IU wins Northwestern series but remains stationary in standings
Indiana faced off against the Northwestern Wildcats this weekend and took two out of three games, winning the series. Indiana won the series opener 5-4 but lost game two 8-5 before coming back strong in the series finale and winning 4-0, led by Gabe Bierman's excellent pitching performance.
Heading into the series Indiana was third in the conference standings, one game behind second-place Michigan and 1.5 games back from Nebraska. After this weekend, the Hoosiers remained in third place, but the gap between Michigan and Nebraska widened. Indiana is now two games back from Michigan and 2.5 games back from Nebraska. Despite winning two out of three, Michigan has a five-game win streak and Nebraska has a four-game win streak, meaning Indiana did not have an opportunity to climb the standings.
Here is the full breakdown of the Indiana vs. Northwestern series.
Game 1: Friday 4/16 @ 4:00 pm ET
LHP Tommy Sommer started the series opener for the Hoosiers and pitched well early on but faltered later in his outing. He allowed four earned runs on five hits, struck out five and walked four through six and one-thirds innings pitched.
Indiana broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third inning. A pitch hit LF Drew Ashley with one out and then he moved to second base after CF Grant Richardson singled up the middle. 3B Cole Barr drew a one-out walk which loaded up the bases. 2B Paul Toetz struck out swinging for the second out of the inning, but 1B Kip Fougerousse singled to right field and both Ashley and Richardson scored to give Indiana a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, the Hoosiers extended their 2-0 lead. Richardson hit a leadoff single through the left side and then advanced to second base after Barr was walked. Toetz then doubled to right field and Richardson scored to make it a 3-0 game. Fougerousse grounded out to third base and RF Morgan Colopy hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield. Barr scored on the sac fly from third base to extend the lead to 4-0. DH Tyler Van Pelt also contributed in the inning and singled to right field, which scored Toetz to make it a 5-0 game.
The Wildcats finally put some runs on the scoreboard and started to chip away at Indiana's lead in the bottom half of the inning. DH David Dunn drew a leadoff walk and moved to second base after 3B Evan Minarovic singled up the middle with one out. CF Ethan O'Donnell then singled to right field and all runners advanced one base which, loaded up the bases. The last hitter in Northwestern's lineup, RF Leo Kaplan, hit a slow ground ball to third base and beat the throw at first. All runners moved up one base and Dunn scored to make it a 5-1 game. 1B Anthony Calarco then singled up the middle and Minarovic scored to add another run.
Tommy Sommer was taken out of the game and replaced with RHP Nathan Stahl. Stahl struck out SS Shawn Goosenberg but next up to bat, LF Stephen Hrustich hit a ground-rule double to left field, which scored Kaplan and O'Donnell to cut the deficit to 5-4. Both runners that scored were charged as earned runs for Sommer.
RHP Matt Litwicki entered the game in the ninth inning and replaced Stahl. Kaplan hit a leadoff single, but Calarco flied out to left-center field. Goosenberg then hit a ground ball to second base and Kaplan was thrown out trying to advance to second. However, Goosenberg reached base on the fielder's choice. He wisely stole second base to move into scoring position down by one run in the ninth. However, Litwicki struck out Hrustrich to secure the 5-4 victory.
Notable Performances:
CF Grant Richardson: 2-5
2B Paul Toetz: 2-5 / 1 RBI
1B Kip Fougerousse: 2-5 / 2 RBI
RF Morgan Colopy: 1-4 / 1 RBI
DH Tyler Van Pelt: 1-4 / 1 RBI
Game 2: Saturday 4/17 @ 2:00 pm ET
In the second game of the three-game series, RHP McCade Brown started the game for Indiana. Brown lacked control throughout his outing and was inefficient due to his high pitch count in four and one-third innings pitched. Overall he allowed two earned runs on four hits, struck out five and walked three. He also hit two batters and threw one wild pitch.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second. 2B Vincent Bianchina hit a projected 407-foot solo home run to right-center field to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. RF Leo Kaplan then reached base on a fielding error by SS James Espalin with two outs. This error proved costly as 1B Anthony Calarco doubled to right-center field and Kaplan scored to extend the lead to 2-0. SS Shawn Goosenberg also doubled to right-center and Calarco scored from second base to give Northwestern a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Bianchina hit another solo home run over the right-center field wall to extend the lead to 4-0.
