IU wins Iowa series and climbs to first in conference standings

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The Indiana Hoosiers played a three-game home series against Iowa this past weekend, where they won two out of three and took the series. IU dropped the first game 6-5, which snapped a four-game winning streak but went on to win the next two games, 12-6 and 12-8, respectively.

Heading into the weekend, Indiana and Michigan were tied for second place in the conference standings and 1.5 games behind Nebraska. However, Rutgers swept Nebraska in a three-game series and Michigan split the four-game series with Illinois. Therefore, the Hoosiers climbed to first place in the conference standings and now hold a 0.5 game lead on both teams.

Here is the breakdown of the Indiana vs. Iowa series.

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LHP Tommy Sommer started the series opener on Friday and lacked control. He allowed two earned runs on five hits, struck out three and walked four through four innings pitched.

Iowa jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second inning. RF Zeb Adreon singled up the middle and later moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Fougerousse was unable to catch the throw from Sommer, allowing Adreon to advance. 3B Matthew Sosa then hit a ground ball knocked down by IU SS James Espalin up the middle and Adreon held at third. Had the ball gotten through to center field, Adreon most likely would have scored. Regardless, the next batter DH Brett McCleary bunted down the third baseline for an infield single and Adreon scored to give Iowa a 1-0 lead.

Indiana promptly responded in the bottom half of the inning and regained the lead. 3B Cole Barr hit a leadoff triple to right-center field and Colopy tied the game 1-1 with a single down the right-field line. DH Tyler Van Pelt then safely reached first on a fielder's choice, but Colopy was thrown out trying to move to second. Next up to bat, Fougerousse singled to right-center and Van Pelt advanced to third, which put runners on the corners. C Collin Hopkins then hit a sacrifice fly to left-center and Van Pelt tagged from third, scoring to give IU a 2-1 lead.

Iowa regained the lead in the top of the third. CF Ben Norman drew a leadoff walk and went to third after stealing both bases. C Austin Martin then homered to left-center and Iowa took a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the fourth, Iowa extended its lead. LF Brayden Frazier reached on a fielding error that went under the legs of Espalin. Frazier moved to second after Sosa bunted down the first baseline and was tagged out. Frazier later scored in the inning to extend the lead to 4-2 after Sommer walked three consecutive batters.

RHP Braydon Tucker entered in the top of the fifth and pitched a 1-2-3 inning.

Indiana scored in the bottom of the fifth and cut Iowa's lead to one run. LF Drew Ashley hit a one-out single up the middle and moved to third after 2B Paul Toetz doubled down the right-field line. CF Grant Richardson then grounded out to second base and Ashley scored to make it a 4-3 ballgame.

Despite Indiana's efforts to shorten the gap in the bottom of the fifth, Iowa extended the lead once more. Sosa drew a leadoff walk and then McCleary singled to right field. However, the ball went through IU RF Morgan Colopy's legs and rolled to the wall, allowing Sosa to score on the error to give Iowa a 5-3 lead. Leadoff hitter Norman then doubled down the right-field line and McCleary scored to extend Iowa's lead to 6-3 in the top of the sixth.

LHP Braden Scott entered the game in the top of the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings. He retired six of the seven batters he faced while striking out four.

In the bottom of the eighth, Indiana chipped away at Iowa's three-run lead. Richardson hit a leadoff double down the right-field line and Barr walked. Both runners safely advanced one base after Colopy grounded out to the pitcher. Pinch hitter Ethan Vercrumba then grounded out to shortstop and Richardson scored from third to make it 6-4. Next up to bat, 1B Kip Fougerousse doubled down the left-field line and Barr scored to cut the deficit to 6-5.

RHP Reese Sharp came into the game in the top of the ninth and retired the three batters he faced.

In the ninth, Indiana was retired in order and failed to make a comeback. The Hoosiers lost the series opener 6-5, snapping a four-game win streak.

Notable Performances:

3B Cole Barr: 2-3

1B Kip Fougerousse: 2-4 / 1 RBI

C Collin Hopkins: 1-3 / 1 RBI

RHP McCade Brown started the second game for the Hoosiers on Saturday and struggled with command. He walked five of the 18 batters he faced. Overall he allowed five earned runs on six hits, struck out three and walked five through two and two-thirds innings pitched.

