The Hoosiers travel to New Jersey to take on the Scarlet Knights this weekend for their second straight Big Ten series on the road.
IU (24-19, 6-8 in the Big Ten) is riding its first two-game winning streak in nearly a month, while Rutgers (20-26, 4-10) enters the series following a midweek sweep against Maryland in a doubleheader.
Wednesday saw the Hoosiers pull off a 7-1 win against Ball State thanks to a strong performance from sophomore pitcher Emily Kirk. She has started and earned the victory in each of IU’s last three wins.
“We’re all just feeding off of each other right now,” Kirk said. “My strength is keeping the ball down and getting them to swing, so I’m going to continue to rely on my defense.”
Kirk’s recent performances have set her ERA at a season-low 3.31. IU ranks fifth in the Big Ten with a 3.44 ERA. Freshmen pitchers Josie Wood and Tara Trainer round out the rotation, but both have dealt with some freshman struggles recently.
IU Coach Michelle Gardner said she is proud of the way Kirk has pitched coming off of an ACL tear that cut her freshman season short last year. Kirk said this year feels like a freshman year for her, so she’s building confidence every time she steps in the circle.
The Hoosiers went through an offensive dry spell last weekend, but the return from injury of senior catcher Kelsey Dotson could be the spark IU is looking for. The seven runs scored against Ball State were the most in the team’s past five games.
Gardner said she has liked the contributions that the top and bottom of the lineup have given, but she added that she wants to see more consistent production and more production from the middle of the lineup.
“I’ve needed some of them to step up lately, and we’ve gotten some of it,” Gardner said. “So now it’s just about carrying that momentum into Rutgers.”
Rutgers currently maintains the second-worst team ERA in the league, with a combined 4.81 ERA. Three pitchers have made at least 11 starts each for the Scarlet Knights, with none holding an ERA below 4.47.
Offensively, Rutgers looks very similar to IU, as both have just two hitters with batting averages above .300. Senior infielder Stephanie Huang leads the team with a .374 average and a .462 on-base percentage. As a team, the Scarlet Knights are batting .260 this season, while the Hoosiers are batting .261.
Friday’s series opener begins at 3 p.m., Saturday’s game starts at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s finale is at noon. With just three series left in the regular season, Gardner said every win is crucial moving forward.
“We’re in an important three-week stretch before the Big Ten Tournament right now, so we definitely need to have a good next three weeks before the Tournament starts,” Gardner said.
