IU continues home stretch against Purdue

The IU softball team takes on Purdue (16-22, 3-6 Big Ten) this weekend in its second home Big Ten series.

The Hoosiers (19-20, 3-6 Big Ten) kick off the three-game series with a 6 p.m. game Friday at Andy Mohr Field. The second game of the weekend is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by the series finale 1 p.m. Sunday.

“I think since we’re playing an in-state rival we’ll have a lot of energy and then (we need to) have all three components, pitching, hitting and defense, clicking and working as one together,” senior infielder Amanda Wagner said.

IU is coming off of a 2-1 record in their most recent Big Ten series with Penn State. The pitching team of junior Meaghan Murphy, sophomore Lora Olson and freshman Brooke Boetjer allowed a combined nine runs on the weekend.

Murphy was part of both victories in the series, while Olson was dealt the lone loss of the weekend and Boetjer earned one save in the series finale. Five different IU players scored runs while eight different players posted hits on the weekend.

Purdue comes into Bloomington off of a 7-4 win against Loyola, in which four players posted multi-hit games for the Boilermakers. The team went 1-2 in their most recent Big Ten series against Michigan State.

Junior outfielder Lindsey Rains leads the Boilermaker offense with a .361 batting average on the season, while the team is posting a .313 batting average overall. Sophomore pitcher Lexy Moore leads the Purdue pitching squad with a 3.41 earned run average, while the team is posting a 3.91 earned run average overall.

Wagner leads the Hoosier offense with a .456 batting average, while the team is posting a .251 batting average on the season. Both Murphy and Olson lead in pitching with a 2.82 earned run average each, while the team has a 3.24 earned run average on the season.

“I think we’re in a good place,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “Right now it’s us continuing to grow week by week and be able to put everything together this weekend.”

The Hoosiers are currently in their longest home stretch of the season, with Friday being their fifth of nine games in a row at Andy Mohr Field. The team has gone 3-1 so far in the nine game stretch, while going 6-1 at home on the season. The Hoosiers are 45-7 in games played in Bloomington since the 2011 season.

“We like being at home,” Gardner said. “The kids are more comfortable, it’s just a matter of us continuing to work and grow. When we’re at home we have to take advantage of it.”

Both IU and Purdue head into the weekend series tied for seventh place in the Big Ten team standings.

“It’s nice to finally be in your own comfort zone and your own element,” Wagner said of the team’s current home stretch. “It’s our house, and we need to protect it.”