Three Observations From IU Softball's First Round NCAA Tournament Loss Vs. Washington

Hoosiers and Huskies play thriller in postseason before becoming conference foes in 2025

Andy Mohr Field Where IU Softball Plays Its Home Games

Hoosiers On The Wrong End Of Thriller

This game had all the signatures of a typical thrilling NCAA Tournament game. Whenever postseason begins, things often get wild and Friday afternoon was no exception between an evenly matched IU and Washington squad.

It began relatively tame at first with the Huskies seemingly cruising with a 4-1 lead. However, the Hoosiers turned the tables in the fifth with a four-run inning and added a dinger in the sixth for a 6-4 lead. Just when it looked like Indiana had seized the momentum, UW roared back with a three-run sixth to put the Cream and Crimson three outs away from defeat.

IU had a chance in the seventh with a lead-off double and finally tied the game when down to their final out at 7. Washington then walked it off with two outs in the bottom half.

Both squads have top-flight offenses and average pitching. This showed throughout and especially late in the game with every ball being hit hard seemingly.

Both Teams Take Advantage Of Breaks, Mistakes, And Questionable Decisions

The seemingly tame contest got wild with one decision to begin the fifth. Lefty Lindsay Lopez started for the Huskies and cruised through four innings. However, despite her success in the circle, she was removed by long-time legendary coach Heather Tarr in favor of righty Ruby Meylan who Indiana jumped all over.

With the UW lead at just 4-3, Lopez returned to the circle cold (in softball the starter only is allowed one reentry) and Sarah Stone crushed the first pitch she saw out of the park to give the Hoosiers a 5-4 lead. This fortune would continue in the sixth as IU took advantage of strange ground rules at Missouri for a solo shot and a 6-4 advantage. The top of the wall has a short fence behind it that in nearly every park would need to be cleared for a dinger. However, in Columbia merely hitting the top of that baseboard in front of the fence is considered to have left the yard despite actually being in play.

One more good bounce struck IU in the bottom of the same inning as Brooke Benson made an amazing catch to save sure extra bases. However, just when it appeared the Hoosiers had seized control, every break went against them from there in the final couple of frames.

It started with a bloop single to tie the game. Then a couple of errors on a bad play in the field saw the Cream and Crimson fall behind 7-6. In the seventh, IU hit every ball as hard as possible but only managed a couple of doubles to tie the game. The game-tying one for the Hoosiers had to be especially frustrating as Avery Parker missed a homer by a half-an-inch that barely hit the side of the aforementioned baseboard rather than the top of it to take the lead. In the bottom half, a misplayed ball at short and a game-winning double that was barely fair ended it with UW on top.

Indiana’s Season Still Alive But Only Barely

With baseball and softball’s postseason being double elimination, the Hoosiers are still hanging by a thread in the loser’s bracket despite the defeat. They play at 5:30 pm Eastern time on Saturday against the loser of Omaha and Missouri. The defeated team will have their season end while the winner will turn around and play at 8 pm in another elimination game. All remaining contests in the regional will continue to be televised on ESPN+.

It would take four wins in two days to take the whole regional from the loser’s side and advance to the super-regional. It is slightly easier to do in softball than baseball with top pitchers being able to throw every inning of every day if needed with the natural underhand motion. However, emerging victorious in four contests in just over 24 hours is extremely difficult in any sport regardless of the difference in the situations on the mound versus in the circle.

No matter what though, the last two seasons have been an unmitigated success for Indiana. It has been the best stretch since the 1980s for the program that has seen back-to-back 40-wins seasons and NCAA appearances. This is after years of struggles that saw just one postseason appearance in the previous 18 springs.