Bloomington, IN. – The Big Ten Conference is consistently one of the elite when it comes to being leaders in sports and academics and this year is no different. The Big Ten represents well in every sport whether it’s football, pistol shooting, ice hockey, field hockey, basketball, gymnastics, or softball. And this year two of the most talented softball teams are in the Big Ten and will be playing each other this weekend.
The 21-8 Ohio State Buckeyes will take the field against the 25-9 Indiana Hoosiers for a 3-game series this weekend in Bloomington at Andy Mohr Field. Although neither team is ranked in the top 25 and deservedly should be (Indiana is ranked 28) because of their competition, all eyes will be upon this series. This could be the series that sets the tone for who might be the Big Ten champions.
Indiana is led by Head coach Shonda Stanton and is on a 20-game win streak. The Hoosiers are led by freshman Taryn Kern who has a .446 batting average. The young infielder from San Jose has 14 home runs and 39 rbi’s. Other top batters are Kinsey Mitchell, Taylor Minnick, and Avery Parker who are all batting over .373.
Sophomore Brianna Copeland has been outstanding on the mound for the Hoosiers this season as the young star from Alabama has 12 wins with 3 complete games and a 2.37 era. The Hoosier’s total team era for the season is 3.77 and play very solid defense.
Ohio State is led by Head Coach Kelly Kovach-Schoenly and is coming off a huge victory over their arch-rivals Michigan. They defeated the Wolverines in 2 of the 3 games taking the series. It was the first time the Buckeyes had swept the series over them in 33 years.
The Buckeyes are led in batting by sophomore Melina Wilkinson who has a .400 batting average and leads the team along with Senior Meggie Otte with 4 home runs each. Kaitlyn Farley and Senior star Mariah Rodriguez have batting averages in the high .300s also.
The Buckeyes have a great group of pitchers and the team’s overall era is 2.88. Junior Allison Smith leads the Buckeyes with 11 wins and a 2.09 era while pitching in 8 complete games.
Game 1 will take place Friday and because of rough weather expected in the forecast has been moved up to 4 p.m.