With one game left before Big Ten play, IU softball has a chance to build on the success of last weekend in the Hoosier Classic.
The Hoosiers will play Louisville on Tuesday night at Andy Mohr Field. Despite being in different conferences, the two teams are familiar with each other.
These teams have met 16 out of the last 17 years, playing in each season since 2001 except for 2003. The Cardinals hold a 16-3 advantage and have won 13 of the past 14 meetings.
For the Hoosiers, they are coming off an 8-4 victory of University of Illinois-Chicago on Sunday.
“We did some really great things this weekend and we’ll continue to learn from those,” senior outfielder Rebecca Blitz said after the win against UIC on Sunday. “Hopefully our offensive production stays similar and we can keep that going into Tuesday. We’re just trying to keep the same simple swings and find gaps.”
Louisville is 20-8 on the season including a series sweep against Northwestern and splitting a series with Ohio State. But they’ve only played one true road game thus far.
IU has yet to play Ohio State this season, but has lost twice to Northwestern, getting outscored 14-3 in both games against the Wildcats.
Freshman Danielle Watson is expected to be in the circle for the Cardinals as she leads the team with a 2.07 ERA and 12-5 record. Louisville also has a balanced lineup with six players batting over .300.
With Ohio State looming on Friday, Louisville presents the best opportunity for IU to keep its momentum going.
“Louisville is a good ball club so it’s just about going out and doing everything we’ve been preaching all along,” IU Coach Shonda Stanton said after the win against UIC on Sunday. “For us offensively we have to have that type of showing that we did this game where we have quality at-bats and we have to be able to limit the free passes with Louisville. We’re going to go out there with one more opportunity to get better before Big Ten play."
First pitch Tuesday will be at 5 p.m.
Phillip Steinmetz