Iowa threatened to score in the top of the first with runners on first and second but came up short. C Austin Martin hit a ground ball to third base and IU 3B Cole Barr stepped on third before making an imbalanced throw to first to complete the double play. RF Zeb Adreon then popped out to shortstop to end the frame.

Indiana jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first. LF Drew Ashley doubled to left-center and moved to third after 2B Paul Toetz doubled to right-center. There was some controversy about whether Adreon held onto the catch in right field, but the umpires convened and ruled it a hit. Next up to bat, CF Grant Richardson singled through the left side and Ashley and Toetz scored to give Indiana a 2-0 lead. Barr then walked to put runners on first and second. RF Morgan Colopy singled to left field, which loaded up the bases with no outs. A pitch hit DH Tyler Van Pelt and Richardson scored from third to extend the lead to 3-0. 1B Kip Fougerousse then hit a sacrifice fly to center field and Barr scored to give IU a 4-0 lead. C Collin Hopkins hit a two-out double down the right-field line and Colopy scored to extend the lead to 5-0, but Van Pelt was thrown out at home.

In the top of the second, Iowa responded by scoring three runs. 3B Matthew Sosa singled to right field with one out. Although Brown struck out the next batter, he allowed three consecutive walks and walked in a run. Afterward, Fullard singled to left field and two runners scored to make it 5-3.

Ashley drew a leadoff walk in the bottom half of the inning, followed by two infield singles to load up the bases. Barr hit a sacrifice fly to center field and Ashley scored to extend the lead to 6-3. Toetz advanced to third after tagging up and later scored on a wild pitch to add another run to IU's lead. Van Pelt then hit a ground ball to shortstop and beat the throw at first base, allowing the inning to continue and Richardson scored to make it an 8-3 ballgame.

Sosa again hit a one-out single in the top of the third and moved to third base after McCleary doubled to left-center. Both runners scored when SS Brendan Sher doubled to left to cut the deficit to 8-5. At this point, RHP John Modugno replaced Brown and faced leadoff hitter Norman with a runner on second. Norman drove the ball to left field, but it was caught for the final out.

Iowa scored once more in the top of the fourth. Fullard hit a leadoff single and advanced to third when Adreon singled through the right side. 2B Dylan Nedved then hit a sac fly to right field and Fullard scored to make it 8-6.

Van Pelt and Hopkins walked in the bottom of the fifth, which put two runners on. SS James Espalin then singled up the middle and Van Pelt scored to extend the lead to 9-6. Espalin later advanced into scoring position and scored following Toetz's single to right-center to give IU a four-run lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, IU plated two more insurance runs. Barr led off with a solo home run to left field to make it 11-6. Van Pelt and Fougerousse then hit back-to-back doubles to extend the lead to 12-6.

LHP Ty Bothwell entered in the top of the sixth and pitched four scoreless innings, preserving the lead. IU won the second game 12-6 and tied the series.

Notable Performances:

2B Paul Toetz: 3-5 / 1 RBI

CF Grant Richardson: 2-5 / 2 RBI

3B Cole Barr: 2-3 / 1 HR (5) / 2 RBI

DH Tyler Van Pelt: 2-2 / 2 RBI

RHP Gabe Bierman took to the mound for the rubber match on Sunday and pitched his fourth consecutive quality start. He allowed three earned runs on five hits, struck out nine and walked two through six innings.

Like the series opener, Iowa broke the scoreless tie first. CF Ben Norman drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second after 1B Izaya Fullard singled to center field. Norman scored following two consecutive ground outs to give Iowa a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, IU tied the game. 2B Paul Toetz doubled to center field with one out. He eventually scored after Iowa pitcher Cam Baumann committed a throwing error to first base that sailed wide into the outfield.

IU extended its lead in the bottom of the third. Toetz hit another double, this time to right field. Toetz moved to third after CF Grant Richardson bunted perfectly down the first baseline and was safe at first. Next up to bat, 3B Cole Barr singled to left and Toetz scored to make it 2-1.

Bierman struck out the first two batters he faced in the fourth, but 2B Dylan Nedved reached on a fielding error by IU SS James Espalin. Nedved stole second and 3B Matthew Sosa walked to put runners on first and second. LF Trenton Wallace then singled through the left side and Nedved scored, unearned to tie the game 2-2.

