Indiana University Softball Run Rules Evansville in Six Frames Indiana took care of business from start to finish on Wednesday defeating Evansville, 8-0 in six innings at Andy Mohr Field. The Hoosiers are on a two-game win streak following a weekend series in Ann Arbor. The win over Evansville is Indiana’s 21st win by run rule of the 2026 season. Indiana’s regular season record now stands at 38-13 (14-7 B1G). • The Hoosiers had a hot defensive start with a 1-2-3 first inning in the top of the first that segued into a hot start with the bats in the bottom of the inning. Leadoff hitter Aly VanBrandt hit a solo homer to right field before an Alex Cooper double to left field. Then, Senior Avery Parker continued her dominance at the plate, powering a home run to deep center field to move the score to 3-0. Madalyn Strader doubled to left center field, putting a runner on the bases for designated player Brooke Mannon. A fielding error from shortstop allowed Mannon to reach first and Strader to score. IU extended its lead 4-0.
In the bottom of the third, a stolen base followed by an error allowed Strader to score, moving the score to 5-0. Following a single by Strader, senior Ellie Goins doubled to shallow center field. The double scored Strader and extended Indiana’s lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Ella Troutt entered for relief at the top of the sixth inning and was in and out of the frame in four batters. A double from Cooper and a walk for Josie Bird in the bottom of the sixth frame put two Hoosiers in scoring position. Strader’s sacrifice fly scored pinch runner Peyton Drummond, extending Indiana’s score 7-0. A walk-off single from Goins to shortstop scored pinch runner Jada Ellison, securing IU’s 8-0 run rule win in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Avery Parker continued her dominant offensive performance with her 18th home run of the season and the 52nd of her career. With the win, junior Taylor Hess moves her record to 10-2. Five Hoosiers recorded at least one RBI: VanBrandt, Parker, Strader, Goins and Mannon. The win is Indiana’s 21st run rule win of the 2026 campaign. Indiana finished the season with an 8-0 record against in-state opponents. Indiana will close out the regular season with a home series against Illinois this weekend from Friday through Sunday (May 1-3).
Indiana University Women’s Golf to Play in the NCAA Regional at Simpsonville, Kentucky The Indiana women’s golf team earned a bid to the 2026 NCAA Simpsonville Regional played at the University of Louisville Golf Club, the NCAA announced on Wednesday via a selection show on The Golf Channel. “We are excited to be heading into postseason again with the Hoosiers,” head coach Brian May said. “We talk all year about being prepared for April and May golf. We handled ourselves well last week in Los Angeles and I think this group is poised and ready to make a run to the NCAA Championship.”
The 2026 NCAA Regionals will be held May 11-13 at one of six sites across the country: Ann Arbor, Mich. (University of Michigan Golf Course), Chapel Hill, N.C. (UNC Finley Golf Course), Simpsonville, Ky. (University of Louisville Golf Club), Stanford, Calif. (Stanford Golf Course), Tallahassee, Fla. (Seminole Legacy Gold Club), and Waco, Texas (Ridgewood Country Club). Each regional site will have 12 teams and six individuals not on those teams vying for a spot in the 2026 NCAA Championships. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six individuals total) from each regional site will advance to play in the championships (May 22-27) at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. 2026
NCAA Simpsonville Regional Teams-1. Arkansas 2. Auburn 3. Iowa State 4. Ole Miss 5. Houston 6. Virginia Tech 7. Kansas State 8. INDIANA 9. College of Charleston 10. Xavier 11. Western Kentucky 12. Oakland. 2026 NCAA Simpsonville Regional Individuals 1. Eila Galitsky, South Carolina 2. Barbara Car, Old Dominion 3. Maylis Lamoure, South Carolina 4. Maria Jose Barragan, BYU 5. Isabella Johnson, Middle Tennessee 6. Sloane Biddle, Belmont.
