Local Sports News: May 9, 2024

Indiana University Softball downs Purdue in First Round of Big Ten Tournament
No. 8 seed Indiana won its opening round game of the Big Ten Tournament over No. 9 seed Purdue, 6-3, on Wednesday afternoon at Bob Pearl Field. With the win, the Hoosiers have advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, slated to face No. 1 seed Northwestern today at noon. Indiana’s season record now stands at 38-17. Indiana didn’t waste any time to get the bats rolling, getting the first four Hoosiers on base in the bottom of the first. Junior Brianna Copeland walked, and junior Taylor Minnick followed that up with a single to center field. From there, junior Sarah Stone hit an RBI single to left center to score Copeland. On the very next at bat, sophomore Avery Parker hit an RBI single of her own to make it a 2-0 game. The Hoosiers would reach a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first after senior Aaliyah Andrews hit a sacrifice fly to center field with sophomore Cassidy Kettleman scoring.

Copeland threw three strikeouts in the top of the second inning. Indiana would add on another three runs in the bottom of the second to bring the lead to 6-0. Copeland scored on a Purdue error to make it 4-0, and then freshman Aly VanBrandt hit a triple to left center to score Stone and Parker. The final out in the top of the third was made by VanBrandt on a spectacular diving catch at second base. Purdue added three runs in the top of the fifth inning to make it 6-3. Indiana’s defense got three quick outs in the sixth inning, going three up, three down. Copeland threw nine strikeouts in the game. Four Hoosiers recorded an RBI: VanBrandt (2), Stone (1), Parker (1), and Andrews (1). VanBrandt and Minnick each had two hits. Seven different Hoosiers recorded a hit. Indiana faced Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2014.

Indiana University Women’s Golf Finishes 10th at the NCAA Regional in East Lansing, Michigan
The Indiana University Women’s Golf season came to an end on Wednesday at the NCAA Regional at the Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing Michigan. The Hoosiers finished 10th in the 12-team regional with a three round team score of 895 which is 31 over par. The Hoosiers shot a 300 in round three to finish the final round 12 over par. Caroline Smith finished 11th in the individual standings with a three-round score 214 which was good for 2 under par for the Regional. Smith shot an even par 72 in the final round. Notre Dame’s Lauren Beaudreau won the Regional Title with a three-round score of 204 to finish the tournament 12 under par and advance to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad California as the top individual not on an advancing team. Beaudreau finished three strokes ahead of USC’s Bailey Shoemaker who led the first two rounds of the regional. Beaudreau finished the final round with a 67 while Shoemaker fired off 71.

USC won the Regional Title with a three round team score of 855 to finish the tournament nine under par. Oklahoma State finished four strokes back followed by Michigan State, Northwestern and Pepperdine as the top five teams advance to the NCAA Championships. Denver missed the cut by four strokes, Florida, Kentucky and Augusta finished ahead of the Hoosiers. Oakland finished 11th four strokes behind the Hoosiers and Illinois State rounded out the field 23 strokes behind IU.

Indiana University Football lands Kent State Defensive Lineman CJ West
Kent State Interior Defensive Lineman CJ West has announced he will transfer to Indiana. West visited Indiana last month. The 6-foot-2- and 315-pound West was considered one of the best defensive linemen available in the portal. 247Sports ranked him as the top uncommitted defensive lineman and 10th-best uncommitted player in the transfer portal. LSU, Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Michigan have also been heavily involved, along with several other Power Four schools. He visited Wisconsin and Michigan recently, as well.

West earned third-team All-MAC honors along the defensive line, leading the team in tackles for loss with seven and tying for the team high with a pair of sacks. He upped his game in conference play with four of his tackles-for-loss coming against conference foes. The Chicago native also recorded 40 total tackles, second on the Flashes’ defensive line. Over four seasons at Kent State, West has recorded 110 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and seven sacks in 39 games played. West has one year of eligibility remaining, and a redshirt season if it’s needed. West addresses a significant need for IU and joins veterans James Carpenter, Marcus Burris Jr., J’Mari Monette, Robby Harrison, and Tyrique Tucker in the interior, along with Freshman Mario Landino.

