On Saturday, the Indiana Hoosiers closed out their Paradise Classic experience with a pair of run rule victories that extended the team’s win streak to four games. Indiana triumphed over Delaware by a score of 14-2 and over Stonehill by a score of 10-0 with explosive offense and sound defense.
Without a doubt, the Hoosiers exhibited explosive and persistent offense in Boca Raton, outscoring their opponents 44-15 in five games, four of which they won over the course of the weekend. Much of that offensive firepower stemmed from the very top of the batting order, where a trio of upperclassmen proficiently generated production in many of their opportunities at the plate.
Junior Aly VanBrandt led off the Hoosiers at the plate in all of their games in the Paradise Classic. VanBrandt never struck out and hit an impressive .500 in 14 at-bats. Whether she snuck the ball into a gap for a single or wisely watched a fourth ball fly past for a walk, VanBrandt consistently found her way to first base.
VanBrandt put Indiana’s best foot forward to begin each game in a way that set up her teammates, who are quality hitters in their own right, to follow suit and compound on VanBrandt’s early success.
In the Paradise Classic, Alex Cooper and Avery Parker turned out to be fantastic options for the second and third spots in the Indiana lineup. When VanBrandt reached first base, Cooper and Parker proficiently pushed her around the diamond and often back to home plate. The duo combined for four RBIs on Saturday and 12 RBIs over the course of the weekend as a whole.
Scoring was also accelerated by the greedy nature of the Hoosiers on the base paths throughout the weekend. As a team, Indiana successfully stole 21 bases on 24 attempts. Cooper and VanBrandt stole eight bases, successful on each and every one of their attempts.
The top of the order in particular reliably reached first base, and quickly worked its way back in the direction of home plate through quality hitting and daring baserunning. As a result, the trio of VanBrandt, Cooper and Parker scored early and often in each game.
On Saturday alone, the three upperclassmen that fill out the top of the order combined for 13 runs and two strikeouts against Delaware and Stonehill. After they all take their turn at the plate in the first inning, Indiana often has a lead and a limited number of outs, providing the rest of the lineup with room to score with the reduced pressure of knowing that there are already runs on the board.
After leaping out to early leads, Indiana continued to benefit from questionable opposing pitching in Saturday’s games against Delaware and Stonehill. Both teams had a tendency to walk batters or relinquish an abundance of base hits, struggling to string strikeouts together inning after inning.
As a result, the Stonehill defense often remained on the field for prolonged periods of time, allowing the Hoosiers to swiftly cycle through their lineup and bring the top of the order back up to the plate in short intervals. VanBrandt, Cooper and Parker were then able to sustain a constant sense of offensive pressure.
All in all, the firepower present at the top of the Indiana order is critical to Indiana’s offensive success. The opening trio’s flash and consistency at the plate and boldness on the base paths combine to create an explosive first inning effort.
Indiana will have a chance to display that explosivity at the Littlewood Invitational in Tempe, Arizona next weekend. The 4-1 Hoosiers will challenge Portland State, Arizona State and Pacific once each and Nevada twice in the span of four days.
If Indiana can preserve its spark at the top of the order in first innings and beyond, the Hoosiers will certainly be a force to be reckoned with and a tough out at the Littlewood Invitational and through conference play. Time will tell just how impactful the explosive and persistent offense of Vanbrandt, Cooper and Parker will be as a new season begins.
