IU wins Michigan State series and remains at top of Big Ten Conference

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Indiana this past weekend played a three-game road series against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.

Heading into the series Indiana had a 9-2 record after concluding a seven-game homestand in Bloomington, going 6-1.

Indiana won the first two games, improving its record to 11-2 before losing the series finale on Sunday, dropping back to 11-3.

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

LHP Tommy Sommer got the start for the Hoosiers in the series opener. He allowed two earned runs on five hits, struck out two and walked three in five innings pitched.

In the top of the first inning, LF Drew Ashley singled to left field and then advanced to second base after CF Grant Richardson singled through the left side with one out. 3B Cole Barr then singled to right field and Ashley rounded third to score but was thrown out by Michigan State right fielder Zaid Walker. 2B Paul Toetz struck out swinging to end the frame.

In the bottom half of the inning, 2B Trent Farquhar grounded out to second base and LF Bryce Kelley grounded out to Sommer. CF Joe Stewart singled to center field with two outs and then advanced to third base after 3B Zach Iverson singled up the middle. However, Stewart would be stranded in scoring position as RF Zaid Walker struck out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Michigan State broke the scoreless tie. Walker singled to left field and then advanced to second base after 1B Brock Vradenburg grounded out to second base. With one out, SS Mitch Jebb hit the ball sharply to second base, which got by Toetz and went into the outfield. Walker came around to score to give Michigan State a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Indiana gained the lead. RF Morgan Colopy singled up the middle and then advanced to second base after SS Jeremy Houston sacrifice bunted. Drew Ashley then reached base after he hit a deep fly ball to right-center field and Joe Stewart committed a fielding error. Ashley advanced to second base and Colopy advanced to third. Next up to bat, DH Kip Fougerousse grounded out to shortstop and Colopy scored, tying the game 1-1. Richardson then singled to right field and Ashley was held at third base, potentially avoiding getting thrown out at the plate similar to the first inning. Cole Barr then singled to shortstop and Ashley came around to score to give Indiana a 2-1 lead. Next in line, Paul Toetz singled up the middle, which moved Richardson to third and Barr to second. With the bases loaded, 1B Jordan Fucci doubled to right-center, which scored Richardson and Barr to give Indiana a 4-1 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, Michigan State cut the deficit. Joe Stewart hit a solo home run over the center-field wall to cut Indiana's lead to 4-2.

In the top of the sixth, Indiana extended its lead. Jeremy Houston hit a ground ball to the pitcher, who knocked it down and threw to first base but Houston beat the throw. A pitch then hit Ashley to put runners on first and second with one out. A pitch also hit Richardson to load up the bases with two outs. Next up to bat, Cole Barr then drew a walk and Houston scored to make it a 5-2 game. Paul Toetz then hit a bases-clearing double which scored Ashley, Richardson, and Barr to give Indiana an 8-2 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Michigan State threatened to score. Indiana LHP Braden Scott replaced Tommy Sommer and proceeded to walk back-to-back batters with one out. C Gabe Sotres then struck out looking for the second out of the inning. Farquhar then drew a walk to load up the bases with two outs. However, Kelley lined out to third base to end the inning, stranding all three runners on base.

In the bottom of the eighth, Indiana replaced Braden Scott with RHP Reese Sharp. Sharp had a 1-2-3 inning. Brock Vradenburg grounded out to second, DH Bailey Peterson struck out looking and Jebb fouled out to left field.

In the bottom of the ninth, Michigan State was unable to complete the comeback. Sotres flew out to left-center field and then Farquhar drew a one-out walk. Sharp struck out Kelley looking but walked Stewart, which moved Farquhar to second base. Despite the two walks, Sharp struck out Iverson looking to end the game, securing the 8-2 victory in the first game of the series.

Notable Performances:

LF Drew Ashley: 2-4

CF Grant Richardson: 3-4

3B Cole Barr: 2-3 / 2 RBI

2B Paul Toetz: 3-5 / 3 RBI

1B Jordan Fucci: 2-5 / 2 RBI

In the second game of the three-game series, RHP McCade Brown started for the Hoosiers. His command struggled at times, but unlike his previous outing, he only allowed one earned run and picked up his third win of the season. He allowed one earned run on three hits, struck out seven and walked four through five innings pitched.

