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Indiana Softball Heads to Nebraska for Two-Game Series

Evansville/Henderson/Sebree / WREF The REF
Ryan Davenport
Apr 16, 2025 | 3:08 PM
Indiana Softball Heads to Nebraska for Two-Game Series


Credit to: iuhoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– Indiana Softball will head west to Lincoln, Neb. for a two-game series against Nebraska on Friday and Saturday (April 18-19).

The Hoosiers enter the series with a 28-12 record and 7-7 mark in the Big Ten.

QUICK HITTERS:

  • Indiana leads the nation in three statistical categories: batting average (.384), doubles per game (2.18) and on base percentage (.472).
  • Indiana is in the home stretch of the regular season as there are three weekends of play left and nine total games remaining ahead of the Big Ten Tournament. The team’s last non-conference game will be Wednesday next week when the Hoosiers host Ball State.
  • Four Hoosiers have a .400 or better batting average. Taylor Minnick (.513), Madalyn Strader (.439), Avery Parker (.431) and Kinsey Mitchell (.412) all are hitting the mark.
  • Minnick’s .513 batting average is second-best in the NCAA and the top mark in the Big Ten. She only trails Sophia Knight of Boise State who is hitting .515 at the plate.
  • Minnick is one double away from tying the program’s career (54) and single-season records (19).

https://iuhoosiers.com/documents/2025/4/16/Indiana-Nebraska_Game_Notes.pdf

LAST TIME OUT:

  • Indiana had a tough stretch in Madison last weekend when the Hoosiers dropped two of three games in their series at Wisconsin.
  • The series was bookended by some close games with Wisconsin winning 6-5 on Friday night and 10-5 on Sunday. Indiana had a chance on Friday with the tying run on base, down 6-5, but could not bring her home.
  • In the Sunday game, Indiana and Wisconsin were going back and forth in the scoring with it being 2-2 before Wisconsin pulled ahead for good.
  • On Saturday, Indiana displayed its dominance and scored 14 runs in the win while only allowing one. Four Hoosiers hit home runs (Aly VanBrandt, Melina Wilkison, Taylor Minnick and Avery Parker).
  • VanBrandt’s home run was just the second of her career.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:

  • The No. 22-ranked Cornhuskers own a 32-10 record entering the weekend with an 11-3 mark in Big Ten play in 2025.
  • Nebraska has won four games in a row after sweeping Northwestern in Evanston (April 12-14) and defeating Creighton in a midweek game (April 9).
  • In conference play, the Cornhuskers have swept Minnesota and Northwestern while winning two of three against Iowa and Purdue. Their only conference series loss has been to Ohio State where they only won one game.
  • Nebraska’s pitching staff has a compiled 2.34 ERA with Jordy Bahl leading the way with a 1.26 ERA and an 18-4 record along with 189 strikeouts.
  • Bahl also leads Nebraska at the plate with a .457 batting average, 47 RBI and 14 home runs. Olivia DiNardo (.412) and Ava Kuszak (.403) also each hit over .400 for their batting average.

SERIES HISTORY NOTES:

  • Nebraska leads the all-time series between the two programs, 14-10. Indiana defeated Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal last year, 9-5. The Cornhuskers swept the Hoosiers in Bloomington in the two teams’ last regular season series back in 2023.