Indiana Softball Gets Whipped by Tennessee, Looks to Stay Alive on Sunday
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Indiana's softball team had a lot on its plate on Saturday, dealing with the powerful women on the Tennessee's SEC championship team.
They also had another woman get in their way — Mother Nature.
The Hoosiers lost 9-1 in five innings through several rain delays, and the first one was a killer. The Hoosiers were down four runs in the third inning, but had the bases loaded with hot hitter Brianna Copeland at the plate during a light drizzle that was really frustrating Tennessee pitcher Ashley Rogers.
She walked three batters in the inning, and the Hoosiers seemed primed to get back in the game. Instead, NCAA officials stopped the game, sending both teams to their locker rooms while they covered field with the tarp and stripped the Hoosiers of any momentum.
Indiana coach Shonda Stanton railed at the umpires and several NCAA officials when the rain delay was announced. She did not speak to the media after the game.
After a rain delay that wound up lasting almost five hours, a refreshed and relaxed Rogers struck out Copeland to end the inning. The Hoosiers never threatened again — Indiana had only two hits all day — and a grand slam by Rylie West in the fourth inning ended all suspense.
The Hoosiers (42-17) are back in action on Sunday afternoon in the double-elimination Knoxville Regional. They will play No. 3 seed Louisville again after the Cardinals eliminated Northern Kentucky with a 9-1 victory on Saturday night. The game will start at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, with the winner taking on Tennessee at approximately 4:30 p.m., or 35 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
There is no live TV, but the entire game can be seen live on the ESPN-Plus streaming service.
Indiana freshman Taryn Kern — the Big Ten's Player of the Year — had the Hoosiers' first hit, a home run in the first inning. It was her 23rd homer of the year. Cassidy Kettleman had the other Indiana hit, a single in the fourth inning.
Tennessee (46-8) hit four home runs, with two from Kiki Milloy. plus the West grand slam and a shot by Mackenzie Donihoo. Tennessee, the No. 4-overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, won both the regular season and tournament title in the SEC this year.
Tennessee coach Karen Weekly didn't have any problem with the rain delay being called because she felt like playing conditions were deteriorating too quickly.
“In five years, I’ve never seen Ashley walk three in an inning,” Weekly said. “The rain shouldn’t impact a game at this point in the season.”
Copeland was Indiana's starting pitcher for the second straight day, but she didn't get out of the second inning, giving up five runs. She took the loss and is now 22-4 on the season. She was replaced by Macy Montgomery, who struggled with her control, walking five Volunteer batters and allowing the grand slam to West.
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