Five Indiana University Softball Hoosiers earn Big Ten Honors
The Big Ten Conference announced their 2024 softball postseason honors on Wednesday morning and five Hoosiers were recognized. Indiana Junior Sarah Stone was named First Team All-Big Ten with Junior Taylor Minnick and Freshman Aly VanBrandt being named Second Team All-Big Ten. VanBrandt and Freshman Alex Cooper were also named to the All-Freshman Team with Cooper being honored on the All-Defensive team, too. Senior Brooke Benson earned the Big Ten’s Sportsmanship Award.

This is Stone’s second time being recognized to an All-Big Ten Team and her first time being on the first team after earning second team honors in 2023. Stone’s 2024 campaign featured her charting a .311 batting average on 50 hits with seven doubles, ten home runs and 42 RBI. Twice Stone has charted two home runs in the same game this season, doing so in wins against Mercer (March 16) and at Michigan State (April 5). She earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors during the week of April 1-7.

Minnick and VanBrandt each had standout seasons to earn All-Big Ten Second Team accolades. This is Minnick’s second all-conference selection, making the first team a season ago. Minnick leads the team in batting average (.374), hits (61), doubles (12), RBI (53) and walks (33) along with hitting ten home runs. Her 53 RBI are the third-most in the Big Ten this season. In a 5-4 win over Minnesota (April 14), Minnick had two home runs, including the walk-off to seal a series sweep. VanBrandt has put together a highly impressive freshman campaign to earn Second Team and All-Freshman team recognition. Her .364 batting average ranks second on the team. She also has charted 51 hits, 31 runs, 12 stolen bases with a .414 on-base percentage.

Cooper also had a stellar freshman debut, playing lockdown defense at third base and providing offensive firepower to earn both All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team honors. She had two walk-off performances, having a two-home run game in a 5-3 win over Notre Dame (April 16), including the walk-off grand slam. In addition, she hit a walk-off single to bring in the final two runs in a 6-5 win over Wisconsin (April 26). The freshman logged 37 hits, 26 runs, five home runs and 32 RBI in her first season. She earned Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week for the week of April 15-21.

Benson rounds out Indiana’s honors with her sportsmanship award, serving as a great example of leadership and dedication to her team all season and throughout her career. The Fishers, Ind. native has been a constant presence at shortstop at Indiana and is hitting .304 at the plate with 42 hits, 26 RBI, six home runs and 44 runs scored along with 13 stolen bases.

Indianapolis Indians drop Wednesday Afternoon contest at Louisville
The Indianapolis Indians offense could not rally in the ninth as they suffered their second loss of the series to the Louisville Bats at Louisville Slugger Field on Wednesday afternoon, 4-3. Trailing by a run after six innings of play, Louisville (18-17) relied on timely hitting to tie the game in the seventh with a Livan Soto single and take the lead in the eighth with an Austin Wynns double off Carmen Mlodzinski (L, 0-1). Both teams recorded seven hits in the game. In the ninth, Tony Santillan (S, 7) held off a late rally from Indianapolis (16-16) after Ji Hwan Bae and Henry Davis started the rally with singles. Davis was doubled up on first base by a Jake Lamb line drive caught by first baseman Edwin Ríos to end the game.

Louisville started the scoring in the third inning when Hernán Pérez crushed a solo shot off a Cam Alldred fastball. Indianapolis quickly responded in the following frame when Jake Lamb roped a double to right field to score Nick Gonzales. After walking earlier in the inning, Henry Davis scored the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly courtesy of Liover Peguero. After a pitching change with the bases loaded in the fifth, Casey Legumina drilled Davis on a fastball that allowed Matt Gorski to score from third after he singled earlier in the frame. At the turn of the inning, Louisville responded with a run of its own on a fielder’s choice that plated Levi Jordan. Evan Kravetz (W, 3-0) entered the ballgame in the eighth and struck out Gilberto Celestino, the only batter he faced in the outing. Indianapolis and Louisville will meet for the third contest of the six-game series tonight at 6:35pm at Louisville Slugger Field. RHP Brett Kennedy (1-3, 6.03) will take the hill for the Bats while the Indians have yet to name a starter.

