Sophomore pitcher Emily Kirk delivered her third win in her last three starts, and IU blew the game open late as the Hoosiers defeated Ball State 7-1 on Wednesday.
Kirk took the circle for the Hoosiers (24-19, 6-8 in the Big Ten) for the second straight game after securing a victory and going the full seven innings against Michigan State on Sunday.
Kirk allowed a single run to the Cardinals (18-27, 4-11 in the MAC) in the first on a double and a single in consecutive order. From there, Kirk settled in and didn’t allow a run the rest of the way. She finished the game with four strikeouts and a walk in six innings and allowed six hits.
“I think her confidence is going to build every time she goes out there,” IU Coach Michelle Gardner said. “She’s just really stepped up. I feel like she’s in a good place.”
In the bottom half of the first, IU loaded the bases with no outs. Senior catcher Kelsey Dotson plated a run with an RBI single, but it was all the Hoosiers could muster as they left the bases full.
IU added another run in the second, got two runs on four hits in the fourth and piled on three more runs in the fifth. Junior infielder Erin Lehman picked up a pair of RBIs, and sophomore outfielder Rebecca Blitz led the way with a three-for-four performance at the plate.
Sophomore third baseman Rachel O’Malley and freshman shortstop Sarah Galovich contributed two hits each from the eighth and ninth spots in the lineup. Gardner said she was pleased.
“Blitz had a great day, and O’Malley too,” Gardner said. “There was a few of them that offensively had some really good days.”
Blitz raised her batting average to a team-high .380. She stole her 26th base of the season in the second inning, which also leads the team.
Freshman pitcher Josie Wood came in to replace Kirk in the seventh inning and tossed a scoreless frame to secure the win. Kirk’s ERA was lowered to 3.31 on the season with her performance, and Wood’s scoreless inning dropped her to a 3.49 mark.
IU will play on the road for the second straight series this weekend at Rutgers (20-26, 4-10). The matchup with the Scarlet Knights will give IU another chance to pick up wins against teams below them in the league standings.
The Hoosiers have now won two games in a row for the first time since sweeping Iowa in the first Big Ten series at the end of March. Kirk said she has a lot of confidence going into the weekend, and Gardner said she had confidence in the staff as well.
“I have the support of my teammates behind me, which is the best part,” Kirk said. “I can hold them, they score and it takes the pressure off.”
