BLOOMINGTON - Indiana entered this past weekend losers of three consecutive games following a weekend series loss to Troy and two mid-week losses to Vanderbilt and Illinois State in the past week.
As Belmont visited Bloomington for a three game weekend series, it had been the pitching that was letting the Hoosiers down as of late. The staff had allowed 10 or more runs in the Hoosiers' last three games, all losses.
After taking two of three from Belmont, Indiana now sits at 11-9 on the season.
The pitching staff gave up more runs than head coach Jeff Mercer and the Hoosiers may have budgeted for over the weekend, but after a slow start to the series, the offense exploded against the Bruins.
Pitching struggles continue; offense lets Hoosiers down in series-opening loss
Indiana went in a different direction on Friday night than they have to start the season, as senior RHP Jack Moffitt got the start in the series-opener. The Gonzaga transfer's first start for the Hoosiers was hurt by a first inning error that eventually led to a three-run homer for Belmont.
Moffitt labored through two complete innings, allowing four runs -- only one of them was earned. The Seattle, Washington native was unable to give the Hoosiers the length they were looking for out of their Friday starter.
"His velocity wasn't very good," Jeff Mercer said on Moffitt following Indiana's 10-3 loss. "His stuff wasn't as sharp and he didn't land his off speed pitch in that first inning. We had to get (Moffitt) out and we got Ty (Bothwell) in there a little earlier than we would have like to."
Because Moffitt was only able to go two innings, Indiana had to turn to sixth-year senior Ty Bothwell earlier than usual. When the left-handed Bothwell entered the game to start the third inning, the Hoosiers trailed the Bruins 4-1.
Bothwell gave his offense a chance to get Indiana back in the game, tossing five scoreless frames to begin his outing out of the pen.
"He was really good, he was spectacular there for five innings or so," Mercer said of Bothwell. "Ty was terrific, he did a really good job."
Entering the eighth inning, Indiana's offense had been able to muster up two additional runs, but the Hoosiers still trailed 4-3 following the end of the seventh.
Then, in the eighth and ninth innings, Bothwell's high pitch count caught up to him. He allowed five runs over the final two innings of the ball game, as Indiana's offense went down quietly.
Brock Tibbitts and Nick Mitchell were the only Hoosiers to record multiple hits on Friday night, as Indiana fell 9-3 to Belmont. As a team, Indiana left 10 runners on base. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, the Hoosiers managed just a lone run.
"I thought offensively that if we would have let the game come to us, it would've," Mercer said. "We had multiple opportunities where we swung at ball four, we chased out of the zone early and over swung. It just looked like a group that was trying to do too much and didn't let the game come to them."
For the better part of six innings, Indiana's pitched solidly. Belmont was able to put up crooked numbers in a handful of innings while silencing the Indiana lineup in the series-opener.
Indiana bats wake up, Hoosiers grab win in high-scoring Saturday affair
The game plan was simple for both teams on Saturday, as both Indiana and Belmont got hot at the plate. The game ultimately came down to which team could outscore the other.
In the end, it was the Hoosiers that came out on top, tying their season-high of 15 runs in a 15-10 win.
"I thought we played as a team better than we have all year, especially at the plate," shortstop Tyler Cerny said postgame. "No one really gave away their at-bat, everyone had good at-bats. We all did our job today."
"There's no excuse to throw your at-bat away," Mercer echoed. "We just have to be simple enough to put the ball in play on a line in the middle of the field. When we did that, we had a lot more success."
Belmont got the scoring started, plating five runs across the first two innings of the game off of Indiana starter Connor Foley. It didn't take long for the Hoosiers to respond with two runs in the bottom of the second and three more in the third.
Foley, Indiana's flame throwing right-hander, settled down down once his offense was able to tie the game up at five. The Jasper, Indiana native allowed just one run across the final three innings of his start.
"(Belmont) did a good job adjusting and making (Foley) pitch differently and so then we adjusted back," Mercer said on Foley's improvement as the game wore on. "He landed some fastballs away better and he was able to get out of the middle of the plate."
The story of the afternoon was Indiana's consistent offensive onslaught. After being held scoreless in the first inning, the Hoosiers plated at least one run in each of the final seven innings of the game -- Indiana didn't bat in the bottom of the ninth.
"We did a really good job, it looked like our offense today," Mercer said. "That was really exciting to see. Now, that's the expectation again. We have to be that team everyday. I'm not sure we're going to score 15 runs everyday, but we're capable of it."
All in all, the Hoosiers reached base 28 times on Saturday, tallying 14 hits, eight walks and five hit by pitches to go along with a Belmont fielding error. Indiana still left a lot of runs on the base paths however, stranding 14 runners on base.
All five of Indiana's top five hitters in the batting order recorded multi-hit games. Additionally, all nine of the Hoosiers' starters crossed the plate, scoring a run in the win.
Taylor, Tibbitts and Cerny power Hoosiers to series victory on Sunday
The three-four-five hitters in the Indiana order could do no wrong in Sunday's series-finale. Devin Taylor, Brock Tibbitts and Tyler Cerny combined combined to go 7-13 at the plate. They tallied 11 RBIs, four walks and three runs scored in the Hoosiers' 15-7 win over the Bruins on Sunday.
Taylor came back on Sunday after taking a day off on Saturday. The sophomore's three-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning broke open the game for the Hoosiers. The bases clearing double off the bat of Taylor gave Indiana a 9-3 lead at the time.
"Devin was really big for us," Mercer said postgame. "It was good to have him back today. He came through for us and opened the game up. He gave us a little bit of room to work with."
"Throughout this 'so-called struggle,' it's all been line drives right at people," Taylor said of his recent tough luck at the plate. "I haven't really changed anything. It's the same approach, sitting on my pitch and being stubborn with it. Of course with runners in scoring position, you want to do your job and that's all I wanted to do today."
Indiana's leadoff hitter Nick Mitchell reached base five times in the series-finale. He drew four walks and scored four runs for the Hoosiers in the series-finale.
Outside of Mitchell and the Hoosiers' three-four-five hitters, the rest of Indiana's lineup combined to go 4-25.
Indiana's strong close to the weekend was key for the Hoosiers getting back on track after a four-game losing streak.
"It feels great," Sunday's winning pitcher Ethan Phillips said when asked how coming away from the weekend with the series win feels. "We kind of had that vibe in the locker room where it's like 'this isn't us, this isn't the team that we know we are.'
We come out, make some changes and we get the guys buzzing again," Phillips continued. "We feel back to where we want to be."
Next up, Indiana travels to Terre Haute for a mid-week matchup with Indiana State at 4 P.M. on Tuesday.
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