IU drops back in standings after getting swept by Ohio State in four games

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Indiana this past weekend was swept by Ohio State in a four-game road series, extending its losing streak to five games.

Prior to the series against Ohio State, Indiana took two out of three against Michigan State and had an 11-3 record. Indiana was ranked first in the Big Ten Conference with a narrow 0.5 game lead over Michigan and Nebraska but now have dropped to third in the conference standings after getting swept and dropping to 11-7. Michigan is tied for first place in the Big Ten and will play another game this afternoon, meaning IU will automatically fall back to fourth in the conference.

Indiana lost each game by a score of:

Game 1: 3-2

Game 2: 6-0

Game 3: 5-2

Game 4: 4-3

Here is the full breakdown of the Indiana vs. Ohio State series.

In the series opener, LHP Tommy Sommer got the start for the Hoosiers and struggled with command. Sommer allowed three earned runs on five hits, struck out five and walked five through five innings.

In the bottom of the first inning, Ohio State took an early 1-0 lead. DH Sam Wilson hit a leadoff double down the left-field line. Sommer then allowed back-to-back walks to SS Zach Dezenzo and 1B Conner Pohl, which loaded up the bases. CF Kade Kern then hit a line drive sacrifice fly and Wilson scored from third base.

In the first two innings, all six Indiana hitters were retired.

In the bottom of the second, Ohio State extended its lead. C Brent Todys drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to second after 3B Nick Erwin drew a one-out walk. Wilson then singled to left-center field and Tody's scored to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead. However, 2B Colton Bauer grounded out into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.

In the top of the fourth, Indiana finally put a run on the scoreboard. 3B Cole Barr led off the inning with a single to left field and then advanced to second base after 2B Paul Toetz grounded out to shortstop. 1B Jordan Fucci then doubled down the left-field line and Barr scored to cut Ohio State's lead to 2-1. Later in the inning, DH Ethan Vercrumba lined out to second base and Fucci was doubled up at second to end the threat.

In the bottom of the fifth, Wilson led off the inning and doubled down the left-field line. He then tagged up on a deep fly ball to center field and advanced to third base. Dezenzo drove in Wilson with a single to right field, which extended Ohio State's lead to 3-1.

In the top of the sixth, Barr hit a solo home run to center field, his first home run of the season to cut Ohio State's lead to 3-2.

C Jacob Southern drew a one-out walk in the top of the seventh and then stole second base but was stranded in scoring position.

Indiana failed to score any more runs for the remainder of the game and lost the series opener 3-2.

Notable Performances:

3B Cole Barr: 2-4 / 1 HR (1) / 1 RBI

1B Jordan Fucci: 1-3 / 1 RBI

In the second game of the series and first game of Saturday's doubleheader, RHP McCade Brown took the mound. Brown allowed two earned runs on four hits, struck out six and walked two through four innings. He also did not get much help from his infield, who committed four errors.

SS Zach Dezenzo hit a solo home run over the center-field wall with two outs to give Ohio State a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

In the first two innings, Ohio State starting pitcher Seth Lonsway struck out all six batters he faced. He also pitched an immaculate inning in the top of the second. An immaculate inning is when a pitcher throws nine pitches for nine strikes and records three strikeouts.

In the bottom of the second, Ohio State extended its lead. 2B Colton Bauer tripled to center field over Grant Richardson's head. C Archer Brookman then bunted down the first baseline and Indiana 1B Jordan Fucci committed a throwing error trying to flip the ball to C Jacob Southern to tag out Bauer running home. Bauer scored on the error and Brookman advanced to second base. With two outs, Okuley hit a high fly ball to second base and Toetz dropped the ball. Brookman scored from second base to make it a 3-0 game.

Indiana stranded two runners in scoring position in the top of the third. RF Morgan Colopy singled to second base and then moved to second after SS Grant Macciocchi drew a one-out walk. Colopy and Macciocchi both advanced one base on a double steal with two outs, but LF Sam Murrison struck out swinging to end the frame.