Indiana Women’s Golf Team NCAA Tournament Appearances-2025-26: Regional 2023-24: Regional (10th) 2018-19: Regional (6th), Finals (24th) 2009-10: Regional (18th) 2007-08: Regional (18th) 2006-07: Regional (4th), Finals (24th) 2003-04: Regional (18th) 2002-03: Regional (19th) 2001-02: Regional (16th) 2000-01: Regional (17th) 1999-00: Regional (19th) 1998-99: Regional (12th) 1997-98: Regional (t-3rd), Finals (13th) 1996-97: Regional (t-10th) 1995-96: Regional (14th) 1994-95: Regional (t-6th), Finals (5th) 1993-94: Regional (4th), Finals (17th) 1992-93: Regional (6th), Finals (t-8th) 1991-92: Finals (13th) 1989-90: Finals (11th) 1986-87: Finals (13th) 1985-86: Finals (12th) 1984-85: Finals (11th).
Indiana University Women’s Golfer Madison Dabagia Voted to All Big-Ten Second Team Indiana senior Madison Dabagia was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, the conference announced on Wednesday afternoon. Dabagia is the 35th Hoosiers to be named to an All-Big Ten team since the inception of the award in 1982. She is the first player to be honored with the distinction since 2022 (Áine Donegan) and the first under head coach Brian May. She has played all 33 rounds for the Hoosiers this season and leads IU in rounds played at par or below (14), top-10 finishes (4), top-5 finishes (1), wins (1), and stroke average (72.52).
Dabagia is on pace to produce the lowest stroke average in program history and would be the first player in team history to average under 73.00 strokes per round. She kicked off the 2025-26 season with an individual victory at the Boilermaker Classic as she shot a season-best 209 (70-72-69; -7). She also posted top-10 finishes at the Wolverine Invitational (t-7th), the Mason Rudolph Championship (t-9th), and the Landfall Tradition (t-6th). Dabagia, a transfer from Iowa, has played in 67 rounds during her two-year stint in Bloomington with a stroke average of 72.82, the lowest mark in IU history. She qualified for the NCAA Lexington Regional during her junior campaign, is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, and was a 2025 WGCA All-American Scholar. Redshirt junior Sheridan Clancy was named Indiana recipient of the 2026 Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree.
Four Indiana University Swimmers Named in the CSC Academic All-America Class Four members of the Indiana swimming and diving program earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-American honors, as CSC announced its teams on Tuesday and Wednesday. Senior Zalán Sárkány and junior Miranda Grana featured in the second team, and junior Mikkel Lee and senior Mya DeWitt placed in the third team.
A sport marketing and management major with a 3.66 cumulative grade-point average, Sárkány closed his collegiate career with his best NCAA Championships when considering total point contributions. The senior earned top 10 finishes in each of his events, highlighted by an NCAA record 1,000-yard freestyle split (8:33.10) in a second-place 1,650 free performance. Grana is a 15-time All-American while keeping a 3.74 cumulative GPA as a sport marketing and management major. The junior produced five All-American finishes at the 2026 NCAA Championships, highlighted by IU’s program record performance in the 400-yard medley relay (3:25.17). This season, Grana became the four woman all-time to break the 50-second barrier in both the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly.
DeWitt, an exercise science major with a 3.81 cumulative GPA, finished her collegiate career strong, scoring in multiple individual NCAA events for the first time in her career. In her final race, DeWitt scored and set a personal best in the 200-yard backstroke with a 1:51.96. DeWitt finishes a six-time All-American and two-time second-team All-Big Ten winner during the women’s program’s greatest run of national team finishes. While maintaining a 3.93 cumulative grade point average as a finance major, Mikkel Lee reached new heights in his junior season. Lee earned All-American status in four events, doubling his career total. He played a significant role in IU’s fifth consecutive Big Ten title, winning three events – including his first individual championship in the 50-yard freestyle.
