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Softball Heads to Bloomington for Indiana Invite

ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies return to the Midwest to play in one final weekend invite at Indiana University before beginning league play.

Oakland will play five games in three days down in Bloomington, starting with a showdown with the host school on Friday, Mar. 8 at 4 p.m. The Golden Grizzlies and the Hoosiers have only met two times before, splitting their matches.

On Saturday, Mar. 9 Oakland will play a 10am game against Dayton and a game against Howard at 5:30 p.m. Of the three teams the Golden Grizzlies play, they have the most history with the Flyers, holding a 2-3-1 record with Dayton, most recently meeting in February of 2020 where Dayton won 0-5. The teams have played in four neutral site games against each other in their history, each winning two of those games.

The Golden Grizzlies and the Bison have only played each other once before in a game way back in 2011 where Howard barely escaped Oakland, winning 3-4.

On the final day of the Indiana Invite, Oakland will play once more against Dayton at 1:30 p.m. and Indiana at 3 p.m. to close out the weekend.

After a 4-1 start to the season, the Golden Grizzlies went 2-2 in their weekend at the Chanticleer Showdown, bringing their overall record to 6-4. Oakland has had a balanced attack thus far, using their speed and contact hitting to propel their offense that holds six players hitting over .300 and holding a .260 batting average, the second highest in the Horizon League.

Power has not been the emphasis of the Oakland offense, having hit just four home runs as a team, but they have hit nine doubles.

The play in the circle has also been very strong to open the season. They have only allowed over four runs three times, holding the lowest ERA (3.48) in the league as well. Their fielding has also been on par with the play in the circle, committing only five errors and having the highest fielding percentage (.980) in the league.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

The Hoosiers are well into their season, boasting a 15-4 record as they sit in second place in the Big Ten. They are 4-0 at home and currently riding a five-game win streak, most recently beating Valparaiso 10-0 in five innings. The Hoosiers are hitting .321 from the plate, ranking 41st in the nation in batting.

Howard has also had an impressive start to the season, beginning 15-5. The Bison bat .329, 27th in the nation, and a .399 on base percentage, which also ranks in the top 50. Bison senior outfielder Bianca Worthy joins Oakland's Krizka as the only players in the invite to be in the national top 20 of hitting. Worthy's .500 BA is T-14th in the nation.

Dayton comes into the invite just over .500 with a 7-6 record. Just like Oakland the Flyers began the season 4-1, even reaching 7-2 before they hit a four game losing streak, most recently losing 11-3 to Southern Illinois in five innings. Dayton is the former school of Oakland pitcher Mary Newton. In her two seasons with the Flyers, Newton made 14 appearances and six starts in the circle.

See Oakland take on the Indiana gauntlet starting on Friday, Mar. 8 at 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Mary Newton

#1 Mary Newton

P
5' 7"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Mary Newton

#1 Mary Newton

5' 7"
Junior
R/R
P