Indiana softball drops heartbreaking news to Washington….

On Friday afternoon at Missouri Softball Stadium, Washington secured a walk-off victory over Indiana in the opening round of the Columbia Regional.

The Hoosiers were on the brink of defeat with two outs in the seventh inning, but Avery Parker’s RBI double tied the game. However, Indiana lost the lead in the bottom of the seventh when freshman Giselle Alvarez hit a double with a 3-2 count and two outs. Sophie Kleiman took the loss in relief.

Indiana (40-19) fell 8-7 to a Washington team that had struggled leading up to the NCAA tournament, having lost four consecutive games and six of their last seven. This defeat means the Hoosiers will face an elimination game on Saturday against the loser of the Missouri vs. Omaha game that night.

Indiana’s struggle to maintain the lead: Indiana took advantage of Washington’s ace, Ruby Meylan, who entered the game in the fifth inning and had her shortest career appearance. The Hoosiers scored four runs in that inning to take their first lead of the game.

Meylan came in with her team leading 4-1 and faced the bottom of Indiana’s order. Cora Bassett and Brooke Benson started with singles, and an infield error allowed Bassett to score. Taylor Minnick’s RBI double followed, and Meylan exited after recording just two outs—her first time not pitching a full inning.

Lopez returned to the mound, and Stone hit a two-run home run on the first pitch she saw, giving Indiana a 5-4 lead. Alex Cooper added a home run in the sixth inning.

Washington rallied in the sixth, with Olivia Johnson driving in two runs with a single to right field, tying the game 6-6. The Huskies took the lead with a controversial play at second base where Indiana committed two fielding errors.

Indiana falls behind early: Washington took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning. Brooke Nelson walked and scored on Alana Johnson’s double. Johnson advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on Kinsey Fiedler’s sacrifice fly.

Indiana responded in the fourth inning when Stone hit a triple, followed by Aly VanBrandt’s suicide squeeze to score Cassidy Kettleman. However, Washington regained momentum in the bottom of the inning with three consecutive hits, leading to two more runs. Sydney Stewart’s RBI single led to a pitching change with Sophie Kleiman replacing Brianna Copeland. Copeland allowed six hits, including three extra-base hits, in her three innings of work. Kleiman managed to stop further damage with a key catch from Stone.