In the top of the first, Indiana jumped out to an early lead. LF Drew Ashley had a great at-bat which resulted in a walk and advanced to third base after 3B Cole Barr doubled off the left-center field wall. 2B Paul Toetz then grounded out to shortstop and Ashley scored to give Indiana a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, Michigan State tied the game. 2B Trent Farquhar drew a walk and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. LF Bryce Kelley then bunted down the third baseline and was safe at first after Cole Barr committed a throwing error. Farquhar advanced to third base on the bunt and then came around to score after the throwing error. CF Joe Stewart then singled to center field and Kelley moved to second base. 3B Zach Iverson then struck out for the first out in the inning. Michigan State then attempted a double steal, but C Jacob Southern threw out Stewart at second base. Kelley advanced to third base on the double steal, but RF Zaid Walker struck out looking to end the inning.

In the top of the third, Indiana regained the lead. Drew Ashley led off the inning with a solo home run to left field, his second home run of the season to make it a 2-1 game. Toetz then hit a double to left-center field and DH Kip Fougerousse drew a walk to put runners on first and second with two outs. 1B Jordan Fucci then hit a three-run home run down the right-field line to make it a 5-1 game.

In the bottom of the third, McCade Brown struck out the side.

In the top of the sixth, Indiana extended its lead. Fucci drew a walk and then advanced to second base after pinch hitter Hunter Jessee singled through the right side. Next up to bat, pinch hitter Ethan Vercrumba reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Michigan State shortstop Mitch Jebb tried to get the force out at second, but Jessee was safe. SS Jeremy Houston then grounded out into a 6-3 double play. Vercrumba was out at second, Jessee moved to third and Fucci scored to give Indiana a 6-1 lead. Jessee then scored from third base on a wild pitch to extend Indiana's lead to 7-1. With no one on base and two outs in the inning, Drew Ashley singled to right-center and then advanced to third base after Richardson singled down the right-field line. Cole Barr then singled to shortstop and went to second base on a throwing error. Ashley scored on the error to make it an 8-1 game.

RHP John Modugno replaced McCade Brown in the bottom of the sixth and retired all six batters he faced while striking out two.

In the top of the eighth, Indiana scored two more runs. Ashley was hit by a pitch with one out and then advanced to second base after Richardson singled to left-center field. Cole Barr then doubled down the left-field line and both Ashley and Richardson came around to score to make it a 10-1 game.

In the bottom of the eighth, RHP Braydon Tucker replaced John Modugno. Farquhar led off the inning and singled to left-center field. He then advanced to second after Kelley grounded out to third base. Iverson then reached first base after hitting a ground ball to shortstop and Houston committed a throwing error. Farquhar scored on the throwing error to cut Indiana's lead to 10-2. Walker then singled through the right side, which moved Iverson to second base. However, 1B Brock Vradenburg hit a ground ball to third base and Barr tagged Iverson to end the inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, pinch hitter Jack Frank singled to left-center field and then advanced to third base after pinch hitter Andrew Morrow doubled off the top of the left-field wall. Pinch hitter Casey Mayes then singled to left-center field, which moved Morrow to third base and Frank came around to score to cut Indiana's lead to 10-3. Pinch hitter Dillon Kark then grounded out to first base, which moved Mayes to second base and Morrow held at third. Next up to bat, Kelly reached base after hitting a ground ball to shortstop and Jeremy Houston committed another throwing error. Mayes advanced to third base on the error and Marrow scored, cutting Indiana's lead to 10-4.

LHP Braden Scott then replaced Braydon Tucker with one out and a runner on third. Scott struck out pinch hitter Reese Trahey for the second out of the inning and then struck out Iverson looking to end the game. Indiana won the second game of the series 10-4.

Notable Performances:

Parenthesis designates seasonal numbers. HR (2) indicates a player hit one home run during the game, and it was the player's second of the season.