Bloomington North Hires Alum Andy Harding as its New Head Football Coach The top high school defensive coordinator in North Carolina is the new head football coach at Bloomington North. And that championship pedigree, 14 state championships in 18 seasons, is what he’s planning to bring back his alma mater. Former Cougar lineman Andy Harding was lured back from Tarboro, NC, and its ultra-successful program and was officially approved at the MCCSC board meeting on Tuesday, April 28. The 44-year-old will finish out the school year at Tarboro before settling in as coach and assistant athletic director at North.
A standard was set while turning Tarboro into a state power from scratch. That standard is coming to North. “I’m not here just to win a few games and have a fun time,” Harding said. “Our basic vision at Tarboro is ‘Aim small, miss small.’ Aim for the stars. We love the kids and coach them hard. “They say kids have changed. They haven’t, adults have. We’re going to get in the weight room and grind. We’re going to love the kids and do things the right way. The kids will buy into that.”
Harding takes over for Brett Cooper, who left after one season to take over at Class 6A powerhouse Ben Davis. Harding will be the third coach in three years for the Cougars following Scott Bless’ retirement. North still went 15-7 the past two seasons, but stability is what Harding, a former assistant under Tom Allen at Ben Davis, is offering. “I think the biggest thing is earning the trust of these kids,” Harding said. “Being their fourth coach in four years, these seniors have known nothing but transition. I have to come in and bring calmness. “The message is, I did not move 1,000 miles to take another job. This is my end game, to have this job as long as I can have it and retire from the school.”
Harding is a 2000 North grad and played under Jeff Scalf, who stepped down after the 1999 season. Harding went on to play college football at Manchester. While there he was introduced to coaching, starting with a junior high team. His first high school position came at Ben Davis, coaching defensive tackles for Allen and working alongside Steve Purichia and Mike Kirschner. But he was a victim of reduction in force and in 2007, Harding and his then wife, a kindergarten teacher, decided whoever got hired first is where they’d move. She won, getting a position in Wilson, NC, about 45 minutes from Tarboro.
He started subbing at the schools in Wilson, then in February of 2008 was hired at Tarboro to begin coaching with Jeff Craddock. “I’ve been here ever since,” he said. “It’s been an amazing ride.” Tarboro is a school of just over 500 and is located about 70 miles east of Raleigh. The Vikings went 24-24 over the first four seasons, then it took off. The latest title came in 2025 after a 15-0 season. The program had around 80 players, with eight set to play in college. Afterward, Harding was named the Broyles Award winner for North Carolina as the state’s top assistant coach. Head coach Jeff Craddock was named the head coach for the state’s annual Shrine Bowl game against South Carolina’s senior all-stars and named Harding to be one of his assistants for the game. “When (Craddock) interviewed me, he said, ‘I don’t know what or how many, but we are going to win state championships at Tarboro,” Harding said. “The standard was set and we never relented from that.
“Being a part of something built from the ground up is amazing. Coach Craddock entrusted me with a lot of things. I’ve been a tech guy, coached offensive and defensive line and was defensive coordinator the last 11 years and we won quite a few more state championships.” But he had always kept track of his old program. “Obviously, the position had been open for a while and was thinking much about it,” Harding said. “Then I thought some more and reached out.” The interview went well, stretching from the usual 45 minutes or so by another hour. “I’ve been in Tarboro for 18 seasons down here,” Harding said. “This is home. I never planned on leaving. I was going to retire here. But I always told people this is the one place I’d leave for.
“It’s legit home. My mom’s there. My sisters. Almost all my entire family is there. And I want to continue what Coach Bless did. I’m a big fan of the ‘Godfather’ movies and they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” This is not a long-term project and there’s much more to it than teaching football. His resume should help. It includes coaching players such as former Ohio State standout and current Indianapolis Colt Tyquan Lewis. “It’s kind of like Coach Cig has done at IU,” Harding said of his plan. “Get the guys to win the day. Then you win the week. Then you win the month. Then you win the season and that means you’re the best.
