Tuesday brought another single game mid week series for Indiana baseball. The first game of April for Indiana featured a face off with the Louisville Cardinals, one of the forces in the ACC. But more weaknesses on both sides of the diamond saw IU drop the matchup 6-4.
Indiana came into Tuesday’s game 15-13 and was fresh off a blown nine-run lead to lose Saturday’s matchup and the series against the USC Trojans. After great pitching and tremendous early at-bats, the Hoosiers had an uninspired late-game effort.
Indiana met almost that exact same pattern on Tuesday, pitching well for about six innings, which was backed up by a lead of three runs.
The pitching was kicked off by Ryan Kraft who was stellar with a line of two innings, no hits, one earned run and a walk which led to a sacrifice fielder's choice responsible for the earned run.
Aydan Decker-Petty and Henry Brummel held down the fort keeping the Cardinals out of the score book and the hit column. All was fine and dandy for IU until Grant Holderfield took the mound and gave up three hits and one run and then Pete Haas, who took home the loss, gave up four runs, which was the difference.
All four of IU’s runs came in the fourth inning. Two of the runs were due to wild pitches and only one was earned. Outside of the fourth inning, it was a ghost town for Indiana offensively. The Hoosiers best threats as of late — Andrew Wiggins, Devin Taylor, Korbyn Dickerson and Jake Hanley — were a combined 1-for-15.
Overall, it was not one of Indiana’s finest nights offensively.
“You pitch it really well, you give up two earned runs, and guys go out there and compete with confidence on the mound and you don’t take care of the ball and you don’t take care of at-bats when given the opportunity to do that,” an angry but even-keeled head coach Jeff Mercer said. “That part is frustrating. (The offense) has got the capabilities to do a better job than that.”
Indiana will be back in action this Friday at 6 p.m. when it takes on Michigan State in game one of a three-game weekend series.