In the next inning, 1B Kip Fougerousse led off and singled to right field. RF Morgan Colopy then reached base on a fielder's choice to third base. NU 3B Evan Minarovich got the force out at second base and Fougerousse was out, but Colopy safely reached first. DH Tyler Van Pelt then drove a ball over the right-field wall for a two-run home run, cutting Northwestern's lead in half 4-2.
LF Drew Ashley drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth. CF Grant Richardson then hit a ground ball to shortstop and Ashley was out on the force at second base. However, Richardson beat the throw at first and reached on the fielder's choice. 3B Cole Barr then hit a two-run home run to left field, which tied the game 4-4.
In the bottom half of the inning, a pitch hit C Michael Trautwein with one out and then he advanced to second base on a wild pitch. DH David Dunn drew a one-out walk and although it looked like he swung on the replay, the umpire ruled that he held up and was granted first base. RHP Braydon Tucker replaced Brown with runners on first and second and one out. Bianchina, who already hit two home runs in this game, stepped up to the plate. However, Tucker induced a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play.
Van Pelt led off the top of the eighth and doubled to right field. He moved to third base after C Collin Hopkins laid down a sacrifice bunt. Ashley then singled to left field with two outs and Van Pelt scored to give Indiana a 5-4 lead late in the game. However, the Wildcats rallied late in the bottom half of the inning and retook the lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Dunn hit a leadoff single through the right side and Bianchina also singled to right field, which put runners on first and second. Minarovic then laid down a sacrifice bunt which moved both runners to second and third, respectively. CF Ethan O'Donnell singled through the right side and both Dunn and Bianchina scored to give Northwestern a 6-5 lead. Kaplan then hit a single, which moved O'Donnell to second base. After Kaplan's at-bat, RHP John Modugno entered the game and replaced RHP Braydon Tucker. 1B Anthony Calarco singled to center field and O'Donnell scored from second base to extend Northwestern's lead to 7-5. Kaplan advanced to third and Calarco advanced to second on the throw home from the outfield. Kaplan then scored on a wild pitch from RHP John Modugno to extend the lead to 8-5.
In the top of the ninth, Indiana was retired in order and failed to score any runs. The Hoosiers dropped the second game of the series 8-5, which ended their three-game win streak.
Notable Performances:
LF Drew Ashley: 2-4 / 1 RBI
3B Cole Barr: 1-4 / 1 HR (4) / 2 RBI
DH Tyler Van Pelt: 3-4 / 1 HR (1) / 2 RBI
Game 3: Sunday 4/18 @ 1:00 pm ET
RHP Gabe Bierman took the mound in the series finale and pitched exceptionally well. Bierman allowed zero earned runs on just two hits, struck out six and walked one through seven and two-thirds innings. This was Bierman's first outing since two weeks ago because last Sunday's game against Illinois was rained out.
3B Cole Barr hit a leadoff single to left-center field in the top of the second inning. He then advanced to second base after 1B Kip Fougerousse singled to left field. RF Morgan Colopy then reached on a fielder's choice to third base. Barr moved to third and Fougerousse was out at second. Next up to bat, DH Tyler Van Pelt reached on a fielder's choice to second base. Barr scored on the play to give Indiana a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Indiana extended its lead to 3-0. CF Grant Richardson hit a leadoff double down the right-field line and advanced to third base after being caught in a rundown. Barr hit a ground ball to NU starting pitcher Quinn Lavelle who threw to second base to get Richardson. However, he dashed to third and safely slid headfirst. Barr was caught stealing at second base and Fougerousse struck out swinging. With two outs and a runner on third, Colopy hit a two-run home run to extend the lead to 3-0.
