IU sweeps Minnesota and climbs in conference standings
Indiana took on Minnesota this past weekend and swept the Golden Gophers in a three-game home series, improving to 18-8 on the season. Indiana now has a four-game win streak.
The sweep over Minnesota is the first for the program since winning both games against the Golden Gophers on May 5, 1962. It is also the second sweep this season for the Hoosiers, who swept Penn State in a four-game series earlier this season.
The Hoosiers took advantage of Minnesota's struggling pitching staff and outscored Minnesota 39-5, highlighted by the 23-1 victory in the series finale. The 23 runs are the most for IU since scoring 27 against Butler on March 23, 2016.
Prior to this series, the Hoosiers were in third place in the conference standings and 2.5 games behind first-place Nebraska. After the sweep, Indiana rose to second place and is now tied with Michigan. Both teams are 1.5 games behind Nebraska as the Cornhuskers won their latest game against Michigan State in extra innings to maintain the 1.5 game conference lead.
Here is the full breakdown of the Indiana vs. Minnesota series.
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Game 1: Friday 4/23 @ 1:00 PM
LHP Tommy Sommer started the first game of the series for the Hoosiers and pitched a quality start. He struck out an impressive 11 batters but also allowed three earned runs on two home runs and walked four. Overall he allowed three earned runs on five hits, struck out 11 and walked four through six and two-thirds innings pitched.
Indiana scored first and gained the lead in the bottom of the second. 1B Kip Fougerousse singled down the right-field line and moved to second after C Collin Hopkins was walked. SS James Espalin then reached on a fielder's choice to third base, but Hopkins was thrown out at second to put runners on the corners with one out. LF Drew Ashley then hit a slow roller to third base and there was no play to be made at any base. Fougerousse scored from third base to make it a 1-0 game. CF Grant Richardson then doubled to right-center field later in the inning with two outs and Espalin and Ashley scored to extend the lead to 3-0.
Minnesota cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the fourth when 1B Ronald Sweeny hit a two-run home run to right-center field with two outs in the inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, Indiana responded by tacking on more runs. Richardson drew a one-out walk and stole second base with two outs. DH Tyler Van Pelt then walked and both runners advanced one base after a double steal. Next up to bat, RF Morgan Colopy singled to left field and Richardson and Van Pelt scored to make it a 5-2 game. Colopy raced to third base after a failed pickoff attempt that rolled into the outfield and later scored from third on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 6-2.
The Hoosiers extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Hopkins reached base on a fielding error and a pitch hit Espalin to put runners on first and second. Ashley then doubled off the center-field wall and Hopkins and Espalin scored to make it 8-2. The ball should have been a home run as it hit off a camera and came back into the yard, but without replay, the umpire had to make a call from far away.
RF Easton Bertrand hit a solo home run to left-center field in the top of the seventh to cut the deficit to 8-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, Indiana scored once more. 2B Paul Toetz hit a one-out single up the middle and advanced to second base after Richardson drew a walk. Both runners later advanced on a passed ball and Toetz then scored from third base on a wild pitch to extend the lead over Minnesota to 9-3.
RHP Grant Macciocchi entered the game in the top of the seventh after Bertrand homered. In his first appearance as a pitcher this season, Macciocchi successfully closed out the game without allowing a run, striking out three of the eight batters he faced. Indiana went on to win 9-3 and took the series opener.
Notable Performances:
LF Drew Ashley: 3-5 / 3 RBI
CF Grant Richardson: 2-4 / 2 RBI
RF Morgan Colopy: 1-5 / 2 RBI
Game 2: Friday 4/23 @ 5:00 PM
In the second game of the doubleheader on Friday, RHP John Modugno started on the mound for Indiana. Modugno pitched well and allowed zero earned runs on three hits, struck out four and walked two through four and two-thirds innings pitched.
After failing to make a diving catch in the left-center field gap, LF Drew Ashley, on the next play, made a great diving catch on the warning track in left field to end the top of the second and prevent a run from scoring.
