Indiana softball closed out its home opener series with two back-to-back wins against Minnesota. Minnesota took home the 2-0 win on Friday before Indiana returned the favor with a 5-0 win Saturday. Sunday, which ended in a 6-4 Indiana win, started off similar to Friday in terms of a slow, scoreless start.
Defense on the other hand, was on par for Indiana as Minnesota struggled to get anything going at the plate.
Neither team could make an offensive impact until the fifth inning. But when the fifth inning came, momentum shifts on either side of the field could be felt for both the Golden Gophers and Hoosiers.
For a brief moment in the beginning, Minnesota looked like it had seized control. A single to left center by Minnesota’s Maggie Werner would put her on base, followed by a bunt single by Cassie Johnson. A fielder’s choice and an RBI groundout put the Gophers up, 2-0. These runs increased the tempo and pressure but were not enough to get inside the Hoosiers heads, but rather keep them on their heels.
“The goal today was being disciplined and dominant,” Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton said. “We were disciplined. We didn’t dominate. We had grit. Today was disciplined and gritty. And that’s welcome to the Big Ten.”
Grit, discipline and staying the course led to a shift change in the fifth.
Indiana made sure they were the ones who had the final word. After Minnesota scored two runs in the top half, Indiana responded back with a five-run rally in the bottom of the inning that changed the trajectory of the game in a matter of minutes.
With two on and one out, Avery Parker hit an RBI single to start the scoring. Then Josie Bird delivered with a grounder to right field, scoring Alex Cooper and tying the game at two.
Parker, who leads the team in home runs for the season so far with eight, scored on a throwing error at home plate and IU took the lead, 3-2. In the later half of the bottom of the fifth, Madalyn Strader became the star of the show once she stepped inside the batter’s box. The sophomore infielder scored her first Hoosier home run with an out-of-the park dinger.
The sea of crimson and cream erupted with cheer and not a single fan could be found sitting down in the stands as a result of the play. With bats hot and heavy, Indiana would not only take over the lead but increase it 5-2, in one inning alone.
At the quick crack of a bat, the game flipped entirely. What began as a Minnesota breakthrough became Indiana’s defining moment of dominance Sunday afternoon. The Hoosier Hysteria ultimately led to solving the Sydney Schwartz pitching puzzle as she was subbed off the mound in exchange for Macy Richardson toward the tail end of the fifth inning turnaround.
Seven runs crossed the plate in the inning, but five belonged to Indiana. Despite Minnesota striking first, Indiana had delivered their own Revenge of the Fifth, proving that the force was strong in Bloomington and a New Hope for the Hoosiers was underway.
