IU will be host to ACC title contender Louisville on Tuesday as the Hoosiers take on their first non-conference opponent in nearly three weeks.
Louisville (26-9, 11-4) presents a test for IU (22-16, 5-6) and provides them relief from a Big Ten schedule they have struggled with recently.
The Hoosiers went 2-3 in their Big Ten games last week against Purdue and Penn State, but IU remains firmly in the mix in the Big Ten standings.
Early in the season, the freshmen pitching duo of Tara Trainer and Josie Wood carried IU through some low-scoring affairs, but the Hoosier offense has produced more consistently since Big Ten play began.
Wood and Trainer both had rough outings against Penn State that lifted their ERAs to 3.25 and 3.26, respectively.
The third member of the pitching staff, sophomore pitcher Emily Kirk, started Sunday and delivered with a complete game victory.
In what was Kirk’s first career win, the Hoosiers mercy-ruled Penn State 11-2. After the game, Kirk praised the offense for its run support.
“It makes it so much easier to go out there and do your job,” Kirk said. “You can help out your teammates while they’re helping you out too.”
Louisville visits Andy Mohr Field following a series with Virginia Tech when the Cardinals took two out of three.
Like the Hoosiers, Louisville has just a trio of pitchers, with two who have thrown nearly all of the Cardinals’ innings.
The star for Louisville is junior Maryssa Becker, who leads the team in both hitting and pitching. Becker is batting .426 with seven homers and 46 RBIs.
In the circle, she has pitched more than half of Louisville’s innings and sports a 2.06 ERA.
IU Coach Michelle Gardner said she hoped Sunday’s blowout win over Penn State would get the Hoosiers in a positive state of mind and give them confidence heading into the matchup with Louisville.
“We need to come out and have a good game against them, and find a way to win,” Gardner said. “The thing that I like is hopefully we have some momentum now.”
The bottom of the lineup will be key for the Hoosiers. The regular last three hitters have all seen their batting averages improve over the past month.
Sophomore infielders Taylor Uden, Rachel O’Malley and freshman shortstop Sarah Galovich, typically bat in the last three spots of the order.
Uden hit a three-run homer to end Sunday’s game against the Nittany Lions, while Galovich had four hits during the series. O’Malley’s seven hits in Big Ten play is good for fifth on the team.
Sunday’s surprise performance from Kirk and the offensive outburst that accompanied it have the Hoosiers confident about Tuesday’s game, but the team knows it will have to minimize mistakes if they are to beat Louisville.
“We’re going to need to continue to hit the ball, obviously,” Kirk said. “And on the other side of it, we have to go after their batters, and try to get ahead in the count more.”