In the bottom of the fourth, LF Caden Kaiser reached base on a fielding error by Toetz, his second error of the game. Brookman then drew a walk to put runners on first and second and DH Sam Wilson doubled down the left-field line. Both Kaiser and Brookman scored to make it a 5-0 game.

Lonsway struck out the side in the top of the fifth as Fucci, Colopy and Southern all struck out swinging.

RHP Braydon Tucker replaced McCade Brown in the bottom of the fifth. 1B Conner Pohl led off the inning and hit a solo home run over the right-field wall to give Ohio State a 6-0 lead.

The Hoosiers failed to make a comeback in the top of the seventh and went down in order. Barr struck out swinging, Toetz lined out to left field and Fucci struck out swinging to end the game. Lonsway was awarded the complete game shutout, only allowing two hits and impressively striking out 17 batters. Indiana dropped the second game of the four-game series 6-0, its first shutout loss of the season.

Notable Performances:

CF Grant Richardson: 1-3

RF Morgan Colopy: 1-2

Indiana LHP Ty Bothwell started the second game of the doubleheader for the Hoosiers. He allowed three earned runs on three hits, struck out five and walked two through 4 ⅔ innings.

In the top of the first inning, LF Drew Ashley and CF Grant Richardson hit back-to-back singles to center field to put runners on first and second. They both advanced one base on a double steal. However, they were left stranded in scoring position after 2B paul Toetz struck out swinging and 1B Jordan Fucci struck out looking.

The bottom of the first inning in game two of the doubleheader was similar to the first game in the sense that Bothwell retired the first two batters he faced but then allowed a solo home run to SS Zach Dezenzo to make it a 1-0 game. Bothwell then allowed back-to-back walks to 1B Conner Pohl and CF Kade Kern to put runners on first and second. RF Mitchell Okuley singled to right field and Pohl scored to give Ohio State an early 2-0 lead.

Again in the top of the third, Indiana threatened to score. Ashley drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to second after a pitch hit 3B Cole Barr. Both runners advanced on a double steal but were left stranded after Fucci struck out swinging.

In the top of the fourth, Indiana finally scored and cut Ohio State's lead to 2-1. SS Grant Macciocchi led off the inning and hit a solo home run to right field.

Ohio State responded in the bottom half of the inning. Okuley hit a solo home run to straightaway center field to extend the lead to 3-1.

In the top of the fifth, Barr hit a solo home run to left field to cut the deficit to 3-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ohio State extended its lead to 5-2. 3B Nick Erwin hit a leadoff single to right-center and then advanced to second base after DH Sam Wilson drew a walk. A pitch then hit 2B Colton Bauer to load up the bases. Next up to bat, Dezenzo hit a ground ball to third base and Barr got the force out at home. Erwin was out at the plate, Wilson advanced to third, Bauer advanced to second and Dezenzo reached on a fielder's choice. When Pohl stepped up to the dish, SS Grant Macciocchi was playing shifted up the middle. Pohl hit a grounder up the middle to Macciocchi, but he failed to field it cleanly and the ball went into center field. Both Wilson and Bauer came around to score on the error to make it a 5-2 game.

In the top of the ninth, Indiana put pressure on Ohio State reliever TJ Brock but failed to score any runs. RF Morgan Colopy singled to first base with one out and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Next up to bat pinch hitter, Tyler Van Pelt hit a deep fly ball to center field and Colopy tagged up, moving to third base. A pitch then hit Ashley and Richardson drew a walk which loaded up the bases with two outs. However, Barr popped out to shortstop to end the game. Indiana lost 5-2 to extend the losing streak to four games as Ty Bothwell picked up his first loss of the season.

Notable Performances:

3B Cole Barr: 1-4 / 1 HR (2) / 1 RBI

SS Grant Macciocchi: 1-4 / 1 HR (2) / 1 RBI

In the final game of the series, RHP Gabe Bierman got the start for the Hoosiers and was great, pitching a quality start. He allowed zero earned runs, three hits, struck out five and walked two through seven innings.

