Indiana crushed Northwestern 22-1 on Sunday at Bart Kaufman Field for a home weekend series sweep of the Wildcats. The Hoosiers moved to 26-6 on the season and 6-2 in Big Ten play with the win, while the Wildcats dropped to 9-20 overall and 1-11 in conference play.
Here's what stood out from IU's win:
Scotty Bradley continues his strong play: The sophomore infielder went 2 for 2 with 2 RBI and a walk, including a towering 2-run home run to right field which gave Indiana a 10-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth. His performance raised his batting averaged to .413 on the season, too. Overall, he's 13 for 24 since his appearance in IU's double-header vs. Butler on March 30. He's had a big role in helping IU absolve the loss of junior infielder Luke Miller in the starting lineup while Miller heals from a foot injury.
Indiana's pitching staff stellar again: Northwestern managed just five hits against IU, as the Hoosiers' arms combined for 10 strikeouts with only three walks allowed. Sophomore lefty Cam Beauchamp (5-0) was terrific on the mound with six strikeouts and only three walks, one run and four hits allowed in 5.0 innings. Senior righty Brian Hobbie, sophomore lefty Andrew Saalfrank and freshman righty Connor Manous combined for four scoreless innings of relief with just one hit allowed the rest of the way, helping Indiana's offense build its insurmountable lead. Entering the game, Indiana had the NCAA's third-lowest team ERA at 2.47. After Sunday's performance, that ERA was lowered even further to 2.34.
Jeremy Houston closes the weekend in solid fashion: The sophomore shortstop went 3 for 4 with an RBI-double that would give Indiana the fourth of five consecutive frames with two runs scored. The Chicago native went 7 for 11 in the series against the Wildcats and extended his streak of games with at least one RBI to four. His performance has helped increase the production of the bottom of Indiana's batting order, as the Hoosiers' No. 9 hitter is now hitting .234 on the season.
Key Quotes
On Bradley's performance over the last two weeks:
"Yeah, he's playing well. You know what he's doing a lot, he gets the bunt down. In that one inning and just does a lot of things. Playing the game really well right now. Making some good defensive plays, playing with a lot of confidence, just keeps the lineup going at that point."
-- IU head coach Chris Lemonis
"I think I'm seeing it well. In baseball, when you're seeing it well things work out. I think I'm having fun and just trying to stay focused and enjoy the process. Baseball is a tough game. There's gonna be ups and downs. I'm just enjoying the ups right now."
-- Bradley
On the pitching staff being third nationally in ERA:
"We throw a ton of strikes and we have a lot of depth. Another piece is Pauly and Jon have been so good at the front. It sets the tone for everybody, but it also lets us pitch everybody rested. I mean, we haven't had to stretch anybody really all year. Maybe Matt Lloyd on Sunday against Purdue was the only stretch, and he was still pitching great."
-- Lemonis
On what helped Houston break out of his slump:
"I think getting a couple of those hits early in the weekend. Tuesday night, he hit the triple. I think a lot of that's taken -- this game can be ruthless. The game was really tough on him, and that it's going his way he's playing relaxed right now. He's going the other way. He's staying on some balls and hitting balls hard. And he's a really good baserunner. You miss that piece when he hasn't been hitting."
-- Lemonis
On playing two midweek games, then traveling to face Ohio State for a weekend series next week:
It's going to be a lot of baseball. I've got them running to study hall right now. The hard part is you play two midweeks, and then we travel Thursday, so being a student and being a full-time baseball player is a little tough on these guys. Hopefully they'll stay on top of it.
-- Lemonis
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