IU's offense exploded in the bottom of the fourth. C Collin Hopkins hit another double to right field and moved to third on a single by Ashley. Ashley advanced to second on a passed ball to put two runners in scoring position. Toetz stayed hot and singled up the middle to give IU a 4-2 lead. Following Toetz's at-bat, Richardson tripled to right-center and Toetz scored to add to the lead. Barr then drove a ball to deep left for a two-run home run, extending the lead to 7-2.

Indiana's offense continued in the next inning. Hopkins doubled to left-center and moved to third on a groundout. Ashley struck out swinging but ran to first on the drop third strike. Instead of catching Hopkins in a run-down, Iowa catcher Austin Martin elected to get the out at first base and Hopkins scored to make it 8-2.

Wallace hit a two-run home run to right field in the top of the sixth to cut Indiana's lead to 8-4.

RHP Nathan Stahl replaced Bierman in the top of the seventh and allowed a solo home run to left-center to pull Iowa within three. Two runners reached base following the home run and IU head coach Jeff Mercer pulled Stahl from the game. LHP Braden Scott entered the game and finished the inning with no further damage.

Hopkins hit yet another double to the left-center gap and later scored on a single by Espalin to extend IU's lead to 9-5.

RHP Matt Litwicki pitched the top of the eighth and committed a throwing error to first base on a bunt by pinch hitter Brayden Frazier. Frazier moved to second on the error to put a runner in scoring position. Leadoff hitter Norman then hit a two-run home run to left-center to cut the deficit to 9-7.

Indiana blew the game open in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run homer by pinch hitter Ethan Vercumba, his first of the season.

Litwicki stayed in to pitch the ninth and allowed back-to-back doubles with two outs. Despite this, Litwicki induced a ground out to end the game. Indiana won the rubber match 12-8 and walked away with a series win.

Notable Performances:

2B Paul Toetz: 3-4 / 2 RBI

CF Grant Richardson: 3-5 / 1 RBI

3B Cole Barr: 2-4 / 1 HR (6) / 3 RBI

PH/DH Ethan Vercrumba: 1-2 / 1 HR (1) / 3 RBI

C Collin Hopkins: 4-4 / 3 Doubles

It was great to see Indiana take the series and regain the conference lead, but there are still some concerns surrounding the starting pitching and errors from this past weekend.

Starting pitchers Tommy Sommer and McCade Brown seemed shaky on the hill and while it's natural for pitchers to sometimes struggle, it's worrying that the lack of command came with a good hitting team at the plate. Indiana is set to play the better half of the conference for the remainder of the season and it's crucial that the starting pitching that has been dominant so far this season continues to be successful.

Brown has walked 15 batters and allowed seven earned runs in his last 12 innings pitched. While that includes the start against Illinois, where he did not allow a hit, Iowa took advantage of his struggling control and dealt significant damage.

The defense also struggled at times in the series. There were a total of six errors this past weekend, three each in the series opener and finale.

In the first game, three of Iowa's six runs were unearned. One could even argue four were unearned since McCleary advanced to second base on the error by Colopy that rolled to the wall and McCleary later scored on a double by Norman. Earlier in the season, errors proved costly against Ohio State when IU got swept in a four-game series. This is another instance where IU had a chance to win, but defensive mistakes were an added obstacle.

There were also three errors in the series finale, but it only equated to one unearned run. Regardless, the offense provided enough run support where it did not have a considerable impact on the game.

On a positive note, the offense exploded for 29 runs this past weekend and gave the Hoosiers a chance to win every game. Unfortunately, the errors made the difference in the first game.

Another positive from this past weekend was the bullpen. In the first two games, the IU bullpen only allowed two earned runs in 11 ⅓ innings pitched. IU relievers kept the first game close and finished the second game strong after Brown let up five earned runs.

Relievers Nathan Stahl and Litwicki combined to allow four earned runs through three innings pitched in the series finale, but the bats provided enough support. Stahl and Litwicki were the only two pitchers out of the entire bullpen that seemed to struggle. Overall, it was a solid performance from the bullpen.

IU will travel on the road to New Jersey this upcoming weekend to face Nebraska and Rutgers each in a two-game series. Below are the scheduled start times for each game.

Rutgers:

Game 1: Friday, May 7th @ 2 p.m. ET

Game 2: Saturday, May 8th @ 11 a.m. ET

Nebraska:

Game 3: Saturday, May 8th @ 3 p.m. ET

Game 4: Sunday, May 9th @ 11 a.m. ET

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