The game was scoreless up until the top of the fourth inning when Indiana took the lead. 2B Paul Toetz hit a leadoff single up the middle but was then thrown out trying to move to second base after DH Grant Macciocchi hit a ground ball to third base. Macciocchi reached base as he beat the throw. A pitch then hit Fucci and Colopy drew a one-out walk which loaded up the bases. SS Jeremy Houston hit a ground ball to the shortstop, who made a fielding error, allowing Macciocchi to score from third base to make it a 1-0 game.

In the bottom of the sixth, Ohio State tied the game. RF Mitchell Okuley reached on a fielding error by C Collin Hopkins and then moved to second base after SS Zach Dezenzo singled to center-field. 1B Conner Pohl then drew a walk to load up the bases with no outs. Next up to bat, CF Kade Kern hit a sacrifice fly into foul territory on the first base side. Fucci caught the ball but collided with Toetz and Okuley tagged up and scored from third base. Dezenzo also tagged up on the play and moved to third base. However, Dezenzo was left stranded in scoring position after Bauer grounded out into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play.

In the top of the seventh, 3B Cole Barr hit a leadoff double to left field. Toetz then hit a ground ball to the pitcher, who committed a throwing error to first base. Barr would have come around to score, but Toetz was ruled out on runner's interference when running to first base. Barr was forced to go back to second and the run did not count. A pitch then hit pinch hitter Tyler Van Pelt to put runners on first and second. However, Fucci grounded out into an inning-ending 3-6 double play.

Indiana took a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth. RF Morgan Colopy led off the inning and hit a ground-rule double to the left-center gap. He then scored after Hopkins bunted and the pitcher threw the ball away while trying to get Hopkins out at first. Houston laid down a sacrifice bunt and Hopkins advanced to second base. Next up to bat, LF Drew Ashley doubled down the left-field line and Hopkins scored to give Indiana a 3-1 lead.

Ohio State tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Okuley drew a one-out walk and then moved to second base after Dezenzo singled to left field. Pohl then singled to right-center and Okuley scored to cut the lead to 3-2. Dezenzo moved to third on the play and Pohl advanced to second. Kern then singled to left field and Dezenzo scored to tie the game 3-3.

In the bottom of the ninth, 3B Nick Erwin was walked with one out. DH Sam Wilson then singled to right-center and Erwin moved to second base. Okuley fouled out to first base for the second out of the inning. However, Dezenzo hit a single to left field and Erwin scored from second. Ohio State walked off Indiana by a score of 4-3 to complete the four-game sweep. RHP John Modugno relieved Bierman after the seventh inning and was handed the loss.

Notable Performances:

LF Drew Ashley: 1-4 / 1 RBI

CF Grant Richardson: 2-4

RF Morgan Colopy: 2-4

Overall, the main issues that jump out right away are Indiana was 3-30 with runners in scoring position and had a total of eight errors throughout the series. One has to credit the Ohio State pitchers who had great outings this weekend, but at the same time, it makes it extremely difficult to win when you have a batting average of .100 with runners in scoring position. In terms of the errors, they seem to keep adding up.

Rutgers & Minnesota (Four games): One error

Penn State (Four games): One error

Purdue (Three games): Four errors

Michigan State (Three games): Five errors

Ohio State (Four games): Eight errors

Eight errors paired with 3-30 with runners in scoring position is not a winning combination. Although errors happen, Indiana was beating itself with so many mistakes. Hopefully, Indiana can learn from this past weekend but then leave it in the past.

Indiana will play a three-game home series this upcoming weekend against Illinois in Bloomington, Ind. Below are the scheduled start times for each game.

Game 1: Friday, April 9th @ 5:00 pm ET

Game 2: Saturday, April 10th @ 2:00 pm ET

Game 3: Sunday, April 11th @ 1:00 pm ET

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