As the team woke up Thursday, the skies were a little overcast but the team trekked over to University Field on the campus of the University of Missouri (the host) to get their practice time on the field. The Hoosiers are the only one of the four teams that have not played on the field here. Obviously it is the home field for Missouri, Illinois State played here earlier this season and this is the third consecutive year that the DePaul Blue Demons have been sent to Columbia, so they are very familiar with the surroundings. As the team began to stretch and warmup, a light rain began to fall and quickly turned to a more steady rain, causing the grounds crew to quickly put the tarp on the field and put an end to team practices for the day.

Just as they have all season, the Hoosiers took it in stride. Following lunch, the team returned to the hotel for more quality time. I’m sure the anxiety only gets higher and higher when all you can do is sit in a hotel room and think about things (let’s be honest, what is really on TV on a Thursdasy at 2:00 p.m.?).

Friday brought the excitement of the first game of the Tournamnent for all but two (Morgan Melloh and Kelsey Stander) players. But before they could get to that, the team was going to have the chance to get on the dirt at University Field and practice for about one hour. The rain held off and temperatures rose to the mid-70s. It was easy to see that the Hoosiers enjoyed these 60 minutes out of the hotel – but little did they know what the day had in store.

The game against DePaul was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT, but the rain had started falling shortly after Noon CT and had not let up as the time for the team to depart the hotel for the game arrived. Coach Gardner received a call from the tournament officials and the game had been pushed back to 6:00 p.m. CT. That meant two more hours for the players to familiarize themselves with their already familiar hotel room. After two hours passed, the team once again packed up and was prepared to leave. But another call came through and the game was delayed two more hours. All of these delays were obvious to anyone that looked out their hotel window – the rain never stopped all afternoon. And with as much rain that came down, it was not likely that the field was going to be in playing condition. So, as expected, the games were eventually postponed for the day.

As a result of that, it meant the team was able to spend time with their friends/family that had made the trip over for the original 4:00 p.m. CT game. The team had a great time watching softball on ESPN as a large group in the restaurant attached to the hotel. And when it was all over, the players dispersed to their rooms because they had an early wakeup call on Saturday morning before a 10:00 a.m. CT first pitch against DePaul.

If you asked many of the players and staff, they will tell you that it felt like all they did was sit in the hotel and eat meals. And that’s basically what they did as a result of the rain. But it was very important for the players to get out on the field and get their sight lines down and get a feel for the infield at least while getting comfortable.

As a reminder, fans can listen and watch all games at the Columbia Regional by going to the NCAA Tournament Central page on IUHoosiers.com (Link: http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/ind-2011-tourney-central.html)

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.

Indiana went 2-1 this past weekend on its trip to Athens, Ga., – the home of the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (according to the NFCA) to improve its overall record to 10-8. That makes three consecutive weekends with a winning record for the Hoosiers, which is something that a number of teams across the country can say at this point in the year. However, given the recent track record for the Hoosiers, this is something that needs to be noted because the team has found a way to win the games they are supposed to and be in all of the games that outsiders might have written them off.

RADIO BROADCAST NOTE: The remainder of this year’s radio broadcasts will be FREE OF CHARGE and will no longer require a subscription. If you purchased a subscription, make sure to cancel it so that it does not renew for a second month because you will not need it again this season.

Let’s take a look at each of the losses for Indiana so far this year…

Feb. 10: Indiana 0, #2 Arizona 4

Arizona scored a run in the first and then Morgan Melloh went to work in her IU debut. She matched UA pitcher Kenzie Fowler strikeout-for-strikeout in the game (both finished with 12). Indiana was playing outdoors for just the second time since October (a light practice the day prior) and made a couple of defensive miscues late in the game to allow a couple of unearned runs to score.

Feb. 12: Indiana 1, Texas Tech 4

Texas Tech entered play this past weekend with an unblemished 16-0 record and had moved up to No. 20 in the NFCA rankings. In the game against Indiana, the Red Raiders scored in the first inning on an illegal pitch by Melloh and then added a second run in the next inning on a double. The game was still 2-1 going to the seventh inning before TTU got a two-run home run to make it 4-1.

Feb. 13: Indiana 0, #12 California 3

The Indiana bats went silent against Cal’s Jolene Henderson (11-2, 0.82 ERA entering play Sunday) as they manages just two hits. Melloh continued to shine against the nation’s best as she posted eight strikeouts.

Feb. 18: Indiana 3, DePaul 7

DePaul has continued to receive votes in the NFCA Top 25 and sit just outside. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead thru three innings, taking advantage of six walks by Melloh. The Hoosiers rallied back late in the game and put three runs on the board and had chances to add more in each of the middle three innings.

