Indiana Softball Concludes Weekend by Winning Three of Its Last Four

Indiana ended an eight-game losing streak against Minnesota when the Hoosiers defeated the Gophers 7-5 on Sunday.

LEESBURG, Fla. — After splitting its opening series against Nebraska, Indiana softball took on two more Big Ten foes in as many days in its opening weekend of competition.

First up was a doubleheader against Wisconsin on Saturday, where Indiana caught fire on the bats and picked up two victories.

In the first game, Indiana trailed 2-0 through three innings, but then Bella Norton doubled to open the fourth inning, and that's when the momentum started to begin for the Hoosiers.

Tatum Hayes came in to pinch run for Norton, and a grounder hit by Desiree Dufek brought Hayes home to put Indiana on the board.

The Hoosiers would add four more runs in the fifth inning and take a 5-2 lead. Wisconsin battled back in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two runs, but Natalie Foor came in and retired two batters to end the inning for Indiana.

Emily Goodin came on for the save on the bottom of the seventh and got the job done as the Hoosiers defeated the Badgers 5-4.

In the second game, there was much less drama. Grayson Radcliffe led Indiana with three RBI as Indiana rolled to a 9-3 victory to complete the sweep of Wisconsin.

The next day, Indiana had a doubleheader with Minnesota. Unlike every first game Indiana competed in over the weekend, the Hoosiers suffered a defeat.

Minnesota got off to a hot start, scoring three runs in the top of the first to dig Indiana into a deep hole. The Gophers added three more runs in the top of the third, and that was all they needed to defeat Indiana 6-2 on Sunday morning.

Both of Indiana's runs came in the bottom of the seventh.

But the second game between the Hoosiers and the Gophers was a different story.

Indiana struck first this time, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning via a Norton RBI double and a Hannah Davis RBI single.

Norton opened the third inning up with a triple, and Davis got her second RBI of the day with a single to bring Norton home.

The Hoosiers led 5-1 going into the seventh inning, where they added on two more runs to give themselves a six-run cushion. But Minnesota didn't go down quietly in its final three outs.

A couple of errors by Indiana allowed the Gophers to really make run in the bottom of the seventh. Minnesota scored four runs, cutting the deficit to 7-5 before Indiana was able to tie a bow on things and close the deal.

The win ended an eight-game losing streak Indiana had against Minnesota. The Hoosiers' previous win before this came in 2011.

The Hoosiers finished weekend of competition with an overall record of 4-2, winning three of their last four.

Indiana will come back to Bloomington as it has this next weekend off. But in two weeks, the Hoosiers will travel back down the Leesburg, Florida, for more Big Ten games against Northwestern and Rutgers.

Related Story:

• INDIANA SPLITS DOUBLEHEADER WITH NEBRASKA: On Friday, the Hoosiers took a game against Nebraska and then dropped one. CLICK HERE