After dropping its first two games of the weekend in Eugene, Indiana aimed to salvage the series Sunday against the Ducks. The Hoosiers appeared well on their way to doing so, but once again failed to put together a full nine innings of baseball, falling 7-6 while being swept for the second time this season.
Indiana (7-12, 1-5 Big Ten) put up its best offensive performance of the series, at least from a runs perspective. After scoring a combined three runs in the first two games of the series, the Hoosiers scored six runs on eight hits in the finale. However, all six of those runs came in the first three innings of the game, as the bats went quiet the rest of the way en route to a one-run loss.
Indiana jumped out to a lead early as sophomore Will Moore scored from third on a groundout by redshirt freshman Brayden Ricketts in the top of the first inning. Then, sophomore Cooper Malamazian singled to left, scoring sophomore Hogan Denny to put the Hoosiers up 2-0.
In the top of the second, Indiana plated two more. Junior T.J. Schuyler scored sophomore Caleb Koskie on a fielder’s choice, and freshman Landen Fry scored on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Hogan Denny to make it 4-0 Hoosiers. Oregon freshman RHP Josh Hollis, Sunday’s starter for the Ducks, was chased out of the game early, lasting just 1.1 innings for the Ducks.
Indiana scored its final two runs of the game in the top of the third inning on a throwing error by Oregon junior Ryan Cooney. As hot as the Hoosiers’ bats were for the opening three innings of the game, they were subsequently shut down in the final six. It’s another example of the “streakiness” Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer has defined his offense to be.
For Oregon (17-3, 5-1), following Cooney’s exit, four pitchers in relief combined to allow zero earned runs on just three hits over 7.2 innings. The scoreless stretch from the Ducks’ pitching staff played a big role in giving Oregon an opportunity to slowly dig themselves out of the five-run deficit they faced early on.
The Ducks got on the board in the bottom of the second inning via an RBI single from sophomore Burke-Lee Mabeus. It was the lone run allowed in a strong start from Indiana sophomore LHP Brayton Thomas, who struck out five over four innings.
However, the bullpen was, once again, a major issue for the Hoosiers. Graduate student RHP Michael Sarhatt entered the game in relief of Thomas, and after a scoreless fifth, proceeded to allow three runs in the top of the sixth on a bases-clearing double by Cooney. Oregon added a fourth run in the inning on an RBI double by senior Dominic Hellman against graduate student RHP Kaden Jacobi.
In what was suddenly a one-run game, Hellman struck once more for the Ducks in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI single against junior RHP Jackson Yarberry, tying the game at six. Yarberry came back out for the ninth, but failed to record an out for Indiana as freshman Angel Laya completed the series sweep for Oregon on a walk-off single.
After opening up conference play 1-0, the Hoosiers have plummeted to 1-5 and sit 15th out of 17 teams in the Big Ten. While it’s still early, this is a team that was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten preseason poll. Through its first two series of conference play, Indiana has certainly not looked the part and has a lot to clean up on both sides of the ball moving forward.
The Hoosiers now head to Nashville, Tennessee for a midweek clash with the Vanderbilt Commodores. First pitch is currently scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, but with a forecast high of 42°F, it seems more likely than not the contest will be moved, if not canceled.