Feb. 19: Indiana 0, Fordham 2

Morgan Melloh had a no-hitter going through 4.2 innings and then Fordham broke through with two of their three hits in the game in the sixth inning to score two runs and get the win. This is really the only loss that the Hoosiers have had that has come to a team that has not been receiving votes for the Top 25 or is in the Top 25. Having said that, Fordham was 49-12 last year and is constantly one of the best teams on the East Coast.

Feb. 24: Indiana 0, #4 Florida 7

While the score might indicate a blowout, the game was far from it. Melloh collected a Big Ten-best 14 strikeouts against one of the best hitting teams in the country. The Gators scored twice in the third inning and then used two bases loaded walks in the sixth inning to break the game open. Melloh made the UF batters look foolish on a number of instances but Hannah Rogers was up to the task for Florida, allowing just two hits.

Feb. 25: Indiana 3, #14 California 4 (9 innings)

This is without question the toughest loss to swallow for the team so far this year. The Cal offense had done nothing against Melloh the entire game and the teams were tied at 1-1 through seven innings. With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, the Hoosiers used a pair of Cal errors to take a 3-1 lead after the top of the eighth inning. In the Cal half of the inning, the scraped together two runs of their own and seized the momentum from the IU dugout. After Indiana went quietly in the top of the ninth, Melloh appeared to be poised to send the game to a 10^th inning. But a wild pitch with two outs in the ninth allowed the winning run to score from third base. It was a heartbreaker and definitely one that the team can look back on as one that got away.

March 4: Indiana 0, #1 Georgia 2

The Bulldogs scored a run in the first inning on a quirky leadoff triple followed by a wild pitch. A leadoff home run to start the second inning rounded out the scoring and the Bulldogs managed just one more hit off Melloh in the game. Unfortunately, IU could only must three hits of their own and were not able to string them together to put together any form of a rally.

Looking back at it now, six of the eight losses have come against teams that are currently ranked in the NFCA Top 25. Needless to say, the Hoosiers’ RPI will be right up there with the best of them after the schedule they have played to this point. And next weekend, the trip to Oklahoma will only add to that as Indiana will get at least one crack at No. 10 Oklahoma.

Okay, enough with the negatives. Let’s now take a look at the positives that have come from the season to this point. All four of the freshmen have come in and made a huge impact early in the year. Jenna Abraham’s first collegiate hit was a three-run homer and she has eight RBI on the season. Meaghan Murphy has show her versatility in being able to play right field and first base and is hittin .267 with two doubles, a triple and six RBI. Shelby Gogreve has struggled at the plate but she does have three doubles and has been stellar at second base with her ability to take away hits in the gaps. And Ashley Warrum was inserted into the starting lineup for the final two games at the Cathedral City Classic and has not stopped hitting since, hitting .450 since that time.

Senior Sara Olson is the leading hitter, average-wise, and her three home runs and 12 RBI lead the team as well. But she has had help. 12 different players have at least one RBI this season and 13 players have three or more hits. While no one has gaudy statistics at the plate, that has made the season all the more interesting because you never know who is going to step up and come through with that clutch hit.

Just another testament to the depth that head coach Michelle Gardner has with this team this year. There are so many interchangeable parts that she has yet to use the exact same starting lineup in two games this season.

And when you look at the pitching staff, there is depth there as well. Melloh has pitched 100 out of a possible 124.2 innings. Sara Olson is 2-0 in the circle with a 1.40 ERA in 15 innings and Jessica Dobson has made five appearances in relief and has yet to allow a run of any kind while striking out 14 in 9.2 innings. All three have the confidence that they can get anyone out at any time and Coach Gardner has confidence in all of them to get the job done. Some of it is just another year of practice for all of them but some of it has to do with the confidence that Melloh brings to the practice field and into games. The team sees her ability to dominate other teams and it brings their own level of play up.

Here are a couple of other statistical nuggets through the first 18 games:

*In five games against ranked opponents, Morgan Melloh has 50 strikeouts

*Melloh’s 144 strikeouts this season is the most by an IU pitcher in a SEASON since 2007 and she needs just five more to pass Monica Wright’s 148 from that season. The Indiana single-season record for strikeouts is 370 by Amy Unterbrink in 1986.

*Her strikeout total this year is easily the best in the Big Ten while her 100 innings pitched also leads the conference.

*Sara Olson hit her 20^th career home run on Sunday against James Madison to move into ninth place on the IU career home run list.

