After three weeks of being away from Bloomington playing in three different tournaments, Indiana softball got to play at Andy Mohr Field for the first time in 2023.
Team 50 hosted the Hoosier Classic this weekend, playing four different schools, finishing out the tournament 3-1 to bring its record up to an even 9-9.
“Great weekend for us to come out and showcase our group,” head coach Shonda Stanton said afterward.
The Hoosiers were able to showcase that talent against Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Purdue Fort Wayne University, Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Despite winning three of the four matchups, the difference in the offense in the first two games was night and day compared to the last two.
Team 50 began the weekend on Saturday with a tilt against Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Phoenix turned out to be a tough opponent, but Indiana came out on top with a final score of 3-0. Sophomore utility player Brianna Copeland led the way with an RBI triple and a solo home run, her first of the season, to lead Indiana to the win. Copeland also struck out a pair of Phoenix hitters in two innings to earn the save. As a team, Indiana only recorded six hits against a team that had lost earlier that morning 10-2 to IUPUI.
“This is week four. Week three I was really hoping I would hit a home run and I didn’t,” Copeland said after Saturday’s game. “I was just swinging as hard as I could and I was glad to hit a home run.”
The Hoosiers were back Sunday for a doubleheader against Wisconsin and Purdue Fort Wayne. The Badgers were the first Big Ten foe Team 50 has faced this season, although the game did not count toward the conference standings. Wisconsin dominated Indiana 12-1 in a contest that was halted after five innings due to the run rule. The Hoosiers could only muster three hits against a team that finished two games ahead of them in the Big Ten standings a season ago.
However, Team 50 rebounded quite nicely in the following game against Purdue Fort Wayne, dominating the Mastodons 10-1, which also met the run-rule requirement of an eight-run lead in the fifth inning or later. Sophomore utility player Sarah Stone had hits in all three at-bats she had, including a three-run home run in the bottom of the first to start the scoring for Indiana. The Hoosiers pounded out nine hits, just as many as the first two games combined, en route to the victory.
Indiana took that momentum it gained from the second game Sunday and took it right into the final game of the tournament on Monday, beating IUPUI 10-2. It was the third straight game that ended in the minimum of five innings, and again it was Stone that led the way with three hits. Freshman infielder Taryn Kern hit a two-run homer to end the game in the bottom of the fifth, the eighth hit for Indiana on the afternoon.
Overall, Indiana outscored its opponents 24-15 to cap off two straight tournaments where they won more games than they lost. Only this weekend, they were able to do it in front of their home fans, who showed out with the warm temperatures this weekend.
“It’s nice to just be home and sleep in your own bed,” Stanton said.
Indiana is back in action Friday for the Lipscomb Tournament, where the Hoosiers will play the hosts Lipscomb University, University of Evansville, and Akron University in the three-day tournament. The first is 1:30 p.m. Friday against the Purple Aces.
Follow reporters Austin Platt (@AustinPlatter) and Dalton James (@djames1824) for updates throughout the Softball season.
