After suffering two losses to Texas Tech University on Feb. 22-23, Indiana softball looked to bounce back over the weekend at the Tiger Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina.
Indiana came out strong in the first two games of the invitational but were plagued by inconsistencies in the final two games, resulting in dramatically different outcomes for the Hoosiers.
In day one of the invitational, Indiana’s offense and defense rolled to defeat Lafayette College 22-0 in five innings. This was the sixth-most runs in program history and the most since March 24, 2017, when the Hoosiers scored 23 against Rutgers.
The Hoosiers outhit the Leopards 20 hits to four, led by Brianna Copeland. The senior pitcher and utility player tallied up five hits, the third most hits in a game in program history.
Indiana carried this momentum into their next game Saturday against East Carolina University, which it defeated 8-2. The Hoosiers once again outhit their opponent by a total of 10 hits to five.
In its second game of the day Saturday, Indiana faced the host, Clemson University. The Hoosiers were unable to limit the Tiger’s offense, allowing 11 runs off 12 hits. Indiana was outhit for the first time in the invitational by a margin of 12 hits to nine, resulting in an 11-5 loss.
The Hoosiers looked to get back on track Sunday in their second matchup with Clemson, but they were unable to do so, performing like a completely different team than they did in the invitational opener.
Indiana’s offense was outhit three hits to 10, while its defense allowed eight runs. Freshman infielder Madalyn Strader, junior center and utility player Avery Parker and redshirt junior outfielder Melina Wilkison were the only players to get a hit in the contest against the Tigers.
This up-and-down play resembled the Hoosiers’ inconsistencies that occurred in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic with a strong start and poor finish.
In the previous invitational, Indiana outscored its opponents 19-6 during the first half of the tournament but were only able to score two runs in the final two games. Similarly, this weekend, the Hoosiers started off play outscoring their opponents by a total of 30 runs to two in the first two games but were outscored in the final two 19 runs to five.
The Hoosiers are now 12-0 in neutral site games and 0-5 in away games, bringing their overall record to 12-5.
While inconsistencies have been the story of Indiana as of late, the team has the opportunity to take advantage of their upcoming schedule as their next 12 games will be at home at Andy Mohr Field.
The Hoosiers will be back in action at 3:30 p.m. March 7 for their home opener against Indiana University Indianapolis in the Hoosier Classic.
