After a breakthrough season that saw IU secure its first Big Ten Tournament win in a decade and its most wins in a year since 2012, the Hoosiers begin their eight-game fall schedule this weekend.
Fall games are exhibitions and don’t count toward the regular season standings that will begin to be recorded in February, but IU Coach Michelle Gardner emphasized fall matchups can be just as important.
“It’s a great way to get everybody acclimated to the new season and get all my freshmen some real reps with their new team before the season starts,” Gardner said.
IU, which went 29-25 overall and 10-13 in the Big Ten last season, will play a doubleheader against Wright State, which was 37-23 in 2016, at Andy Mohr Field on Friday night. IU will also play Butler and Miami University in Westfield, Indiana, on Sunday afternoon.
Gardner said she is excited to get rolling with actual gameplay, despite the fact that the team has only been practicing since Sept. 1. She said the team has put in a solid two weeks of work and the team’s newcomers are adjusting well.
The Hoosiers lost six players to graduation and added six players this season. Four freshmen and a pair of transfers joined the team.
Outfield and catcher are the two primary positions of loss for the Hoosiers, as all three pitchers and all four starting infielders from last year return. Gardner said she is confident in the complete balance of the team, however, and hinted that the infield may not be set in stone with the additions of Shayna Gamm and Bella Norton.
“We have Shayna as a junior college transfer, and Bella is one of our freshmen, and they’ll both contribute and do some good things at catcher for us,” Gardner said. “With the infield, you might still see some new faces in there.”
The hitters with the four best averages from last season remain on the team, but nearly half of IU’s home run production has departed. Top slugger and senior designated hitter CaraMia Tsirigos is back, however, and looking to improve on her team-leading seven home runs from last season to give a boost to a team that had a lack of power.
The team’s pitching, which was inexperienced yet solid last season and was particularly outstanding in the non-conference portion of the schedule, should improve this year as all three of last year’s arms will anchor this year’s rotation as well.
Sophomore pitchers Josie Wood and Tara Trainer and junior pitcher Emily Kirk each threw more than 50 innings last season and combined to give IU a respectable 3.54 team ERA. With the addition of sophomore Northern Illinois transfer Jessica Conenna to the rotation, Gardner said she’s excited about the improvements the staff can make with another year under its belt.
“They all came back in great shape and have been putting in really good work,” Gardner said. “They’ve been having a good preseason, and that should continue.”
Friday night’s games, which begin at 6 p.m., will present an early challenge for IU. Wright State defeated IU, 4-1, last March in Bloomington. Butler and Miami are also quality opponents and finished with winning records last season.
Gardner said the quick intrastate trip on Sunday will provide a good experience to prepare the whole team, newcomers and returners alike, for the crazy travel schedule that IU usually has in the cold months of February and March.
“We travel so much in the spring, so the idea is that this will give my freshmen a good opportunity to get some road work in,” Gardner said.
