Indiana baseball got back on track over the weekend.
The Hoosiers (34-14, 12-6 Big Ten) picked up a three-game sweep at Northwestern (8-34, 2-7) to climb back into second place in the Big Ten standings.
IU took Friday’s game 4-0, Saturday finished 5-2 in 12 innings, and Sunday ended 11-9.
Sophomore Luke Sinnard, previously Indiana’s Saturday starter, made his first Friday start of the year in Evanston. And he recorded one of his best outings of the season, throwing 6.2 shutout innings. Sinnard allowed six hits — but only one extra-base hit — and three walks, with seven strikeouts. Redshirt senior Craig Yoho came in and finished things off, throwing the final 2.1 innings and earning the save.
Sophomore designated hitter Carter Mathison was responsible for all of IU’s runs on Friday. He hit a three-run home run in the first inning, and then added one in the eighth on an RBI single.
The Hoosiers trailed Northwestern 2-0 on Saturday heading into the eighth inning, and they rallied to tie it up with two outs. Freshman right fielder Devin Taylor hit an RBI double, and then scored the tying run on a single by sophomore first baseman Brock Tibbits. Senior left fielder Hunter Jessee scored the go-ahead run in the 12th inning on an error, and then Taylor hit a two-RBI double to provide insurance.
Junior starting pitcher Seti Manase lasted only 1.2 innings, but sophomore Ryan Kraft threw 7.1 solid innings in relief to give IU a shot to comeback. Kraft gave up one unearned run on four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. Freshman Connor Foley earned the win for keeping Northwestern scoreless in the 10th and 11th innings, and freshman Brayden Risedorph picked up his third save of the season.
Sunday’s higher-scoring affair got rolling quickly, as Indiana hung five runs in the first inning. Northwestern answered back with three in the bottom half, but the Wildcats could never tie the score. NU got it to 5-4 in the third inning, but IU responded with four runs in the fourth.
Seven different IU players recorded RBIs in Sunday’s game; fifth-year senior catcher Peter Serruto led the way with three. Serruto, Tibbits, and fifth-year senior shortstop Phillip Glasser all hit doubles, and sophomore third baseman Josh Pyne and freshman second baseman Tyler Cerny came up with triples.
Senior reliever Ben Seiler picked up the win Sunday for his three innings with just one earned run allowed on three hits with two strikeouts. Risedorph earned his fourth save by pitching the final two innings.
Indiana travels to Cincinnati to play Xavier on Tuesday. This game was added to the schedule recently, replacing a contest against Southern Indiana, to potentially help IU’s postseason resume. The Hoosiers host Purdue over the weekend.
IU Softball completes historic regular season
Indiana softball wrapped up its regular season on Sunday by completing a three-game sweep of Michigan State. This clinched IU’s first 40-win season since 1994.
The Hoosiers are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend, at Illinois. They’ll play the winner between No. 7 Penn State and No. 10 Michigan on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals.
Freshman infielder Taryn Kern has enjoyed a remarkable campaign, as her 21 home runs are tied for the top mark in the country. She’s third in the nation with a .992 slugging percentage as well.
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