WTHR, Tegna and Indiana Fever Expand Game Broadcasts to 11 additional markets
WTHR, TEGNA and the Indiana Fever are expanding how many people will be able to watch the team this season. In addition to WTHR and WALV, 11 other markets will also be airing 17 Fever games for free over the air. With this expanded footprint, 4.6 million homes will have the opportunity to watch No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark, 2023 No. 1 overall pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, and the exciting Fever roster as they make a push to return to the playoffs. Coverage of the games will include TEGNA’s WOI in Des Moines and WQAD in Davenport (Quad Cities). Games will also air on TEGNA’s WHAS in Louisville, as well as stations owned by Gray Television, Sinclair, Nexstar Media Group, Inc., Coastal Television Broadcasting Group, and Weigel Broadcasting Co.

“This is a pivotal moment for our Fever team and women’s basketball, more broadly, and this groundbreaking partnership with TEGNA will ensure more fans than ever will be able to watch this historic season,” said Rick Fuson, Pacers Sports and Entertainment chief executive officer. “We could not be more excited to make these exciting WNBA games available to more fans, in more homes, across more markets, including Caitlin Clark’s home state of Iowa,” said Brad Ramsey, senior vice president, media operations, TEGNA. “We are grateful to the Pacers organization, the WNBA, and our broadcast partners for their trust, and for helping us create a first of its kind fan experience.”

The broadcast schedule will include 17 Fever games, including the home opener on Thursday, May 16.

Thursday, May 16 — 7 p.m. New York
Wednesday, May 22 — 10 p.m. @ Seattle
Saturday, May 25 — 9 p.m. @ Las Vegas
Thursday, May 30 — 7 p.m. Seattle
Saturday, June 1 — 1 p.m. Chicago
Sunday, June 2 — 7 p.m. @ New York
Monday, June 10 — 7 p.m. @ Connecticut
Thursday, June 13 — 7 p.m. Atlanta
Sunday, June 23 — 6 p.m. @ Chicago
Thursday, June 27 — 10 p.m. @ Seattle
Wednesday, July 10 — Noon Washington
Monday, Aug. 26 — 7:30 p.m. @ Atlanta
Wednesday, Sept. 4 — 7 p.m. Los Angeles
Sunday, Sept. 8 — 4 p.m. Atlanta
Wednesday, Sept. 11 — 7 p.m. Las Vegas
Sunday, Sept. 15 — 3 p.m. Dallas
Thursday, Sept. 19 — 7 p.m. @ Washington
Stations airing the games (subject to change) include:
Indianapolis, Ind.: WTHR 13.1, 13.3 & WALV 46.1 (TEGNA)
Champaign-Springfield, Ill.: WCIX 49.1 & WCIA 3.1 (Nexstar)
Cincinnati, Ohio: WXIX 19.3 (Gray Television)
Davenport, Iowa: WQAD 8.1, 8.3 (TEGNA)
Dayton, Ohio: WKEF 22.3 (Sinclair)
Des Moines, Iowa: WOI 5.1 & KCWI 23.1 (TEGNA)
Evansville, Ind.: WFIE 14.2 (Gray Television)
Fort Wayne, Ind.: WPTA 21.3 (Gray Television)
Lafayette, Ind.: WPBY 35.1, 35.2 (Coastal Television Broadcasting Group)
Lexington, Ky.: WKYT 27.2 (Gray Television)
Louisville, Ky.: WHAS 11.1, 11.2 (TEGNA)
South Bend, Ind.: WCWW 25.1 & WMYS 69.1 (Weigel); WNDU 16.2 (Gray Television)
All games will be available over the air via antenna. Fans can visit wthr.com/fever for information on how to purchase or set up an over the air antenna. A majority of the games will be available via cable and/or satellite. Check local listings for specifics.

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