Saturday, May 19
Bloomington, Ind.
5 p.m.
Indiana University
37-15, 0
13
vs
3
Maryland
21-27, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Maryland
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
5
2
Indiana
3
1
2
0
4
3
0
0
X
13
15
1
No. 19 Indiana Sweeps Maryland; Earns Five Seed In Big Ten Tournament
5/19/2018 11:21:00 PM | Baseball
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON – Logan Sowers struck out. And got a resounding standing ovation.
Because Saturday evening's robust Bart Kaufman Field crowd was saluting a Senior Day done right.
Sowers had gone 4-for-4 before fanning in the seventh, supplying two homers, two singles and five RBI to help fuel the host Hoosiers' 13-3 romp over Maryland.
"I walked in the dugout and coach (Chris Lemonis) said, 'First time they've ever cheered for a strikeout,' Sowers recalled. "I thought that was pretty funny. I mean, the fans are great."
The Hoosiers were pretty great, collectively, Saturday.
Tim Herrin delivered another strong start through six innings and Hoosier pitching allowed just one earned run on the day. IU banged out 15 hits. Luke Miller stayed torrid, going 3-for-4.
Miller and Sowers, 3-4 hitters in Indiana's lineup, finished a combined 13 of 24 with five homers, 14 RBI and nine runs scored during the three-game sweep of the Terps. And they had plenty of help.
Saturday marked a sixth straight win sending IU (37-15 overall and 14-9 in league play) into next week's Big Ten Tournament as the No. 5 seed in Omaha, where the Hoosiers play Wednesday against Illinois.
And the Hoosiers head in hot.
"You know, we've been really hot, the last week-and-a-half, two weeks," Sowers said. "We're feeling really good."
It was a feel-good Saturday for the Hoosiers and their fans from the get-go.
Junior center fielder Logan Kaletha helped set the tone in the top of the first.
Maryland's Marty Costes, with two outs, mashed a screaming liner to dead center. Kaletha broke back at full speed, leaped and – while slamming into the wall and on the way down from his peak height, snared the ball. Kaletha, lying flat on his back, then eld his mitt high to confirm the catch. It was an all-timer.
Kaletha led off the Hoosier first by reaching on an error, then stole second. Matt Gorski followed with a one-out walk, and he and Kaletha both strolled home ahead Sowers, who crushed a majestic 3-run homer to left.
The only question when the ball left his bat was whether it was going to reach the Ind. 45-46 Bypass on the fly.
Maryland (24-30, 94) briefly got back into the game with two unearned runs in the top of the second. A ground ball that should have ended the inning was misplayed. Taylor Wright made the Hoosiers pay with a 2-RBI single.
IU bumped its edge to 4-2 in its half of the second. Wyatt Cross, who worked a leadoff walk, went to second when Kaletha was hit by a pitch (for the 20th time this season), to third on a double-play grounder and scored on a wild pitch.
Randy Bednar led off the Maryland third with a solo shot, an impressive blast to center, but Indiana answered with two runs in its half of the frame.
Sowers smacked a leadoff single and scored all the way from first on Miller's double up the left-center gap. Scotty Bradley then delivered Miller with a single to make it 6-3.
Then Sowers' second homer of the day, a majestic solo shot that cascaded well over the wall in right, ignited a four-run Hoosier fifth that pretty much settled matters.
Drew Ashley followed with a one-out single to center and came all the way around to score on Bradley's lined double into the right field corner. Then came a RBI single by Jeremy Houston and RBI double to dead center by Cross.
Sowers upped his RBI total to five on the day with a lined single to drive in Matt Gorski, who had tripled to lead off the IU sixth. A Miller single then plated Sowers.
And Chris Lowe got into the Senior Day swing of things by driving a RBI double off the wall in right to make it 12-3 and cap a three-run frame and, as it turned out, the day's scoring.
"That was nice," Lemonis said. "We talked about it beforehand, about what we'd like to do, but it doesn't always work out that way. We have a great group of kids. I'm glad some of those seniors were able to jump out there and play.
"They were really good. Laren getting out there, Brian Hobbie had a great inning for us, which we could really use in the tourney. It was a really good day all around."
???????Lemonis has a special place in his heart for the seven-man senior class, all of whom stuck with their commitments to the program when Lemonis came in to replace Tracy Smith.
They've gone 138-87-2 (.615) in their four years together.
"It being your first (class), when you're a first-time head coach and these are all your freshmen running around. I think there is a little more connection," Lemonis said of his seniors. "The way they go about their business, just on and off the field, they've just set the tone for our program.
"There's a lot of leadership in there … I came in with all these guys, so it was neat to do (this with them). They're very appreciative."
And Lemonis appreciates his whole current club, which has won at a .712 clip.
I thought it was huge for us to be able to get into the five-seed and just keep building our resume, RPI," Lemonis said. "I think some of our hitters feel like we're back and we're clicking.
"I've said it all year, but right now is probably some of the best baseball we're pla\yng. Even early on when we were winning, we still weren't totally clicking. When you got Sowers, Miller and (Matt) Lloyd and those guys hitting, you've got a chance. And Jeremy Houston is playing defense at a level that he hasn't played in his career, and he's been a pretty good player for us."
Sowers wants to keep playing for a long while this post-season, and feels the Hoosiers can.
"Confidence is a huge thing in baseball," Sowers said. "I think, for the most part, everybody on our team is feeling pretty confident (and) this is the most confident I've ever felt, going into a post-season.
"I think we've got a really strong chance of going really far. And I'm really looking forward to it."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON – Logan Sowers struck out. And got a resounding standing ovation.
Because Saturday evening's robust Bart Kaufman Field crowd was saluting a Senior Day done right.
