Indiana to Host Evansville & Illinois to Close Regular Season – Indiana University Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– In the last week of the regular season, Indiana will host Evansville (April 29) and Illinois for the team’s final Big Ten series (May 1-3) at Andy Mohr Field.
 
The Hoosiers go into the week at 37-13 and 14-7 in the Big Ten. Evansville is 21-24 while Illinois comes into the week at 14-36 overall and 3-17 in the conference.
 
QUICK HITTERS:

• IU’s offense ranks top-15 nationally in many statistical categories: No. 14 Batting Average (.352), No. 4 On Base Percentage (.459), No. 6 RBI (374), No. 8 Scoring (8.18), No. 1 Hit By Pitch (68), No. 6 Total Runs (409), No. 8 Stolen Bases (112), No. 2 Triples (25).
• Avery Parker earned Big Ten Player of the Week after hitting .500 with five home runs and a double while not striking out once in Indiana’s 3-1 week. The Hoosiers defeated Valparaiso and won the series at Michigan.
• Avery Parker became the program’s career home run leader last weekend when she hit home run No. 46 at Iowa on April 19.
• Of Indiana’s 37 wins this year, 20 of them have been by run rule.
• Against Portland State in the Littlewood Invitational (Feb. 12), VanBrandt hit for the cycle as part of a 5-for-5 day where she also totaled two home runs.

 
LAST TIME OUT:

• Indiana took care of business against Valparaiso (April 22) in a 14-1 win in five innings before winning a road series at Michigan, 2-1.
• The Hoosiers took the Friday and Sunday games of the series, including an 11-2 win in five innings on Sunday. The Hoosiers blasted 13 home runs across the four-game stretch.
• After the game on Sunday, Indiana broke its single-season program record of 409 runs and tied their single-season record for RBIs with 374.
• Indiana has won 10 of their last 12 games dating back to April 8 in the win versus Butler.
• Parker’s two home runs against Michigan (April 26) put her at 50 and 51 career home runs.
• In that Sunday win, Taylor Hess pitched a complete game and struck out three batters.

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:

• Evansville is 21-24 on the season and has a 12-12 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Purple Aces lost their most recent series at UIC after winning three games in a row (Bradley 2x and Northern Kentucky).
• Niki Bode leads the way at the plate for the Purple Aces, posting a .team-high 407 batting average. Taylor Howe (.314) and Jess Willsey (.306) also have had strong seasons hitting for them.
• Illinois comes into the week at 14-36 overall and 3-17 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini got swept versus Penn State in their last Big Ten series.
• The Fighting Illini’s Skylar Brennan (.324) and Adisyn Caryl (.318) are Illinois’ two best hitters. Each of them have eight doubles on the season.
• Abby Sabalaskey and Karley Yergler are the Illini’s two-most consistent arms, each having at least 27 appearances and 50 strikeouts.

 
SERIES HISTORY NOTES:

• Indiana leads the all-time series versus Evansville, 27-8. The Hoosiers have won five in a row against them and Wednesday’s matchup will be the first meeting since 2023. Illinois leads the all-time series versus Indiana, 21-11. Indiana and Illinois have not faced one another since 2022.