Indiana started its rivalry series strong with a 4-1 win against Purdue on Friday evening. For the most part, it was a quiet seven innings for both sides, but Indiana maintained a consistent sense of control as the home team.
Indiana declared its command over the contest early, when senior Ellie Goins hit a solo home run in the first plate appearance of the bottom of the second inning. The home run not only handed the Hoosiers the lead, but also served as redemption for her fly ball that was caught at the wall with the bases loaded against Butler on Wednesday.
In a situationally similar plate appearance, junior Aly VanBrandt hit a solo home run of her own at the outset of the fifth inning. In two swings, the Hoosiers scored more runs than Purdue would be able to over the course of the entire game.
Purdue’s lone score of the evening came in between Indiana’s defining home runs. In the fourth inning, freshman Anna Moore reached third base on a hit that is often simply a routine single with the assistance of an error in right field. Junior Delaney Reefe poked a single into center field soon after, driving Moore in for the tying score. Purdue’s glimmer of grandeur didn’t last long, with the Hoosiers promptly retaking the lead that they would never again relinquish.
Outside of the brief Boilermaker triumph in the fourth frame, Purdue failed to find a sense of offensive rhythm. As a matter of fact, three of the game’s seven innings ended with zero Boilermaker batters reaching base.
Indiana’s pitchers performed well, leading the way in limiting Purdue’s production. Sophomore Ella Troutt pitched the first five innings as the starter in the circle, allowing four hits and zero earned runs in that time. Redshirt junior Taylor Hess pitched more than an inning in relief, and Troutt later returned to record the final two outs.
Neither pitcher allowed an earned run or a walk and Purdue junior Moriah Polar, who leads the Big Ten in hits, went 0-for-3 at the plate. Troutt slammed the door on a Purdue comeback attempt in the seventh inning with a jubilant strikeout.
The Hoosiers hit two home runs and plated four runs in total, but critically, this game was won by the pitching staff just as much as it was by the lineup.
Indiana’s explosive and persistent offense has been the primary catalyst for much of the team’s success this season, making the pitching staff’s display of strength in leading the way to a win against a quality opponent all the more impactful as the postseason creeps ever closer.
After the game, Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton expressed a similar sentiment in regards to the impact of Indiana’s thriving pitching staff.
“The game is never over,” Stanton said. “As long as we have swings, we always have a shot and now we have a pitching staff that I think can shut it down.”
Leading 2-1 late in the game, with the pitching staff working hard to hold off the Boilermakers, the Hoosiers searched for a knockout punch. Freshman and Indiana native Josie White pinch hit for senior Cassidy Kettleman and drove in two insurance runs with one influential swing in the sixth inning.
After the game, Stanton had high praise for White’s efforts.
“It’s about picking yourself back up off the mat,” Stanton said, “and no matter what, being able to eventually throw the knockout punch. Josie White gave us the knockout punch there today.”
The knockout punch landed Indiana the victory in the series opener, which doubles as a key conference win with postseason implications abound. Purdue is granted the opportunity to exact revenge and Indiana is granted the opportunity to clinch the series when this weekend’s action resumes on Saturday at 2 p.m.
