Indiana opened up their season at the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona.
It was not a good open to the season for the Hoosiers as they went 0-4 on the weekend, dropping games to Xavier, #7 Oregon
State, and twice to UNLV.
There were some bright spots, as Jake Hanley and Korbyn Dickerson contributed heavily at the plate, with the former tallying
six hits and the latter tallying five, including an HR and a 2B.
Let's take a look at each game:
Game 1: UNLV 4, Indiana 2
UNLV scored four runs in the 1st inning, and none for the final eight innings. Gavin Seebold started for Indiana and got off to a rocky start, conceding a grand slam before getting an out in the first. He settled in afterward, not allowing a hit for the other three innings. Drew Buhr entered the game after Seebold, and dominated the entire way, striking out five and not walking a single hitter in his 4 innings of work.
Despite those efforts, the Indiana bats could not foot the bill in this one, as they only mustered 9 hits and two runs in the
game. Multi-hit efforts from Devin Taylor and Korbyn Dickerson were not enough, as Hoosiers could not get it done with ducks on the pond, as they hit 1-9 (.111) with runners in scoring position.
Game 2: Xavier 8, Indiana 6 (10 Inn.)
Runs were few and far between to begin this bout between the Hoosiers and the Musketeers. Cole Gilley dominated, allowing
only 1 ER over 5.1 IP. However, the minute Gilley left the mound, it all fell apart for Indiana. Ben Grable gave up two runs in his ⅔ IP and Ryan Kraft allowed the go-ahead runs to cross in the 9th.
The defense was also an issue, as Cerny committed two errors and third baseman Josh Pyne committed one as well.
At the plate, Indiana had opportunities, but could not cash them in. A Jasen Oliver bases-loaded walk scored a run in the
3rd, followed by a Joey Brenczewski sacrifice fly in the 5th. A Tyler Cerny solo shot in the 7th cut Indiana’s deficit to one, but entered the 9th inning trailing 6-3.
However, Jasen Oliver collected the only hit with RISP for the Hoosiers all day with a 3-run home run to tie it at six.
Indiana had the bases loaded in the 9th down by two, but Oliver flew out to end this one.
Game 3: Oregon State 6, Indiana 0
Coach Jeff Mercer spoke earlier in the week about not having to “punt games” this year, meaning not throwing your best arms in hopes of saving those arms for later games. Due to Indiana playing four games in four days, it seems this game was a punt.
Indiana was no-hit until an 8th inning single by Jake Hanley, and that was the only hit the Hoosiers could muster. Hoosiers
were dominated at the plate all afternoon, a continuation of what was a disappointing weekend offensively by most standards.
All things considered, it was a solid showing by the pitching staff. Pete Haas had given up only one run through two innings,
but after being sent out for a third inning, he gave up three more by way of a 3-run home run by Oregon State CF Gavin Turley.
The Indiana staff settled in afterward, only allowing 2 runs over the next 5 innings of action, including scoreless innings
from Seth Benes, Matthew Bohnert, and Ryan Rushing.
Game 4: UNLV 13, Indiana 12 (10 Inn.)
In a crazy game full of comebacks, and a multitude of opportunities to win the game for Indiana, they drop their 4th straight game in Surprise, AZ.
Indiana climbed out to an early lead thanks to a pinch-hit 3-run home run from Joey Brenczewski in the 2nd inning. It devolved into madness there, and left Indiana playing from behind. After 7 runs from UNLV, Indiana struck back with 3 of their own by way of a bases-clearing triple from Devin Taylor.
Indiana entered the bottom of the 9th down 9-7, where Indiana managed to tie it back up at 9. Devin Taylor had a chance to win it for Indiana, but flew out to left field.
Like the first inning of Fridays game, Indiana was put to rest with a Grand Slam in the 10th. Despite a late rally and home
run from Korbyn Dickerson, a Jake Hanley groundout ended things for the Hoosiers.
Pitching Coach Dustin Glant utilized nine different pitchers in the loss. Anthony Gubitosi delivered three important innings of relief, keeping the rebels at bay.
The Hoosiers are next in action Wednesday in Bloomington against Purdue Fort Wayne, weather permitting.