Indiana struck first again and gained a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third. C Collin Hopkins hit a one-out double to left-center and SS James Espalin drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Next up to bat, Ashley hit a three-run home run to deep left-center field to take the lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Hoosiers extended the lead. 3B Cole Barr drew a leadoff walk and scored after DH Tyler Van Pelt doubled down the left-field line. RF Morgan Colopy then doubled to center field with one out and Van Pelt scored from second to make it a 5-0 game. Hopkins got another hit and this time singled to left field, which put runners on the corners with one out. Next up to bat, Espalin reached on a fielding error and Colopy scored from third base to extend the lead to 6-0.
LHP Braden Scott replaced Modugno in the top of the fifth with two outs and threw one pitch to finish the inning. RHP Nathan Stahl then entered the game to pitch the top of the sixth. RF Easton Bertrand got Minnesota on the scoreboard with a solo home run to right field, which made it a 6-1 ballgame.
In the top of the seventh, Minnesota had an opportunity to cut the lead with two runners on base after back-to-back singles. However, SS Noah Berghammer grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
LHP Ty Bothwell relieved Stahl after the seventh and did not allow a run in the eighth, retiring three of the four batters he faced.
Colopy hit a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth and eventually scored after Hopkins doubled to the left-center gap to extend the lead to 7-1.
RHP Matt Litwicki entered the game in the top of the ninth and struck out the first two batters he faced. LF Andrew Wilhite then hit a ground-rule double to left field, but Litwicki induced a ground out to end the game. Indiana won by a score of 7-1 and swept the doubleheader.
By rule, Braden Scott was awarded the win despite throwing one pitch in the game. A pitcher must throw at least five innings to be considered for the win and Modugno was one out shy of completing five innings. It is then up to the official scorer to judge who the most effective reliever was to receive the win.
Notable Performances:
LF Drew Ashley: 2-4 / 1 HR (4) / 3 RBI
DH Tyler Van Pelt: 1-3 / 1 RBI
RF Morgan Colopy: 3-4 / 1 RBI
C Collin Hopkins: 3-3 / 1 RBI
Game 3: Sunday 4/25 @ 11:00 AM
RHP Gabe Bierman started the series finale for the Hoosiers and had a fantastic outing. He allowed one earned run on five hits, struck out 11 and walked one through six innings pitched. Although his streak of allowing zero earned runs through 19 ⅔ innings came to an end, Bierman has an impressively low 0.44 earned-run-average with 22 strikeouts spanning his last three starts.
Indiana wasted no time putting runs on the board as the Hoosiers took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. A pitch hit LF Drew Ashley and 2B Paul Toetz to put runners on first and second. CF Grant Richardson then singled to right field and Ashley scored to make it a 1-0 game. Toetz moved to third on the single and Richardson later stole second base. 3B Cole Barr then reached on a throwing error by Minnesota SS Noah Berghammer. Toetz would have scored regardless due to the fielder's choice, but Richardson scored on the throwing error since it went out of play. Barr then moved to second base because of the error and later scored on a double to the right-center gap by RF Morgan Colopy to extend the lead to 4-0. C Collin Hopkins doubled down the left-field line later in the inning and Colopy scored to give Indiana an early 5-0 lead.
In the top of the second inning, Bierman struck out the side.
Indiana continued to score more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Richardson drew a leadoff walk and moved to third after Barr singled to the right side. DH Tyler Van Pelt then walked to load up the bases with no outs. Colopy also walked and Richardson scored from third to add another run to Indiana's lead. Hopkins hit another double but this time a ground-rule double to right field, which scored Barr and Van Pelt to make it an 8-0 game. Colopy moved to third on the double and Ashley later drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Toetz then drove in Colopy and Hopkins with a single to right-center to add two runs to the lead. With two outs and two runners on, Richardson hit a three-run home run to right field to extend the lead to 13-0.
In the top of the fourth, Minnesota threatened to score but came up short. 2B Zack Raabe hit a one-out single through the right side and then moved to third base after 1B Ronald Sweeny singled down the right-field line with two outs. However, LF Andrew Wilhite struck out looking to end the frame.