*In games that Indiana has won, Cassie Gogreve and Sara Olson are a combined 27-for-58 at the plate. In games that the Hoosiers have dropped, they are 5-for-45.

We just received confirmation from the people at USF that we will be playing our games next weekend (Feb. 18-20) at the Eddie Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. and not at the USF field in Tampa, Fla., as originally planned. Check out the schedule on IUHoosiers.com for all the updates because the times of the games have also changed. (Click to view schedule)

USF is in the process of building a new field on their campus and unfortunately it is not going to be ready in time for us to play on it so that’s the reason for the late change in field.

The Moore Complex is the same location where the Hoosiers have played in Florida for the last two or three years. There are up to nine fields available at this complex and it regularly attracts some of the best teams from across the country.

So any IU fans planning to make the trip to Florida next weekend need to make note of the change in venue.

Here’s the text from the release that was on IUHoosiers.com with information on how to listen to games this season and where to go to listen:

“Indiana Softball fans will be able to follow the 2011 team like never before as each game will be broadcast live on IUHoosiers.com with Dave Leno doing play-by-play and assistant media relations director Nathan Wiechers providing color analysis.

“The 2010 season marked the first season with any form of audio broadcast as nearly 35 games were carried on IUHoosiers.com. In 2011 that coverage will be expanded to include each and every game that Hoosiers play – no matter where they are playing.

“There are very few softball programs across the country that can say that every single game will be broadcast on the internet and we are very proud to be one of those,” Indiana head coach Michelle Gardner said. “We started with a partial broadcast schedule last year but bumped it up to the whole schedule this year and I am really excited about the exposure that this gives our team and program.”

The team opens the 2011 season on Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., and play a total of five games over four days in Arizona – all of which can be heard via the All-Access player at IUHoosiers.com. Those that wish to listen will need to purchase the monthly access pass a monthly fee in order to access these broadcasts and all broadcasts through the March 15 doubleheader.

One the team returns to Bloomington to host the Hoosier Classic on March 18, fans will be able to listen to games free of charge through Stretch Internet just as they did to select games in 2010.

To Listen:
To access the broadcasts (on both formats), go to the softball page of IUHoosiers.com and click the “Live Broadcast” link on the left side of the page above the rotating picture. Or go to the softball schedule on IUHoosiers.com (click here) and click on the game you want to listen to. When the box on the right side of the schedule comes up, click the “listen” link at the bottom of the box.

The reason for the month access cost is because we will be broadcasting those using the “All-Access” feature on IUHoosiers.com and it is part of our contract with them that when we broadcast live events through their website we charge the monthly fee. (NOTE: this fee does NOT go to Dave or myself – a portion goes to CBS and IU Athletics as I understand it). And the reason we are using this feature is because we will be doing the broadcast using an internet connection and not a phone line like we did last year. Doing it through the internet allows us to do all of those preseason tournaments where there are no phone line available. Then once the team starts to play at the Hoosier Classic (March 18) and on through the rest of the season we will be playing at stadiums with press boxes and phone lines and thus we can go back to the free feature we utilized last year.

I know this could get a little confusing but if you just go to the schedule on IUHoosiers.com and click the “Listen” link on the right it will take you where you are supposed to go to listen to the game.

Any questions or concerns can be sent to me (nwiecher@indiana.edu) and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

As I enter my fourth year with the IU softball program, I can only remember seeing two or three other teams that had radio broadcasts of these preseason tournaments so this expanded coverage is really setting the Hoosiers apart from most teams across the country. I’m sure when other teams see that we are doing broadcasts in Tempe, Ariz., Palm Springs, Calif., Tampa, Fla., Norman, Okla., (just to name a few) they will see the dedication to the softball program at Indiana.

Dave and I have been out watching practice a lot recently trying to do our homework on the team so we are ready to go for the season opener against Arizona on Feb. 10.

Hope to see many of you out at the games this year!

Nathan Wiechers
Assistant Media Relations Director/Softball Contact
Indiana University Athletics
Email: nwiecher@indiana.edu

I have really enjoyed the first couple weeks of practice.  I am working harder than I ever have in my entire life and am loving it!  I feel like we are getting closer to where we need to be and taking the right steps to be a major contender in the Big Ten Conference. Since this was a completely new experience for me I have had to make a lot of adjustments in the field and hitting.  It has been a lot of fun though.  I have awesome teammates and coaches and the support I have received at IU is phenomenal.  I am finally to the level I have always dreamed of being and starting soon we will get to play against some of the best teams in the country.  It is something that I have looked forward to my entire life. I cannot wait to get the experience of playing against some of the teams I have always watched on TV and said “I want to be them someday”.   We get to travel all over the country and play in California, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and Oklahoma, and that is only the first five weeks of our game schedule. What a great way to spend the months of February and early March!

