Indiana survived a scare against IU Indy on Wednesday evening, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit to win 6-3 in a game that could be considered too close for comfort. The Hoosiers evaded the upset through tremendous relief pitching and a reliable, productive offense.
The Jaguars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning by pouncing on Indiana’s starting pitcher, freshman Aubree Hooks. The first four batters in the IU Indy order reached base, recording three walks and a single before Hooks retreated to the dugout.
After the game, Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton shared her view of the evening.
“I would say that was a day we played poorly and won,” Stanton said.
With the bases loaded and one run already on the board, junior Brooke Mannon replaced Hooks in the circle with no outs to work with. Before Mannon could usher the Hoosiers out of the first inning, catcher Avery Parker hurled the softball towards second base in an attempt to pick off Molly Kable and her substantial lead off. The throw sailed astray, opening the door for Paige McPhearson to score the second run of the frame.
Mannon composed a picturesque pitching performance in over five innings of work, permitting the lineup to steadily catch up to and then surpass the score of its guests. Mannon allowed zero earned runs and only one hit, while striking out five batters to earn credit for the win.
After the game, Stanton praised Mannon’s performance.
“She locked it in for us and gave us a shot to muster some offense,” Stanton said.
Sophomore Ella Troutt took the reins in the sixth inning and continued the trend of tremendous relief pitching for the Hoosiers. She walked her first foe, who served as the potential tying run, but the defense buckled down with a double play to stow away the side. Troutt closed out the triumph by shepherding the final five outs.
Indiana’s relief pitching remained tremendous throughout the duration of the contest, but the Jaguars scored in an obscure fourth frame that contained no hits, but one run. Mannon walked IU Indy sophomore Pallas Dominion, who then advanced to second base via a throwing error and later stole third base. Sophomore Callie Dickerson, who reached base on the fielder’s choice play that included the error, stole second base and Dominion stole home base in the process.
After the game, Mannon spoke on her perspective of the play.
“No one likes runs getting scored,” Mannon said, “but I’m happy we did that during this game, just to work on it… get it out now.”
Aside from the fluke in the fourth inning and the early struggles in the circle, Indiana’s defense performed admirably, particularly as it relates to relief pitching. The offense, in response, supplied sufficient production.
Indiana scored six runs, balancing power hitting with opportunistic base running. The root cause of three of Indiana’s runs can be attributed to the base paths rather than the batter’s box.
The first run, scored in the first inning by leadoff hitter Aly VanBrandt, occurred in part because senior Kennedy Cowan failed to effectively field a ground ball. Pinch runners Jada Ellison and Nevaeah Nash scored in the third and sixth inning, respectively, with the support of stolen bases.
Ellison stole second base to put herself in position to be driven home by sophomore Madalyn Strader’s single. Nash scored by capitalizing on VanBrandt’s failed attempt to steal second base that diverted the attention of the defense.
Nonetheless, power hitting provided the evening with an exclamation point. The scoring in the third inning didn’t end with Strader’s single. Rather, a double from senior Ellie Goins and a home run from sophomore Alli Gavin thrust Indiana into the lead that it would never relinquish.
Indiana survived the scare and won with conviction, but Stanton expressed her desire for improvement.
“A cold midweek game,” Stanton said, “a little lack of focus, we’re going to have to be better this weekend.”
The Hoosiers will have their opportunity to improve when they challenge the Maryland Terrapins in a weekend series that is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday. Should the trip to College Park result in Indiana’s third conference series win of the season, the scare against IU Indy may be remembered as a minor misstep in an otherwise excellent season.
