.64 earned run average, while the team is posting a 1.85 earned run average. The Badgers have outscored their opponents 216-104 this season.

Wisconsin heads into Bloomington coming off a six game winning streak, most recently taking both games in their home doubleheader with Northwestern on Wednesday.

Wagner leads the IU offense with her .445 batting average, in comparison to the .243 batting average of the team as a whole.The Hoosiers have been outscored by opponents 203-167 in their 2013 campaign.

Junior Meaghan Murphy leads the Hoosier pitching squad with a 2.99 earned run average, while the team is posting a 3.52 earned run average.

The Hoosiers head into the weekend series off of a 5-2 loss to Ball State on Tuesday. Senior outfielder Samantha Heyman and Abraham led the offensive attack for the Hoosiers in that game with two hits apiece, while Heyman also scored a run in the matchup.

“I think we all communicated really well and we stayed together as a team,” Heyman said of Tuesday’s game. “I think we just need to come together and we need to get excited for this weekend and win some ball games.”

The Hoosiers had three errors on Tuesday that contributed to their loss to Ball State.
“We have to be better defensively,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “(This weekend we need) cleaner defense.”

Wisconsin is currently third in the Big Ten Conference team standings, while IU is 11th.

The Hoosiers are currently riding an eight game losing streak.

Despite the team’s recent losses, Abraham said the team is going to keep pushing themselves and not quit.

“We need to get a lot of sleep, even though it’s finals week, and get a lot of rest and stay together as a team and fight hard,” Abraham said.