Not everything was sunny and 75 in Bloomington as the Indiana Hoosiers fell short in their home opener Friday night against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 2-0. They are now 16-5 for the season.
“We got tighter as the game went on,” Indiana coach Shonda Stanton said. “Instead of being the experienced veteran offensive team that we are.”
Stanton is entering her ninth season as the head coach for the Hoosiers and remains confident in the team, despite a home opening and conference play loss.
It was a slow start for both the Hoosiers and the Golden Gophers as either team remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning. Indiana’s Madalyn Strader secured the first Hoosier hit at Andy Mohr Field of the 2026 season with a single straight down the middle in the bottom of the second.
Minnesota’s Sydney Schwartz was a constant threat on both the offensive and defensive side. She would land her first home run of the season at the Hoosiers home opener.
With that fifth-inning home run putting the Golden Gophers on the board 1-0, the Hoosiers struggled to escape the mental fog on the offensive level. Minnesota wound up having seven hits total while Indiana only had two.
At first, it was the battle of the best pitchers with the Hoosiers showing dominance. Indiana’s Brooke Mannon threw a strikeout each inning she was on the mound. Mannon landed a total of four total strikeouts in the game, the once-No. 17 nationally ranked recruit’s (2023) second-highest of the season.
This was the first shutout of the season for Indiana since its season opener against FAU. The Hoosiers tried switching things up by substituting Mannon out for redshirt junior Taylor Hess at the top of the fifth inning.
“Our defensive pitching is gonna give us a shot to win every game,” Stanton said. “And then our offense is pretty dynamic. We just gotta show up.”
Schwartz’s go-ahead home run came off Hess in that fifth inning. A lethargic and out-of-sync offense held the Hoosiers back from catching up to the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota’s Schwartz would single, then her pinch runner Jae Cosgriff scored once more on Indiana in the top of the seventh.
Schwartz was unstoppable on the mound, pitching seven straight innings and striking out seven players in five innings. The Hoosiers would walk the other team on three separate occasions by the top of the seventh.
In a last ditch offensive effort, the Hoosiers held on for hope at the bottom of the seventh. A caught pop fly off the bat of Indiana’s Avery Parker and a strikeout from sophomore Josie Bird put their team in an even tougher spot for a comeback.
Ellie Goins remains the consistent clutch player of the season, as she singled to third base. However, the Hoosiers couldn’t close out the game with any runs, falling short to the Golden Gophers in seven innings.
Indiana will return for a rematch Saturday against Minnesota at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington at 4 p.m. EST.
