It was nothing short of a perfect weekend for Indiana baseball as the Hoosiers dominated Iowa 7-1 Sunday afternoon to sweep the Hawkeyes and keep an undefeated record in Big Ten play.
The win keeps the Hoosiers' momentum flowing and marks Indiana’s eighth consecutive win. It’s no secret that the Hoosiers and their bats are red hot.
Through the eight-game win streak, the Hoosiers are putting up an average of 11 runs per game. In the Iowa series alone, the Hoosiers outscored the Hawkeyes 23-4.
Beyond the team’s winning streak, freshman outfielder Grant Richardson has a hot streak of his own going.
The kid steps up to the plate.
The kid jacks a two-run homer.
Grant Richardson is on ??? right now! #IUBase 2, Iowa 0 | B2 pic.twitter.com/DHjybRyJiS
— Indiana Baseball ⚾️ (@IndianaBase) March 24, 2019
“Terrific, he’s been terrific,” Indiana Head Coach Jeff Mercer said. “He just does everything he is asked to do.”
The talented freshman has only played nine games in his college career thus far but has more than made an impact for the Hoosiers.
Richardson has gone 15-36 from the plate for a .417 batting average so far on the season. He pairs the stellar average with 17 RBIs and two home runs too. He brought more of the same today against Iowa where he was 3-4 with a two-run home run to left field and three total RBIs.
The freshman’s three hits were a third of the Hoosiers’ total nine on the day as well. Richardson isn’t just a standout from the plate though, he gets the job done defensively too. In the top of the sixth inning, with two runners on and two runners out, Richardson made a diving catch in right field to prevent any runs scored.
What can't he do?? The freshman out here making plays at the plate and in the outfield like it's nothing ? pic.twitter.com/BP23MBVmhZ
— Indiana Baseball ⚾️ (@IndianaBase) March 24, 2019
“It was an incredible catch,” Mercer said. “He’s a different level of athlete.”
As great as the catch was, Richardson’s defense hadn’t always been up to par. Mercer said that Richardson’s defense was the reason he hadn’t seen the field until the road contest with Cincinnati too.
“It’s important to understand that Grant wasn’t ready to play at the beginning of the season because he wasn’t ready defensively,” Mercer said.
Richardson understands that too and admitted it took a lot to get where he is now.
“Defensively, I’ve come a really long way from the fall,” Richardson said. “I’ve been working really hard on my defense, and being able to make reads like that, be able to go out and make plays like that.”
With Richardson playing at the level he is, along with his entire team, Indiana is in a great spot. Richardson provides another dimension of depth to the roster that may not have been expected going into the year. His play has become increasingly important too with the injury bug getting to the Hoosiers a bit.
Fineman ➡️ Ashley for the strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play! What a play ? pic.twitter.com/drBcqwyTp8
— Indiana Baseball ⚾️ (@IndianaBase) March 24, 2019
In the bottom of the fifth inning when running to first, senior outfielder and one of the team’s leaders Logan Kaletha got injured and taken out of the game. This is the second injury for Kaletha in a short time span, but his status remains uncertain.
“We’re just going to have to kind of check on it afterwards and you hope he’s okay,” Mercer said. “Either way, we’ll hope he’s okay but if he’s not it’s going to have to be the next guy up.”
Richardson is versatile and can play any spot in the outfield, and he is willing to do whatever the coaching staff finds suitable.
“I feel comfortable in all positions,” Richardson said. “Wherever they stick me, I feel comfortable getting reads from anywhere.”
