A True Team Game
There has been a flurry of attention that the Hoosiers have drawn over the past couple weeks and deservedly so. There have been so many individual and team performances that are worthy of much more attention than what they received. Before too much time passes, let’s take a minute to make sure that we have caught everything. Because “Team” comes first, we will look at the laundry list of accolades that this team has put together with a month still remaining in the season.
An 8-2 start to Big Ten play
After opening the conference schedule with weekend splits against Minnesota and then-No. 3 Michigan (more on this later), the Hoosiers have equaled their conference win total over the last two years combined. The 8-2 start is also the best start by an IU team to a Big Ten schedule since the 1994 team started 10-0.
Don’t forget the 28-15 overall record
Expanding the record out further, the Hoosiers are off to their best overall start to a season since an identical 28-15 start to the 1996 season. The 28 victories this season far surpasses the last two seasons and is the most in a season since a 30-win season in 2006 that led to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The current 8-game win streak
There have been a number of factors that have led to the current 8-game winning streak that the Hoosiers enjoy. Players that were struggling to find a groove at the plate early in the year are now hitting their stride and the timing could not be more perfect. The Hoosiers have outscored their opponents 34-10 during the streak and are hitting .271 as a team while Morgan Melloh is allowing opponents to hit just .121 in that span.
The current 7-game win streak in Big Ten play
This too goes back to that 10-0 start in conference action during the 1994 season, marking the last time the Hoosiers won seven straight conference tilts. The team has shown poise when their backs are seemingly against the wall while also showing that killer instinct to jump on an opponent when they have the advantage and put a game away. The coaches and players in the conference all know one another very well and they will all tell you that it is very difficult to run off that many wins in a row because the players and coaches are so good at making adjustments from game to game and even at-bat to at-bat.
Did I mention they are receiving votes!!!
In the April 19 edition of the ESPN.com/USA Today poll, the Hoosiers were receiving eight points in the poll to put them in the mythical No. 28 spot in the poll (two teams outside the Top 25 were receiving 10 points to rank ahead of the Hoosiers). This a bigger deal than some people will realize because wins have been hard to come by over the past two seasons under head coach Michelle Gardner but it was never for lack of effort. This year has been a different story and people across the country are beginning to take note.
Earning a Split at Michigan
Any win in the Big Ten is always going to be a good win, but on April 2, the Hoosiers ventured into Ann Arbor and did something that few teams have been able to do – escape with a win on the Wolverines home field. After dropping a very close contest in game one of a doubleheader, Morgan Melloh was sent back out to the circle in game two against a daunting lineup from Michigan. She was up to the task, and that’s putting it mildly. She issued 14 strikeouts and gave up just one earned run over eight innings to keep the UM bats at bay. Then it was another IU senior, Sara Olson, that single-handedly took control of the game at the plate. She hit a pair of home runs off Michigan’s top pitcher – Jordan Taylor – to account for all five RBI in a 5-4 victory in eight innings. The win was the first of any kind for the IU over Michigan in softball since 1996 and the first in Ann Arbor since 1993. Needless to say, it was a joyous bus ride back down I-69 towards Bloomington.
In the week ahead, we will also take a look back at some of the top individual performances of the year.
A couple schedule notes:
- The game on April 30 against Iowa will be the Hoosiers annual “Pink Game” where the team will wear pink to promote breast cancer awareness
- Contrary to the original schedule published, Indiana and Purdue will NOT play a doubleheader on Saturday, May 14. Instead, the Hoosiers will play host to Purdue on Friday, May 13 at 4:00 p.m. (LIVE on the Big Ten Network). The teams will then close the regular season on Saturday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m.
- The Hoosiers will also be on the Big Ten Network at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, when they take on Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
