IU Baseball Takes Game 1 Vs. Northern Illinois 18-0
No. 14 Indiana scored early and often in its 18-0 win over Northern Illinois Friday night at Bart Kaufman Field. The Hoosiers moved to 13-4 on the season with the win, while the Huskies dropped to 4-12 with the loss.
Here's what stood out in Indiana's victory:
Jonathan Stiever provides a sharp showing on the mound: The junior right-hander dazzled in front of 10 Major League Baseball scouts with six strikeouts and just two hits and zero earned runs allowed in six innings. He threw strikes on 48 of his 62 pitches, too, against the 20 batters he faced. Stiever's performance dropped his ERA from 4.81 entering the contest to 3.86 and moved his record to 2-1.
Offense gets on a roll early (again): Indiana went through its entire batting order in the bottom of the first, piling on six runs in that frame. The productivity at the plate helped build a nice cushion for Stiever quickly, but the Hoosiers weren't done, adding two runs in the third, three runs in the fifth and a whopping seven runs in the eighth. Junior Logan Kaletha hit a leadoff home run off the second pitch he saw from Northern Illinois right-handed starter Donovin Sims which set the tone early.
For perspective, Indiana's 18 runs marked the first time it had 15 or more in a single game since driving in 27 against Butler on March 23, 2016. It was also the first time IU had 15 or more hits in a game since notching 16 against Xavier on May 7, 2017.
Freshman infielder Justin Walker goes yard for the first time in his IU career: His grand slam in the bottom of the 8th marked his first home run of his Hoosier career and pushed Indiana's lead to 18-0, part of an inning which the Hoosiers piled on seven runs. It marked his second straight game with a hit after going hitless in each of his first six appearances this season. It was a big moment for a four-year letterwinner at Lafayette (Ind.) Jefferson High who hit .345 for his high school career prior to arriving at IU.
Matt Gorski extends hit streak to 10 games: The sophomore outfielder hit a 2-RBI single to left field in the bottom of the first to give Indiana a 3-0 lead. His batting average climbed to .379 (22 of 58) after going 1 for 2 against Northern Illinois Friday night. What's been impressive about Gorski's streak is the fact that he's done it in multiple different spots throughout IU's batting order. He was the Hoosiers' No. 5 hitter in Games 2 and 3 against Pacific and again in the home opener against Cincinnati, then slid over to No. 6 for Game 1 against Northern Illinois. He's also taken at bats at the No. 7 spot.
Key Quotes
On Stiever's performance:
"He located. It was good stuff, but it was the location. I think he pitched on the inner half of the plate. He was just pounding guys in and getting a lot of easy outs early in the game." -- IU head coach Chris Lemonis
"Being able to pitch with such a big lead early on, you really can be in control and go after the hitters even more. With the offense providing so much, there really isn’t any reason to nibble at all. I was going after them with the fastball, which was working, and they were swinging pretty early in the count, which helped." -- Stiever
On the offense getting going early/Kaletha's leadoff home run:
"I think it set the tone. He did that down in Florida, too. It's nice. As a leadoff, eh can do a lot of things. He can steal, he's a pretty good average guy and he's got some pop. It's nice to have him there." -- Lemonis
"So they started me off with the outside fastball and the catcher missed it, so I kind of knew they were going to throw a fastball down the middle. I just wanted to put a good swing on it." -- Kaletha
On Walker's grand slam/first career home run:
"I think that's the first home run he's hit in practice or anything. But good for him. He's been working hard lately and it's good to see that pay off." -- Lemonis
"One through nine lineup-wise, even guys that come in to hit, it’s just unreal the type of talent we have. Pretty excited for this year." -- Kaletha
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