In the top of the sixth, Minnesota put a run on the scoreboard. CF Brett Bateman hit a leadoff single to second base and advanced to second after RF Easton Bertrand was walked. 2B Boston Merila, who replaced Raabe, then singled to center field to load up the bases. Next up to bat, C Chase Stanke grounded out to first base unassisted and Bateman scored from third to make the score 13-1.
Ashley drew a one-out walk and went to second on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth. Toetz then doubled to right-center and Ashley scored to make it 14-1. Later in the inning, Barr singled through the left side and Toetz scored to add another run to give Indiana a 15-1 lead. A couple of batters later, Colopy drove a ball deep over the center-field wall for a three-run home run, his fourth of the season that extended the lead to 18-1.
LHP Braden Scott replaced Bierman to pitch the top of the seventh. He allowed a leadoff double but retired the next three batters he faced to end the frame.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Hoosiers continued to add to the lead. Hopkins doubled to left-center and Espalin walked. Pinch hitter Ethan Vercrumba then singled up the middle. His first hit of the season loaded up the bases. Pinch hitter Jordan Fucci then drew an RBI walk and Hopkins scored to make it 19-1. Later in the inning, DH Tucker Schank hit a fly ball down the left-field line and Minnesota LF Andrew Wilhite failed to complete the diving catch. Since there were two outs, all three baserunners ran on contact and all scored on the double to extend the lead to 22-1. RF Hunter Jessee, who replaced Colopy earlier in the game, then singled to right-center and Schank scored to make it a 23-1 ballgame.
RHP Reese Sharp relieved Scott and pitched the top of the eighth. He allowed back-to-back singles with two outs but induced a ground out to end the top half of the inning.
LHP Jack Walker made his collegiate debut and entered the game in the top of the ninth. He did not allow a run and struck out two batters, securing the 23-1 victory for the Hoosiers.
Notable Performances:
P Gabe Bierman: 6 IP / 5 Hits / 1 ER / 11 K's / 1 Walk
2B Paul Toetz: 2-4 / 3 RBI
CF Grant Richardson: 2-3 / 1 HR (4) / 4 RBI
3B Cole Barr: 3-6 / 2 RBI
PH/DH Tucker Schank: 1-1 / 3 RBI
RF Morgan Colopy: 3-4 / 1 HR (4) / 5 RBI
C Collin Hopkins: 3-5 / 3 Doubles / 3 RBI
Closing Thoughts:
This was a fantastic weekend for Indiana. The Hoosiers were able to capitalize on the fact that Minnesota had the worst combined earned run average in the Big Ten. Minnesota also dropped 14 of its last 16 games before this series and had a seven game losing streak.
Since all the remaining games Indiana will play are against opponents with a .500 winning percentage or above at the moment, it was crucial to sweep this series and try to move up in the standings after falling behind 2.5 games out of first place.
Indiana clicked on all cylinders with solid pitching, defense and especially hitting.
The pitching staff collectively only allowed five earned runs throughout the weekend and struck out 38 out of 110 (34.54%) batters faced. Also, the pitching staff only allowed 20 hits through 99 at-bats (.202 avg).
The defense was also very consistent as there was only one error in the field. Plus, the error came in the series finale, where Indiana held a commanding lead the entire game. There were also some outstanding plays in the field, such as Drew Ashley's diving catch in left field on the warning track and Grant Richardson's running catch in right-center before crashing into the wall.
This weekend the offense surged and scored a total of 39 runs through 27 innings, roughly 1.44 runs per inning on average. In terms of overall hitting, Indiana batters went 36-108 (.333 avg) and 20-50 (.400 avg) with runners in scoring position.
The Indiana Hoosiers will host the Iowa Hawkeyes for a three-game home series at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Ind, this upcoming weekend. The three-game series will conclude a six-game home stand before the Hoosiers travel on the road to face Rutgers and Nebraska in New Jersey. Below are the scheduled start times for each game.
Game 1: Friday, April 30th @ 5:00 pm ET
Game 2: Saturday, May 1st @ 2:00 pm ET
Game 3: Sunday, May 2nd @ 12:00 pm ET
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