Indiana softball made a trip down to Mexico and it was well worth it as they went undefeated on the weekend bringing back four wins to Bloomington. The Hoosiers are now on an eight-game winning streak after dropping their season opener to FIU.
The Hoosiers started their long weekend of play on Thursday, February 13 against North Dakota State. This seemed to be the easiest game for the Hoosiers as they got it done in five innings, run-ruling the Bison 10-0. Starting pitcher Jenae Berry threw four great innings allowing just two hits and not walking a single batter. Taylor Hess came in for relief in the fifth inning with one strikeout and slamming the door just on the Bison.
Third baseman Alex Cooper was perfect from the plate with two hits in two plate appearances with one double and came in to score both times she got on base. First baseman Sarah Stone and right fielder Kinsey Mitchell both went two-for-three, and Mitchell hit her first double of the season.
Indiana then faced Illinois State on Friday in what was a much closer game for the Hoosiers. Indiana was down 2-0 after four innings, but scored six runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-2 lead. The fifth inning was their most explosive as they went off for five runs as Melina Wilkinson and Taylor Minnick both batted in two runs.
However, in the seventh inning, things got dicey as Illinois State scored three runs to make it a one-run ball game, but Hess was able to close it out striking out the three batters in her two innings of relief.
The Hoosiers played their second game of the day that night against Boise State, another team they put up 10 runs on. The scoring started early as Avery Parker hit a homerun out to left center to give Indiana an earl 2-0 lead in the first inning.
The offensive explosion came in the second inning when the Hoosiers scored seven, which included home runs by Minniick and Stone and Wilkinson homered in the bottom of the sixth to cap off the 10-run game for the Hoosiers. Berry notched her fourth win of the season against Boise State, throwing four innings, allowing just one run and striking out one.
The final game of the series seemed to be the biggest for Indiana as they added a power conference win to their resume with a 3-0 win over BYU. The Cougars are projected to finish fifth in the Big 12 this season and are certainly no pushovers in the conference.
The Hoosiers did not give a run in their final game, and while the offense didn't seem to be quite as explosive, three runs on this BYU team is pretty good. In the bottom of the first, Wilkinson stole two bases and scored on an error to give Indiana an early 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning with runners on second and third, Aly VanBrandt laid down a beautiful bunt to score on as Mitchell came up to knock in another run with a single.
Berry got her fifth win of the season throwing six beautiful innings with just four hits and boasted a 0.50 ERA on the weekend not allowing a single extra base hit.
After about five days of rest and practice, Indiana will make the trip down to Lubbock, Texas to participate in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic where they will get a chance to face a ranked Texas Tech team, testing the Hoosiers' win streak.