LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After being swept at home by Iowa over the weekend, Indiana baseball (20-25, 6-15 Big Ten) had something to prove Tuesday night, as they travelled two hours down I-65 to face the ACC’s Louisville Cardinals at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Hoosiers scored a total of eight runs in the weekend series vs the Hawkeyes. On Tuesday night, the IU bats erupted for 11 hits and 10 runs. The offensive explosion, along with yet another gem from left-hander Conner Linn, guided Indiana to a 10-6 victory. Indiana now has a 9-2 record in midweek games this season.
Linn, who made his sixth start of the season, earned the victory Tuesday night with five outstanding innings. Despite only striking out two batters, the veteran southpaw held Louisville scoreless for the entirety of his outing. He was also the beneficiary of some outstanding Indiana defense, particularly from shortstop Cooper Malamazian.
Speaking of Malamazian, the sophomore led the charge for Indiana’s 10-run performance. After a tough weekend against Iowa where he was just 1-for-13 at the plate, the sophomore reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances Tuesday night. He finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, two walks and a run scored.
The Hoosiers scored seven of their first 10 runs in the first three innings of the game, setting the tone early and often. This included a five-run top of the third, helped out by two Cardinal errors. Every bat in the IU lineup either drove in a run or recorded a base hit.
Indiana was without two of its key hitters on Tuesday night, as Caleb Koskie and Brayden Ricketts both did not play. Both players exited Sunday’s game against Iowa with injuries, and it appears in both cases the injuries were serious enough to keep them out of the midweek tilt.
Ricketts’ replacement behind the plate, veteran T.J. Schuyler filled in very nicely, finishing 1-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, along with registering another caught stealing. The junior is now 7-for-13 on the season in caught stealing attempts.
Freshman Owen ten Oever, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, homered for the third time in the last five games, an opposite field shot to right field in the sixth inning.
Jake Hanley added a homer in the eighth. The sophomore made his 101st consecutive start to begin his Hoosier career.
Indiana’s only weakness on Tuesday was the bullpen, who struggled to put the game away late. All six Louisville runs came in the final four innings, including a three run eighth inning.
Jacob Vogel and Kellen English struggled particularly, combining to give up five runs in two innings of work. English didn’t even record a single out in his brief stint, being removed after handing out a pair of free passes.
In the bottom of the ninth, head coach Jeff Mercer called on veteran lefty Anthony Gubitosi to get the final three outs. Despite an error from Malamazian, the former Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hen put up a zero, giving Indiana a much-needed victory.
Sitting at 6-15 in conference play, IU will need to finish the rest of the Big Ten slate basically perfect if they want to have a shot at playing in the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha.
That begins this weekend with a three-game set against Northwestern, who currently sits last in the conference. The series begins Friday night with a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and first pitch is set for 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central).
