After a bit of a rocky start to the season, the Indiana softball team has found themselves in a groove as of late, heading into their matchup tonight against Butler. Indiana played in the Hoosiers classic this past weekend, where they had their home debut in front of their home fans in Bloomington.
In their five home games this weekend, Indiana went a perfect 5-for-5 in their games, beating IU Indy, Bowling Green twice, Western Michigan, and UIC. After a perfect weekend, the Hoosiers return to the diamond they will now take on the Butler Bulldogs and look to keep their win streak alive.
Indiana will play two more non-conference games before they officially start Big Ten play, which will kick off at home when the Hoosiers host the Iowa Hawkeyes on March 15 for a two-game series that will end the following day.
In their first 22 games of the season, Madalyn Strader is leading the way in batting average hitting and an outstanding .500 with 22 hits and five RBIs. Taylor Minnick leads the team in hits with 30, with eight doubles and a triple, and also leads the team with five home runs, all adding up to her .492 batting average.
On the pitching side of the game, Janae Berry leads the lead pitching unit with a 1.89 ERA and an 8-1 record. Jasmine Reyes follows closely behind Barry with a 3.28 ERA and a 6-2 overall record. However, Brianna Copeland, who has a 4.91 ERA for the Hoosiers, is still finding ways to get it done, with 42 strikeouts already on the season.
With Big Ten play on the horizon, Indiana is currently sitting at third in the conference based on overall record. The Hoosiers sit behind Oregon and UCLA, two teams currently ranked in the Top 25.
A win over Butler tonight would extend Indiana's win streak to six before they take a week off before their matchup against Southern Indiana, and then Big Ten play will begin for the Hoosiers.