With Indiana softball down 8-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning against No. 7 Oregon in its final regular season home game Sunday, cheers and claps began to echo from the Hoosier dugout in hopes of turning the game around.
These cheers helped power the Hoosiers to a strong finish, outscoring the Ducks 5-1 in the final two innings.
However, their comeback bid still fell short.
Entering the matchup, the Indiana pitching staff faced a tough task containing Oregon’s explosive offense. The Ducks’ 360 total runs scored ranked ninth in the nation.
This offense was on full display as the Hoosiers struggled to close out innings to start the game. After generating two quick outs in the opening frame, the Cream and Crimson surrendered three runs before securing their third out.
The Oregon offense refused to let up, earning an 8-2 advantage going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Facing a large deficit, a pair of Indiana freshmen stepped up.
With two outs in the frame, freshman infielder Madalyn Strader entered the batter’s box. The Cedar Park, Texas, native lined a single to left field to bring redshirt junior outfielder Melina Wilkison around the bases to score.
In the next at bat, freshman catcher and infielder Josie Bird launched a two-run home run to center field, marking her second home run and third hit of the game — both career highs.
After Bird brought the score to 8-5, Oregon responded. Sophomore outfielder Ayanna Shaw hit a sacrifice fly out to score an insurance run for the Ducks in the seventh inning.
Facing a 9-5 deficit heading into their final three outs, the top of Indiana’s batting order prepared to rally a comeback. Senior pitcher and utility player Brianna Copeland and senior outfielder Taylor Minnick refused to go down easily in their final regular season game at Andy Mohr Field.
Copeland roped a lead-off single to left field, then Minnick blasted a two-run home run past the right field wall — her team-leading 15th of the year.
Now within two runs, the Cream and Crimson continued to apply pressure, loading the bases with one out in the seventh inning.
Yet, they failed to capitalize.
The Ducks generated two more outs to end the Hoosiers’ comeback hopes and secure a 9-7 victory. Even still, the Cream and Crimson stringed together a resilient performance against the first-place team in the Big Ten.
“We challenged them,” Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton said postgame. “We tested them. I thought we fought hard and that says a lot about the character of our group and understanding that as long as we have swings, we have a shot.”
Prior to Sunday’s narrow victory, Oregon defeated Indiana in back-to-back one-sided contests. The Hoosiers lost 10-4 on Friday, before suffering a 9-1 defeat on Saturday.
The series sweep is a blow to Indiana’s NCAA tournament resume, as it falls to 30-16 overall and 8-11 in conference play.
The Hoosiers’ next opportunity to build their case for an NCAA tournament berth comes Friday as they travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, in preparation for their final regular season series against Purdue at Bittinger Stadium.
The three-game series is slated to begin at 5 p.m. Friday. The second game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday before the series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday. All games in the series will be streamed on Big Ten+.