LF Drew Ashley: 2-3 / HR (2) / 1 RBI

CF Grant Richardson: 2-5

3B Cole Barr: 3-5 / 3 RBI

1B Jordan Fucci: 1-3 / HR (2) / 3 RBI

PH/RF Hunter Jessee: 2-3

In the final game of the series, RHP Gabe Bierman took the mound. Bierman allowed three earned runs on four hits, struck out three and walked three through four innings pitched. In the first three innings, Bierman walked the leadoff batter for each inning and two of those runners would ultimately come around to score.

In the bottom of the second, Michigan State took an early lead. RF Zaid Walker drew a leadoff walk and then scored after DH Jack Frank doubled to right-center field, giving Michigan State a 1-0 lead. Frank overran second base, however, and was thrown out. This out proved crucial as the next batter, SS Mitch Jebb, singled through the right side, and Frank could have scored or moved to third base. Jebb stole second and then scored after 1B Reese Trahey hit the ball sharply to first base that went off Fucci's glove and into right field for a double.

In the bottom of the third, Michigan State added on to its lead. LF Bryce Kelley drew a leadoff walk and then stole second base. He then moved up to third base on a wild pitch from Bierman. Next up to bat, 3B Zach Iverson hit a sacrifice fly to right-center field and Kelley scored to make it a 3-0 game.

In the bottom of the sixth, Michigan State tacked on two more runs. Pinch hitter Bailey Peterson led off the inning and doubled off the left-field wall. C Gabe Sotres then reached base after hitting a ground ball to shortstop and Jeremy Houston committed a throwing error. Peterson scored on the error to extend Michigan State's lead to 4-0 and Sotres advanced to second base. Sotres moved to third base after Trahey grounded out and eventually scored when 2B Trent Farquhar singled to right field, making it a 5-0 game. Farquhar moved to second on a wild pitch and then Ty Bothwell walked Kelley to put runners on first and second. Regardless, CF Joe Stewart flew out to right field, which ended the inning.

In the top of the seventh, Indiana finally was on the board. 1B Jordan Fucci doubled down the right-field line but was then tagged out in a rundown between second and third base after RF Sam Murrison hit a ground ball to the pitcher. Murrison advanced to second base on the play and then scored after Jeremy Houston singled down the right-field line to cut Michigan State's lead to 5-1.

In the top of ninth, Indiana showed some life but did not score. Fucci singled to center field with one out and then advanced to second base after Murrison singled to right field. C Jacob Southern then grounded out to the pitcher, which moved Fucci and Murrison up one base, but Houston struck out swinging to end the game. Indiana dropped the series finale 5-1 and Bierman picked up his second loss of the season.

Notable Performances:

1B Jordan Fucci: 2-4

RF Sam Murrison: 2-4

Overall, the weekend went pretty well for the Hoosiers, taking two out of three from Michigan State and remaining in first place in the Big Ten Conference.

However, the one key issue this past weekend was the errors in the field. I mentioned that Indiana heading into the Purdue series last weekend only committed one error all year long and in the Purdue series, there were four. In this series, there were five, two for Cole Barr and three for Jeremy Houston. While Indiana's offense overshadowed the errors in the second game, the offense did not have as good of a showing in game three. Michigan State was able to capitalize on Indiana's mistakes to avoid the sweep. Four of the 11 runs Michigan State scored this past weekend were linked to an error, whether that be a runner scoring because of a throwing error or reaching base on an error and scoring later in the inning.

Some positives include the offense scoring 18 runs in the first two games and the pitching. It was great to see McCade Brown bounce back from his outing against Purdue and hold Michigan State to just one run through five innings. Furthermore, other pitchers such as Tommy Sommer, John Modugno, Ty Bothwell, Reese Sharp and Braden Scott did great on the mound. All five pitchers combined pitched 15 2/3 innings and only allowed two earned runs which came from Sommer.

Heading into the weekend, Indiana had a 9-2 record and a 0.5 game lead over the second-place 9-3 Michigan Wolverines. After winning the series against Michigan State, Indiana held its position with a slim 0.5 game lead over Michigan and Nebraska. Nebraska joined the tight race for first after sweeping Minnesota to extend its winning streak to six games and is now 11-4, tied with Michigan.

This upcoming weekend Indiana will conclude a seven-game road trip by playing a four-game series against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.

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