Indiana baseball spent the weekend in Seattle at T-Mobile Park, the home of the Seattle Mariners, for the Seattle Baseball Showcase.
The Seattle Baseball Showcase featured six programs, including Washington, No. 17 Coastal Carolina, San Diego, and No. 4 Oregon State.
It was a challenging three games for Indiana as it went 1-2 against formidable competition, including back-to-back games against 2018 College World Series participants. One of those opponents, the Oregon State Beavers, are the defending national champions.
Indiana went 1-2 on the weekend, only beating Washington on Friday while losing to Oregon State and San Diego, bringing Indiana’s record to 7-7 overall.
Here’s a closer look at how Indiana’s weekend fared in Seattle.
Friday - Washington: W, 1-0
The weekend got off to an excellent start for Indiana thanks to senior pitcher Pauly Milto’s gem of a performance against Washington on Friday.
Milto went eight innings, striking out six, while only giving up one walk and one hit. Milto had a no-hitter going into the eighth until Washington sophomore pinch hitter Noah Hsue knocked a single into right field.
What made the righthander’s work from the mound even more impressive was that Washington’s bats were red hot. Prior to the Huskies’ matchup with Indiana, Washington was averaging 8.4 runs per game.
Milto’s heroics also made up for a lack of offense. Indiana tallied six hits against Washington, but the Huskies held tight defensively, limiting many scoring opportunities.
Indiana’s one run was an RBI single to left field that came from the bat of sophomore second baseman Drew Ashley. The hit scored sophomore third baseman Cole Barr.
Saturday - No. 4 Oregon State: L, 3-8
Saturday started out strong for the Hoosiers as they got off to a quick, 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Senior Matt Lloyd belted a solo home run, his first of the season.
The Beavers struck back with a run of their own in the second inning before blowing the doors off in the fourth. They scored three more runs and kept ahold of the lead throughout the rest of the game.
Oregon State’s presence at the plate continually did damage to Indiana as they earned eleven hits while being walked six times too.
This was another struggle of a performance for Indiana’s Saturday starter and junior college transfer, pitcher Tanner Gordon. He only went 4.1 innings and picked up his third loss on the year to make for an 0-3 record.
He gave up seven hits, four earned runs, five walks while striking out five.
The bullpen struggled to handle Oregon State, too. IU junior Cal Krueger, sophomore Grant Sloan, and freshman Alex Franklin all pitched, but none of them went more than 1.2 innings, and Krueger and Franklin gave up runs of their own.
Sunday - San Diego: L, 5-3
Sunday presented an opportunity for Indiana to right the ship and come away with a winning record on the weekend, but the Hoosiers fell just short of doing so.
Indiana got off to a poor start, giving up three runs in the top of the first from several mistakes. San Diego’s senior Ripken Reyes and sophomore Shane McGuire both got hit by pitches, which were followed by a Adam Hussain single for San Diego and error from Indiana.
The bleeding was minimal for the rest of the game as Indiana tightened up defensively, but the one big inning for San Diego proved to be crucial as Indiana couldn’t muster enough offensive firepower.
Barr and Lloyd were the bright spots from the plate. Barr homered in the second and Lloyd hit a single in the third to bring in junior shortstop Jeremy Houston. Lloyd hit a home run of his own in the sixth to make it a one-run game at that point.
After an insurance run in the top of the ninth from San Diego to make it 5-3, Indiana just couldn’t catch up and ultimately fell.