This fall, when I finally got to put on the Indiana University uniform for the first time, I can’t explain the emotions that I experienced.  I immediately ran and took a lot of pictures of me in my number 33 jersey.  My family was there so I ran up to them and took several pictures with them also because this was a moment they also had been looking forward to.  My family has taken all the steps right beside me to get me to and through the transition of IU.  College is a big change from high school but I like the variety of the college schedule.  However, being a perfectionist in terms of my grades and in the other parts of my life made it a little tougher to adjust.  I had to learn that it is ok to make mistakes and that you learn from those mistakes to become better.  This was especially true in softball.  In college everything is faster and more intense.  This was the hardest thing to adjust to but with practice and persistence I had a great first semester and am very happy with how things are going here early in the second semester.  I am very anxious to finally get outside and start playing real softball again.  There are some challenges that our team must still face to reach our goals but I believe we are strong enough to overcome them and have a great season.

And don’t forget to download Coach Gardner’s “Face-to-Face” interview with Jeremy Gray on iTunes by clicking here.

Today we were very excited, as it was our first 2011 team practice!!  We have all been anxiously looking forward to getting this season going! Today’s practice was typical, working out the kinks as everyone was getting back into the groove of things.  It was full of motivation, energy and we all were happy to see each other working together after our long break.  I am ecstatic about my teammate’s energy and think we are definitely going to be a team to be reckoned with!

Earlier in the day, before practice I took a few minutes to reflect on my past three years here at IU and how this will be my last first practice of my IU softball career.  Sounds kind of silly, but ever since my freshman year I can remember all the seniors saying all the same things that I am thinking now.  Reminiscing about my past years here, so many great memories came to my mind.  I can remember my older sister, Anna, talking about how she was a senior and can picture myself, three years ago today, as a little freshman playing catch with her in Mellencamp and the anxiousness I felt to get the season going.  And now I am a senior, and I can’t believe it!  The anxiousness I felt as a freshman is now a feeling of readiness as a senior.  Every season, every year of my college career has gone by faster and faster… and in the blink of an eye, this year’s season will be over too.  I have learned over the years to never take one day for granted, for it is a blessing.  Everyday I pick up my glove and go play catch is a day I know I am living my dream.

My past three years have been full of wonderful experiences and life lessons, but I hope to make this year the best!  It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of this program. I will wear my Indiana Softball jersey #7 for one more season with great pride; for I know that next year it will be in good hands with my little sister Lora, and it will be her turn to wear it with pride and to represent the Cream and Crimson.  I can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s practice brings along with the rest of the year!

Go Hoosiers!

Happy New Year to all of the IU Softball friends and family out there.  As we turn the calendar over to 2011, that can mean only one thing and that is that it’s almost time for softball!!  With classes starting back up on Monday, Jan. 10, head coach Michelle Gardner and her staff will have the team practicing by the middle of the week as they get ready for the season opener on Feb. 10 against Arizona at the Kajikawa Classic (hosted by Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.).

Here’s a link to the 2011 Schedule in case you missed it earlier. As you can tell, Coach Gardner is not afraid to play anybody at anytime anywhere. And once again the Hoosiers will be crisscrossing the map to play some of the best teams in the country at some of the best venues in the country.

After starting in Tempe, the Hoosiers return back to the Eastern Time Zone and hit up the Sunshine State and the campus of the University of South Florida. They then return to the West Coast for a tournament in Palm Springs, Calif., and then return east to play at national power Georgia, where they will play the Bulldogs twice. A trip to Oklahoma to play in the Sooners’ home tournament starts Spring Break for the Hoosiers with a stop in Tulsa for two games before returning home to host the Hoosier Classic at the end of Spring Break.  From there, the schedule leads the Hoosiers into Big Ten play and one of the best conferences in the country. There will be a couple of non-conference games against regional opponents sprinkled in there as well.

The last time the team was all together before they left for the semester break was at Coach Gardner’s house for the team Christmas party. Cook…I mean Coach Gardner made some tremendous enchiladas that had everyone talking and everyone else brought a side dish or desert and made it a true Christmas Feast.  The team then exchanged their “Secret Santa” gifts and posed for a team photo all decked out in their costumes. It as a great way to close out the year and get ready for what promises to be an even better 2011 for Indiana Softball.

Make sure to check back frequently as we will have players and coaches chime in occasionally with what’s going on in practice, games or anything that the team does off the field this year.