Indiana beat Lake Land College 11-5 Sunday afternoon at Andy Mohr Field after an offensive outburst led by senior Brianna Copeland and redshirt junior Melina Wilkinson. Coming off wins in its exhibition games against Indiana Institute of Technology and Indiana State University, the Hoosiers looked to build off that momentum.
Lake Land started the game off strong with an RBI double from junior catcher Abby Heitman, followed by an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Maddie Raske. Lake Land held a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
However, Indiana responded quickly with an outburst of three runs in the bottom of the first inning, kicked off by Wilkinson's leadoff home run. Indiana caught a break when Lake Land’s sophomore center fielder, Kendyll Holub, dropped the ball, giving the Hoosiers a 3-2 lead after the first inning.
The scoring didn’t slow down from there, as Lake Land scored three runs in the top of the second inning, giving the visitors a 5-3 lead. Indiana freshman starting pitcher Jasmine Reyes struggled as she only pitched 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and five runs.
While the starting pitching was lackluster, Indiana’s offense certainly wasn’t. The offense backed up their pitching by matching Lake Land’s total in the top half of the inning, scoring five runs in the bottom of the second inning with a flurry of singles and doubles. At the end of the second inning, Indiana led Lake Land College 8-5.
Meanwhile, junior pitcher Taylor Hess, who replaced Reyes in the second inning, slowed down Lake Land after its hot start. Hess pitched 2 and 2/3 innings without allowing a single run and only allowing one hit with one strikeout. The two leaders of Indiana’s offense, senior utility player Brianna Copeland and senior outfielder Taylor Minnick, added to the lead with a single and an RBI double, respectively.
In the sixth inning, Indiana’s Wilkinson hit her second solo home run. Freshman Jenea Berry pitched two scoreless innings and handed the ball over to Copeland for the seventh and final inning. Copeland added to her spectacular day by striking out the first two batters and getting the third one to fly out to left field to end the game.
Indiana wrapped up its three-day, softball-filled weekend with a convincing 11-5 victory over Lake Land. Indiana went 3-0 over the weekend preseason exhibition slate.
