The Indiana Hoosiers took care of business in their first elimination game of the day on Saturday, but saw their season come to an end in a rematch with the Virginia Cavaliers in their second game of the day with a 9-7 loss.
Indiana staved off elimination earlier on Saturday with an 8-0 run-rule win over Northern Kentucky. The Hoosiers felt good going into a rematch with Virginia, which had lost earlier to Tennessee.
After a Friday night thriller that saw IU lose 8-7 in extra innings, Virginia started where they left off. The Cavaliers scored three runs in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Cabral that scored Jade Hylton and a two-run home run by Friday’s hero, Reagan Hickey.
Hoosier starting pitcher Taylor Hess allowed the three runs and was lifted for Aubree Hooks after just one out. Hooks would get out of the inning with no further damage.
Just like Friday night’s back-and-forth affair, the Hoosiers responded in the bottom of the inning. Aly VanBrandt, who led off with a walk, scored on an error and Josie Bird followed with a two-run home run of her own.
The game seemed to settle down with a scoreless second inning, but Virginia found their power stroke again in the third.
Hooks worked herself into trouble, allowing a leadoff single to Cabral, a walk to Hickey and another single that loaded the bases with nobody out for Alex Call. It did not take long for Call to make the Hoosiers pay as she deposited a fly ball over the center field fence for a grand slam, giving Virginia a 7-3 lead. Brooke Mannon came into relief after the home run and closed out the inning.
Indiana was not finished, however. The Hoosiers responded in the bottom of the third inning with three runs of their own as IU used an Ellie Goins single and a Hannah Haberstroh double to plate the three runs. Haberstroh was thrown out by a wide margin trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
Mannon walked two batters in the top of the fifth inning, but got a big strikeout to strand runners on base and give IU a chance.
The Hoosiers tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning as a flair off Avery Parker’s bat went off the glove of Virginia second baseman Alex Call’s glove (ruled an error) and tied the game at 7-7.
The IU momentum did not last long as the Virginia bats quickly responded in the top of the fifth. Jaiden Griffith singled and stole second base before Madison Greene blasted a two-run home run to left field to put the Cavaliers up 9-7.
The Hoosiers would not really threaten the rest of the way as Virginia’s pitching retired 9 of the next 10 batters.
The Hoosiers finish the 2026 season 43-16 and have won at least one NCAA Regional game in the last four seasons. IU is now 18-25 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with a 5-12 mark since the Regional/Super Regional format started in 2005.