Bierman retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced through five innings and struck out five.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcats broke up the no-hitter. RF Leo Kaplan led off and hit a ground ball up the middle that IU 2B Paul Toetz fielded, but Kaplan beat the throw at first. 3B Tony Livermore then grounded out to Bierman and Kaplan moved to second. 1B Anthony Calarco grounded out to first base unassisted, which moved Kaplan to third. SS Shawn Goosenberg then popped out to Toetz in shallow right field to end the inning.
SS James Espalin drew a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth and moved to second base after LF Drew Ashley bunted to the pitcher. A pitch then hit Toetz to put runners on first and second. Richardson hit a ground ball to first and Calarco committed a throwing error trying to get the force out at second base. All runners safely advanced to load up the bases. Barr then hit a sacrifice fly to right field and Espalin scored from third to extend the lead to 4-0.
In the bottom half of the inning, Bierman walked 2B Vincent Bianchina. CF Ethan O'Donnell then grounded out to second base and Bianchina moved to second. Kaplan flied out to center field and then Livermore hit an infield single to shortstop. Espalin was shifted up the middle and made a diving stop but decided to hold onto the ball, realizing he did not have a play. Bianchina moved to third on the infield single. LHP Ty Bothwell entered the game with runners on the corners and two outs with Calarco at the dish. Bothwell struck out Calarco looking to end the inning and kept the shutout intact.
RHP Matt Litwicki replaced Bothwell after the eighth inning and locked it down in the bottom of the ninth. He struck out the first two batters he faced and induced a ground out to first base to end the game. Litwicki and the Hoosiers secured the 4-0 victory, handing the Wildcats their first shutout loss of the season.
Notable Performances:
P Gabe Bierman: 7 ⅔ IP / 2 H / 0 ER / 1 BB / 6 K's / 1 HBP
CF Grant Richardson: 2-4
3B Cole Barr: 1-3 / 1 RBI
RF Morgan Colopy: 1-4 / 1 HR (3) / 2 RBI
DH Tyler Van Pelt: 0-4 / 1 RBI
Closing Thoughts:
It was great to see some guys in the middle of the lineup like Colopy, Fougerousse and Van Pelt successfully scoring runs and hitting home runs. All three combined batted in nine of the 14 runs scored throughout the series.
Colopy: 2-12 / 1 HR / 3 RBI
Fougerousse: 4-13 / 2 RBI
Van Pelt: 4-12 / 1 HR / 4 RBI
The pitching struggled in game two, but it's important to note that Northwestern heading into the series had the most home runs in the Big Ten by a fair margin and the highest slugging percentage. Although Indiana had the best pitching, it can be expected that there was to be a battle between the two teams. Besides game two, the Indiana pitching staff held the Wildcats to four runs. Gabe Bierman had a stellar outing and significantly contributed to the shutout in the series finale. It's also essential to give credit to Ty Bothwell and Matt Litwicki, who finished the game coming out of the bullpen. Individual pitchers struggled, sure, but pitching-wise it was a great team effort to come out on top.
The fielding throughout the series was consistent as there was only one error and it was on a challenging play. But in the preview, I mentioned how errors would prove more costly due to the number of home runs the Wildcats hit on the season and their high slugging percentage. The one mistake was costly as it came with two outs and it was followed by two doubles which turned into two unearned runs in game two, where Indiana lost by three runs.
Ending on a positive note, it was a pretty solid weekend for the Hoosiers. It's just unfortunate that their efforts did not move them up in the standings due to Nebraska and Michigan's recent wins.
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Indiana is set to play a three-game home series against Minnesota at Bart Kaufman Field this upcoming weekend. Below are the scheduled start times of each game.
Game 1: Friday, April 23rd @ 5:00 pm ET
Game 2: Saturday, April 24th @ 2:00 pm ET
Game 3: Sunday, April 25th @ 12:00 pm ET
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