Indiana softball will open up Big Ten play this weekend against Iowa at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington. The Hoosiers come into the weekend on a seven-game win streak after a thrilling Tuesday night victory over the University of Southern Indiana.
Senior outfielder Taylor Minnick hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday to give the Hoosiers their first lead of the game over the Screaming Eagles as Indiana went on to win the game 6-5.
Minnick leads the team in batting average and total number of RBIs with a .515 percentage and 34 total RBI’s. As a team, the Hoosiers have an impressive batting average of .402.
The Hoosiers are hard to stop when they are clicking offensively. As a team, Indiana is undefeated when scoring at least six runs and have managed to finish 12 of its 19 wins by run rule victory.
The Hoosiers look to carry this momentum and energy into the first game of the weekend at 1 p.m. Saturday against the Hawkeyes.
Iowa softball has a 16-8 record and is on a two-game win streak heading into the weekend. Despite eight losses, the Hawkeyes have had quite the tough schedule so far this season.
Seven of Iowa’s eight losses have all come to top 25 teams, with five losses against top 15 opponents. The Hawkeyes have also beat Florida International University twice this season, a team that Indiana fell short against in its season opener.
In addition to facing a tough schedule, Iowa has faced much adversity so far this season. The school announced in December head coach Renee Gillipsie would not coach during the 2025 season due to a health issue. As a result, Brian Levin took over as interim head coach.
However, the coaching changes did not end there. On March 7, the university announced that Levin would no longer be with the program and assistant coach Karl Gollan will lead for the remainder of the season.
However, the Hawkeyes have still picked up two more wins since the coaching change.
Iowa has three players who have been named to the Big Ten Softball Players to Watch List: sophomore infielders Jena Young and Soo-Jin Berry and junior pitcher Jalen Adams.
Berry leads the team with a .338 batting average and four home runs. Senior catcher Hannah Lindsay falls not far behind with a .317 batting average, three home runs and a team best 21 RBIs.
A Hoosier win would be a good start in conference play and extend their win total to 20 games on the season.
The Hoosiers will follow up Saturday’s contest with another matchup against the Hawkeyes at 1 p.m. Sunday. Both games can be streamed on Big Ten+
