IU softball had a rough start to the season, dropping three of its four games this weekend in the Kajikawa Classic.
The season kicked off Friday in a late-night doubleheader against Western Michigan and the Oregon State.
IU lost the first game to Western Michigan in a seventh-inning thriller by a final score of 5-4.
IU, down two to start the bottom of the seventh, was able to score one to cut the deficit to one, on a CaraMia Tsirigos RBI groundout, but IU left runners on second and third to end the game.
Senior Lora Olson picked up her first loss of the season, striking out four batters and giving up five runs on her way to a complete game.
The Hoosiers played Oregon State in their second game of the doubleheader, losing by a final score of 10-6.
IU pitcher Miranda Tamayo struggled in her first start of the 2015 season, earning the loss (0-1) by giving up eight earned runs and walks in 5 1/3 innings pitched.
Senior outfielder Shannon Cawley, after missing the entire 2014 season due to injury, hit her first home run of the year in the third inning against the Beavers.
“Shannon is a tremendous athlete and a tremendous competitor,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “We really missed her bat last season, and our team is completely different when she is in the lineup.”
After opening the Classic with two losses, the Hoosiers looked to bounce back on Saturday with a doubleheader against San Diego and No. 16 Arizona State.
In their first game against San Diego, the Hoosiers got into the win column for the first time, winning by a final score of 4-3.
Junior Michelle Huber and Tsirigos applied early run support for the Hoosiers, both hitting RBI singles, scoring freshmen Rebecca Blitz and Taylor Uden. But Uden provided the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning after an RBI single, scoring freshman Rachel O’Malley.
Olson also picked up her first win of the season (1-1), giving up three runs on her way to her second complete game.
Against Arizona State, the Hoosiers scored the first run of the game in the top of the third inning on a Cawley RBI double, scoring Blitz. It was one-sided from there on out.
The Sun Devils would answer the Hoosiers’ first strike with a six-run third inning, followed by one more run in the fifth and three more in the sixth. The Sun Devils went on to win 10-2 in six innings.
Huber hit her first home run of the season for the Hoosiers, while the rocky start continued for Tamayo, who gave up six runs — three unearned — in just 2 1/3 innings pitched to pick up her second loss of the season (0-2).
IU closed out the Classic on Sunday against Utah Valley, losing 4-1.
Blitz scored the lone run of the game for the Hoosiers on a wild pitch in the sixth inning.
Olson pitched for the Hoosiers and recorded a career-high seven strikeouts before being replaced in the fifth inning.
“I really felt good on the mound,” Olson said. “I was focused on one pitch at a time, and Dobson was making me look back behind the plate.”
The Hoosiers ended the Kajikawa Classic with a 1-4 record to start the season.
A lot of freshmen saw playing time this weekend, and Gardner was impressed with the play of Rebecca Blitz, who is off to a hot start in her freshman campaign. Over her first five games, Blitz is batting 9-17 with five runs scored and is 4-for-4 on stolen bases.
“It’s the same game,” Blitz said. “I’m just seeing the ball, hitting, and trying to do whatever I can to help my team win.”
Gardner believes the sky is the limit for this freshman class.
“Every game, I saw something in these young girls,” Gardner said. “They do nothing but get better and better.”
The Hoosiers will be back in action next weekend as they travel to Henderson, Nev., to take part in the Wilson/DeMarini Classic.
