Five weeks ago, Indiana softball participated in the ESPN Clearwater Invitational, one of the premiere softball tournaments yearly. The Hoosiers got the chance to show their metal on a grand stage against some of the top college softball programs in the country. Team 50 desperately struggled, going 0-5 and finishing with a run differential of -39 in those five games.
At that point, Indiana dropped to 0-5 against top-25 teams after dropping a contest to No. 21 Auburn University in the NFCA Leadoff Classic on the first weekend of the season.
This past weekend, Indiana got three more chances to win against a ranked opponent when No. 22 Maryland rolled into Bloomington for the first Big Ten series. Both teams were playing their best softball entering the series, as Indiana was riding a 12-game win streak and Maryland had won 13 of its past 14 games.
Team 50 swept the Terrapins to extend its win streak to 15 games, the third longest in program history.
However, the win streak was hanging in the balance in the series opener on Saturday after Friday’s game got postponed due to inclement weather. Maryland was one out away from taking the conference opener 1-0, but Indiana walked it off in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore outfielder Taylor Minnick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game and the next batter, sophomore utility player Sarah Stone, hit a walk-off single to right field to win it for Indiana.
The Hoosiers took that momentum into Sunday’s doubleheader, winning both games by much more comfortable scores of 15-7 and 11-4 to sweep their opening Big Ten series for the first time since 2016.
In the first game of the twin bill, Team 50 scored six runs in the bottom of the first, with three of them coming off the bat of Stone, who deposited a home run to left center field to give the Hoosiers a quick 3-0 advantage. Freshmen Taryn Kern and Avery Parker also hit long balls in the game for Indiana to put the Hoosiers up 9-0 in the second inning. The Terrapins tried to claw their way back into the contest, but sophomore utility player Brianna Copeland ended the game in the fifth inning with an infield single to complete the run-rule, as Indiana won 15-7 in five innings.
The second game Sunday saw another offensive explosion for Indiana, as Team 50 busted out the broomsticks with an 11-4 victory over the Terps. Stone again hit a home run in the first inning and added another in the fourth to pad Indiana’s lead. Maryland did take a 3-2 lead in the second inning, but Indiana responded with seven unanswered runs. Parker and Stone both went deep again in the series finale as Indiana closed out the weekend with a seven-run victory.
Stone was the star of the show offensively for the Hoosiers, with three of her five hits on the weekend leaving the ballpark. Stone had 10 RBIs to increase her season total in that category to 31.
The combo of Parker and Kern combined for a .556 batting average, 10 hits, three doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs and seven runs scored to complement Stone in the lineup.
Indiana, now winners of 15 straight, improves to 22-9 on the season and 3-0 in Big Ten play. Team 50 continues its homestand with a midweek clash with in-state foe Butler University on Tuesday before Ohio State comes to Andy Mohr Field next weekend for a three-game set beginning Friday. First pitch against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Follow reporters Dalton James (.@djames1824) and Austin Platt (.@AustinPlatter) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
