IU softball, Brianna Copeland step up under pressure in NCAA Tournament win vs. Louisville
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If Brianna Copeland was going to wilt, the opportunities were there in IU’s 4-3 victory.
Louisville had Indiana’s workhorse pitcher on the ropes a couple times, but the Cardinals never cashed in.
First and second nobody out in the fourth, with the Hoosiers up by three, and Louisville was shut down with any damage.
Taylor Roby had a leadoff home run in the sixth to cut the difference to 4-2, but Copeland responded with two strikeouts and a routine groundout.
Finally, in the seventh, another leadoff homer tightened the score, but Macy Montgomery came in relief for the final two outs to nail down the victory for Indiana (43-16) in the first round of the NCAA Regional softball tournament Friday at the University of Tennessee.
The Hoosiers advanced to meet the host Volunteers at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“I don’t even think about (the situations),” said Copeland. “I just take the ball and get the out. It’s just next batter; one batter at a time; next pitch. I just trust my stuff. I knew I had my offense and defense to back me up.”
Louisville (35-19) had the lead-off hitter — Korbe Otis (first), Taylor Roby (sixth) and Vanessa Miller (seventh) — homer in three innings, but couldn’t generate any momentum beyond that. The fourth inning was as close as the Cardinals came to making something big happen.
“There are a lot of moments in every game that are winning moments,” said Louisville coach Holly Aprile. “We weren’t able to come through in those situations.”
Indiana, meanwhile, generated enough of those winning moments to capture its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2006.
Sarah Stone and Copeland had back-to-back homers in the third. Stone and Brooke Benson also had RBI singles.
The Hoosiers’ offense responded after being limited to just one run by Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, which the Wildcats won in a walk-off, 2-1.
“Belief precedes behavior,” said IU coach Shonda Stanton. “If you believe you’re one of the best hitting teams in the country, that’s exactly what you’re going to see.
“What’s our identity? We stayed true to our identity with the long ball.”
Losing confidence was never an issue.
“We talked to our team all week (leading into Friday’s game),” Stanton said. “When you know your purpose — who you are and where you’re going — the result takes care of itself.”
Benson and Stone each had a pair of hits.
“It’s always been a goal to get to the postseason with this team,” Benson said. “Now that we’re here, it’s the ultimate fun zone on this team. It’s hard not to have fun with this team.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU softball, Brianna Copeland step up under pressure in NCAA Tourney win
