In Sunday’s decisive third game of the weekend series between Indiana and Minnesota, the Hoosiers finally deciphered the pitch speed puzzle put forth by Minnesota senior Sydney Schwartz, who started her second game of the series on Sunday in what would become a 6-4 Indiana victory.
On Friday night, Schwartz pitched a complete game shutout, tranquilizing the dangerous Indiana lineup with ease. In the 2-0 Minnesota win, Schwartz struck out six Hoosiers and allowed just two hits on 23 Indiana at-bats.
Then, after Indiana won 5-0 on Saturday, Schwartz returned to the circle to supply a second start for the road team. Once again, her menacing deception and efficiency reigned supreme against a lineup that entered the weekend with the second best batting average and second most runs scored in the Big Ten. In less than five innings of work, Schwartz struck out five batters, attacking the zone without pause.
Critically, Schwartz authored strikeouts in some of the game’s most impactful moments. She faced exceptionally similar situations on consecutive experiences in the circle, with the Hoosiers placing a pair of runners in scoring position in both the third inning and the fourth inning.
In the third inning, the top of the order approached the plate with two outs already on the board. Indiana’s leadoff hitter, Aly VanBrandt, promptly singled and reached third base on a subsequent double from Alex Cooper. Indiana’s catcher and home run leader, Avery Parker, stepped into the box next but struck out swinging against Schwartz’s unpredictable pitching. In a scoreless game, Schwartz evaded danger with a timely strikeout.
In the fourth inning, a fielding error allowed sophomore Madalyn Strader to reach base. Senior Ellie Goins walked in the next at-bat before sophomore Hannah Haberstroh nudged both Goins and Strader into scoring position on a ground out. Then, with two outs on the board, sophomore Alli Gavin struck out swinging to strand two potential runs on the base paths.
Although Schwartz and the Minnesota defense found themselves in unfavorable circumstances on multiple occasions, the senior pitcher stamped out both of Indiana’s premier scoring opportunities. Akin to Friday’s 2-0 result, the game remained scoreless through four innings, in large part due to Schwartz’s tyrannical throwing.
The fifth inning, though, told an entirely different story. Minnesota scored two runs to pull ahead, and Indiana rattled off a streak of four consecutive at-bats that resulted in runs. By the time the third out arrived, the Hoosiers had scored five runs and commanded control over the contest.
The top two batters in the Indiana order, VanBrandt and Cooper, stood on first and second base when Parker slapped an RBI single up the middle. Sophomore Josie Bird did the same to drive in another run immediately after. Freshman Jada Ellison pinch ran for Bird and stole second on a play that caused a throwing error, which opened the door for Parker to scamper from third base to home plate. Then, Strader provided the cherry on top of the outburst with her first career home run to extend the lead to three runs and force a pitching change.
After the game, Hoosier head coach Shonda Stanton fielded questions about the fifth inning fireworks within the context of Schwartz’s previous dominance.
“I think we got better at swinging at strikes and taking the balls,” Stanton said. “...It's staying the course. It doesn’t matter if you’re 10 for 12 going in or you’re 0-for-12 going in, it’s what you do in that moment on that pitch.”
After Friday’s loss, Stanton detailed how the Hoosiers started to hunt big swings against Schwartz once the off-speed pitching proved to be too unpredictable to conventionally approach. After Sunday’s win, Parker expressed a similar sentiment.
“I think a lot of us were just trying to press for that big hit,” Parker said, in reference to Friday’s fight to put the first run on the board in a prolonged pitching duel.
Later, she touched on how the lineup’s approach varied in the series finale.
“A lot of us had adjustments going up to the plate,” Parker said, “and then on top of that I think just better pitch selection overall. We were chasing a lot of balls in the first game, and knowing our game and knowing that the umpire is not going to call balls out of the zone, we were able to get more barrels.”
For 11 innings over the course of two games, Schwartz stymied Indiana’s potent lineup with consistently tricky pitch selection and speed variation. Eleven innings proved to be the limit of her success, and the Hoosiers found a groove it could score through and did so emphatically.
The two teams traded additional minor blows towards the end of the afternoon’s action, but the fifth inning proved to be the defining moment of the third installment of the weekend series. Perhaps it also serves as the defining moment of the weekend as a whole by granting the home team the win in a tightly contested series tiebreaker.
With the first conference series now officially in the books, Indiana looks ahead to Tuesday’s midweek clash with Loyola Chicago, as the home stand on Andy Mohr Field continues. Next weekend, Indiana will host Rutgers with the goal of winning a second straight three game Big Ten series.
Ultimately, Indiana swiped the first series of the Big Ten season away from its guests, fastening the weekend comeback by forcibly sending the previously undeniable Schwartz back to the dugout in a crushing fifth-inning conquest. After a brief blip in the trend of Indiana orchestrating outstanding offensive performances, the dynamic Hoosier lineup seems to have wholeheartedly bounced back.