“At Tarboro, these kids have known nothing but winning. The seniors were born the year of our first state championship. So, they know their brothers, uncles, maybe even dads played in the program. It’s not an overnight thing. I know I’ll have to fight a lot of battles.” As for his preferred style of play, film will show Tarboro playing a lot of run-dominant double-tight T, but the current crop of receivers need not worry. “I believe in running the ball, but I also want to get the ball in the hands of my best players,” Harding said. “The double-tight T, I know it, I understand it, I love it. I’ll keep expanding it and make it my program.
“Defensively, we will be sound and fundamental. Read your keys and play fast. Think pre-snap, then react post-snap. Tackle well in space. You make get us, but not because we’re making dumb mistakes.” He plans to meet with coaches and players as he can before the semester ends and will be making the move for good around the time his niece graduates from North. Harding will guide the Cougars into a new era when they begin play in the Mid-State Conference this fall. He is eager for a change of wardrobe and the season opener against South. “I couldn’t stand putting on purple at Ben Davis,” he joked. “And then more purple at Tarboro. “No one understands that rivalry more than me. That team across the city, we want to show them what hard-nosed football is all about.”
Bloomington North Graduate Sam Werczynski Named the Head Football Coach at Paoli High School Bloomington North assistant and former Cougar standout Sam Werczynski has been named the new head football coach at Paoli. Werczynski, a 2020 Cougar grad, played at Hanover and worked with the defensive backs since his return in 2023, Scott Bless’ final year as head coach. The Rams went 49-17 in six years under Neil Dittmer, averaging 40 points per game in the last five seasons, but haven’t won a sectional since 2018, running into Brownstown, North Posey and Triton Central each time. Dittmer, who has also been Paoli’s softball coach for more than a decade, is moving up into administration and will be became an assistant principal.
Fort Wayne Komets beat the Indy Fuel in Game 4 to take a 3-1 Series Lead The Indy Fuel hosted the Fort Wayne Komets for the second night in a row for Game 4 of the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. After a huge 6-4 victory at home on Tuesday night, the Fuel could not make the comeback and fell 3-2 to the Komets.
The Fuel earned the first power play of the game at 9:23 when the Komets’ Logan Nelson served a bench minor penalty for too many men on the ice. That didn’t last long as Indy’s Owen Robinson took an interference penalty less than a minute later. Both penalties were killed off. At 13:05, Reid Pabich took a tripping penalty. This put the Fuel back on the power play but it was killed off. Cody Laskosky took the game’s next penalty at 17:46. The Komets capitalized on the power play with the first goal of the game at 19:05 when Austin Magera put them up 1-0. Indy outshot the Komets 10-8, despite ending the period down by one goal.
Former Fuel defenseman Tyson Feist took a holding penalty at 4:21, putting Indy on an early power play. It was killed off. Indy took back-to-back penalties, starting at 7:04 when Christian Berger took a hooking call. Less than two minutes later, Jadon Joseph was called for slashing. At 10:07, Fort Wayne’s Matt Miller scored on the power play, putting them up 2-0. Cody Laskosky put Indy on the board at 14:28 when he scored with the help of Marcus Joughin and Trevor Zins. Less than a minute later, Fuel captain Chris Cameron took a hooking penalty, but Indy was able to kill it off. At the end of the second frame, the Komets were up 2-1 while shots were tied even at 17-17.
The Fuel killed off the first penalty of the third period which was given to Matt Petgrave for slashing at 1:34. Right after he left the box, Fort Wayne’s Reid Pabich scored their third goal of the game to make it 3-1. Cameron took another penalty at 11:17, putting Fort Wayne back on the power play. He was called for interference. Ultimately Indy killed it off. Fort Wayne’s Brady Stonehouse took another interference call soon after. Indy could not score. With about three minutes left, the Fuel pulled Owen Flores from net in favor of the extra attacker. It paid off as Tyler Weiss scored to bring Indy’s deficit to 3-2. Laskosky and Joughin had the assists. Despite putting heavy pressure on the Komets in the last minute, Indy could not make the comeback. The Komets outshot Indy 30-22 while defeating them 3-2.