Knoxville, TN. – Indiana softball (42-16, 18-5 B1G) earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Knoxville Regional and is set to take the field this weekend against No. 3 seed Louisville in game one on Friday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana (42-16, 18-5) earned runner-up after falling to top seed Northwestern, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh inning in the Big Ten Tournament Championship.
Sophomore Sarah Stone hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth against Penn State to advance to the semifinals.
IU advanced to the Championship game after hitting three home runs from sophomore duo Brianna Copeland, Taylor Minnick, and Stone.
Kinsey Mitchell held a team-high .375 batting average in the tournament on three hits. She had one double, triple, and home run with six walks, reaching base in nine out of 10 of her at-bats. The Bloomington, Ind., native held a 2.250 slugging percentage and an OPS of 3.15.
Sophomore pitcher duo Heather Johnson and Copeland combined for two wins and a 2.86 ERA in the tournament.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
No. 3 seed Louisville (35-18, 16-7 ACC) fell in the ACC Championship quarterfinals, 2-1, against No. 23/22 Virginia Tech.
Sarah Gordon was named the ACC Softball Freshman of the Year and joins Korbe Otis and Taylor Roby on the All-ACC First Team.
Senior Kaitlyn Morrison ranks second on the team with a .328 batting average on the season.
Korbe Otis leads the Cards with a .406 batting average, 69 hits with 62 runs. She has also been 21-for-21 in stolen bases and is tied for third in the nation with seven triples.
Alyssa Zabala leads the pitching staff with 14 wins and 93 strikeouts in 119 innings. Roby holds a team-high 2.56 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 112 innings pitched.
SERIES NOTES
The Hoosiers trail the Cardinals 20-4.
IU saw action against the Cardinals in non-conference play with a dominant 10-5 win in Bloomington.
B1G Tournament
Indiana finished runner-up at the Big Ten Tournament Championships, falling 2-1 to top-seed Northwestern.
The Hoosiers battled for six innings, allowing 0 runs, and held a 1-0 lead until the Wildcats scored two in the bottom of the seventh inning for the walk-off win.