Sunday’s Indiana Hoosiers (21-6, 4-2) softball game was moved up three hours to avoid the incoming severe weather, but the elements still played a factor. Wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour created a jet stream out to left field and allowed a 14-11 slugfest to breakout in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers looked poised for a three-game sweep after jumping out to an 8-0 lead after two innings as the wind affected play for both sides. It was blowing so hard that balls that would normally land on the concourse would blow back into play and fly balls that would be outs carried over the wall.
Indiana raced out to a 5-o lead in the first inning as they combined some small ball with Hannah Haberstroh’s first career home run. Haberstroh’s line drive cut through the wind and over the right field fence.
IU tacked on three in the bottom of the second as Aly VanBrandt and Alex Cooper hit back-to-back home runs. VanBrandt’s was a wind blown homer that went off of the top of the left field while while Cooper’s was a long home run just left of center field.
After tossing two scoreless innings Indiana starting pitcher Aubree Hooks ran into trouble and the game would go through more twists and turns. Rutgers plated four runs in the second. Hooks walked Rutgers off Addie Osborne to lead off the inning before allowing a single to Charleigh Schuettler and an RBI double to Kelsey Hoekstra. Hooks was chased from the game after Sam Rohwer hit her first of two home runs on the day. Brooke Mannon took over in the circle and got out of the inning without further damage.
IU would waste an opportunity to extend the lead, a theme that would be prevalent all day for the Hoosiers. In the bottom of the third IU would leave runners on second and third. For the game IU left nine runners on base.
Rutgers would close the gap in the top of the fourth again with three runs. Rohwer bashed her second home run to make the score 8-6, this one of Taylor Hess who wouldn’t back it out of the fourth inning. A Rachel Milian RBI single drove Hess from the game in favor of Ella Troutt who started Saturday’s game.
The Hoosiers would pad their lead to 10-7 with a Madalyn Strader two-run home run, but Rutgers’ bats would go back to work as IU pitching had no answers.
The Scarlet Knights tied the game at 10 in the top of the fifth inning on a double, an RBI ground out and a single. IU would leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and that was the break Rutgers would need.
Rutgers took their first lead of the game in the top of the sixth on a Addie Osborne two-run blast. IU would answer with one run in the bottom of the inning on a Cassidy Kettleman sacrifice fly before the Scarlet Knights added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh on a Millan two-run home run for the final margin of 14-11.
Box Score
Notables
• Four different Hoosiers hit a home run today: Aly VanBrandt, Alex Cooper, Madalyn Strader and Hannah Haberstroh.
• Haberstroh’s home run was the first of her career.
• Four Hoosiers had multiple hits: VanBrandt (2), Cooper (3), Ellie Goins (2), Hannah Haberstroh (2).
• This was the 13th game this season where Indiana scored 10-plus runs.
UP NEXT
Indiana will next compete in midweek action. The Hoosiers host IU Indy on Wednesday (March 18) at 5 p.m. in Andy Mohr Field.