Looking to bounce back after a loss against Nevada on Sunday, Indiana softball responded in emphatic fashion Friday morning, shutting out Colgate 8-0, coming out honed in and hungry, playing with a chip on their shoulder in its first game of the USF Tournament at the USF Softball Stadium.
The Hoosiers were sharp early defensively before breaking the game open in the middle innings.
With the victory, the Hoosiers improved to 8-3 on the season, starting tournament play strong behind timely hitting and a dominant pitching performance.
Junior Brooke Mannon earned her first win of the season, keeping Colgate’s offense quiet throughout the contest. Indiana limited the Raiders to just two hits and consistently shut down scoring threats.
Colgate’s best opportunity came in the second inning with a leadoff double, but Indiana answered with nothing but clean defensive execution to make key outs and strand the runner at third, managing to preserve the scoreless tie through two.
After three quiet innings offensively, Indiana’s lineup erupted in the bottom of the fourth.
Junior Aly VanBrandt sparked the rally with a single before aggressive baserunning created pressure on the Colgate defense. Junior Alex Cooper followed by laying down a perfect bunt down the third base line causing chaos, forcing a throwing error, advancing VanBrandt to third. VanBrandt later stole home to score the game’s first run.
Senior Avery Parker kept it going with an RBI single to left field to extend the lead. Sophomore Madalyn Strader added an RBI groundout to the shortstop allowing pinch runner Jada Ellison to score. Then, senior Ellie Goins delivered the biggest swing of the inning — a triple down the right-field line to plate one, capping a four-run frame to give Indiana a 4-0 advantage.
The Hoosiers continued to apply pressure in the fifth inning, finding different ways to add insurance.
After VanBrandt collected her second hit of the day and moved into scoring position, Parker lifted a sacrifice fly deep enough to right field to plate another run. Sophomore Josie Bird followed with an RBI double to the left center gap, stretching the lead to 6-0.
In her first win of the season, Mannon looked every bit in command through five innings of work. She allowed just two hits, stranded early runners and kept Colgate off the scoreboard while attacking the zone with confidence. Mannon retired nine of her final 11 batters faced, preserving Indiana’s momentum and firmly controlling the pace of the game before turning things over to sophomore Ella Troutt in the sixth.
The Hoosiers capitalized on defensive miscues by the Raiders in the sixth inning allowing them to add two more runs. Strader reached on an error before Goins was hit by a pitch to set up a golden opportunity. A fielder’s choice brought in one run, and senior Cassidy Kettleman drove in another to seal the 8-0 victory in the sixth.
VanBrandt led the way, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and aggressive baserunning that ignited the entire offense, and caused chaos for Colgate’s defense. Bird finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Goins added a triple and an RBI. Parker contributed two RBIs in the win.
Indiana scored eight runs on six hits and did not commit an error defensively.
Indiana will continue play in the USF Tournament on Saturday, with a 9 a.m. matchup against Saint Joseph’s as the Hoosiers look to build on Friday’s momentum and continue their strong start to tournament action.