Sowers had gone 4-for-4 before fanning in the seventh, supplying two homers, two singles and five RBI to help fuel the host Hoosiers' 13-3 romp over Maryland.
"I walked in the dugout and coach (Chris Lemonis) said, 'First time they've ever cheered for a strikeout,' Sowers recalled. "I thought that was pretty funny. I mean, the fans are great."
The Hoosiers were pretty great, collectively, Saturday.
Tim Herrin delivered another strong start through six innings and Hoosier pitching allowed just one earned run on the day. IU banged out 15 hits. Luke Miller stayed torrid, going 3-for-4.
Miller and Sowers, 3-4 hitters in Indiana's lineup, finished a combined 13 of 24 with five homers, 14 RBI and nine runs scored during the three-game sweep of the Terps. And they had plenty of help.
Saturday marked a sixth straight win sending IU (37-15 overall and 14-9 in league play) into next week's Big Ten Tournament as the No. 5 seed in Omaha, where the Hoosiers play Wednesday against Illinois.
And the Hoosiers head in hot.
"You know, we've been really hot, the last week-and-a-half, two weeks," Sowers said. "We're feeling really good."
It was a feel-good Saturday for the Hoosiers and their fans from the get-go.
Junior center fielder Logan Kaletha helped set the tone in the top of the first.
Maryland's Marty Costes, with two outs, mashed a screaming liner to dead center. Kaletha broke back at full speed, leaped and – while slamming into the wall and on the way down from his peak height, snared the ball. Kaletha, lying flat on his back, then eld his mitt high to confirm the catch. It was an all-timer.
Kaletha led off the Hoosier first by reaching on an error, then stole second. Matt Gorski followed with a one-out walk, and he and Kaletha both strolled home ahead Sowers, who crushed a majestic 3-run homer to left.
The only question when the ball left his bat was whether it was going to reach the Ind. 45-46 Bypass on the fly.
Maryland (24-30, 94) briefly got back into the game with two unearned runs in the top of the second. A ground ball that should have ended the inning was misplayed. Taylor Wright made the Hoosiers pay with a 2-RBI single.
IU bumped its edge to 4-2 in its half of the second. Wyatt Cross, who worked a leadoff walk, went to second when Kaletha was hit by a pitch (for the 20th time this season), to third on a double-play grounder and scored on a wild pitch.
Randy Bednar led off the Maryland third with a solo shot, an impressive blast to center, but Indiana answered with two runs in its half of the frame.
Sowers smacked a leadoff single and scored all the way from first on Miller's double up the left-center gap. Scotty Bradley then delivered Miller with a single to make it 6-3.
Then Sowers' second homer of the day, a majestic solo shot that cascaded well over the wall in right, ignited a four-run Hoosier fifth that pretty much settled matters.
Drew Ashley followed with a one-out single to center and came all the way around to score on Bradley's lined double into the right field corner. Then came a RBI single by Jeremy Houston and RBI double to dead center by Cross.
Sowers upped his RBI total to five on the day with a lined single to drive in Matt Gorski, who had tripled to lead off the IU sixth. A Miller single then plated Sowers.
And Chris Lowe got into the Senior Day swing of things by driving a RBI double off the wall in right to make it 12-3 and cap a three-run frame and, as it turned out, the day's scoring.
"That was nice," Lemonis said. "We talked about it beforehand, about what we'd like to do, but it doesn't always work out that way. We have a great group of kids. I'm glad some of those seniors were able to jump out there and play.
"They were really good. Laren getting out there, Brian Hobbie had a great inning for us, which we could really use in the tourney. It was a really good day all around."
???????Lemonis has a special place in his heart for the seven-man senior class, all of whom stuck with their commitments to the program when Lemonis came in to replace Tracy Smith.
They've gone 138-87-2 (.615) in their four years together.
"It being your first (class), when you're a first-time head coach and these are all your freshmen running around. I think there is a little more connection," Lemonis said of his seniors. "The way they go about their business, just on and off the field, they've just set the tone for our program.
"There's a lot of leadership in there … I came in with all these guys, so it was neat to do (this with them). They're very appreciative."
And Lemonis appreciates his whole current club, which has won at a .712 clip.
I thought it was huge for us to be able to get into the five-seed and just keep building our resume, RPI," Lemonis said. "I think some of our hitters feel like we're back and we're clicking.
"I've said it all year, but right now is probably some of the best baseball we're pla\yng. Even early on when we were winning, we still weren't totally clicking. When you got Sowers, Miller and (Matt) Lloyd and those guys hitting, you've got a chance. And Jeremy Houston is playing defense at a level that he hasn't played in his career, and he's been a pretty good player for us."
Sowers wants to keep playing for a long while this post-season, and feels the Hoosiers can.
"Confidence is a huge thing in baseball," Sowers said. "I think, for the most part, everybody on our team is feeling pretty confident (and) this is the most confident I've ever felt, going into a post-season.
"I think we've got a really strong chance of going really far. And I'm really looking forward to it."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Herrin, Tim (5-0)
L: DiLuia,Mark (3-5)
Batting:
HR: Bednar,Randy 1
RBI: Wright,Taylor 2 ; Bednar,Randy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Watson,Will 1 ; Morris,Justin 1 ; Bednar,Randy 1
CS: Wright,Taylor 1
Batting:
2B: Miller, Luke 1 ; Bradley, Scotty 1 ; Lowe, Chris 1 ; Cross, Wyatt 1
3B: Gorski, Matt 1
HR: Sowers, Logan 2
RBI: Kaletha, Logan 1 ; Sowers, Logan 5 ; Miller, Luke 1 ; Bradley, Scotty 2 ; Lowe, Chris 1 ; Houston, Jeremy 1 ; Cross, Wyatt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaletha, Logan 1 ; Gorski, Matt 2 ; Sowers, Logan 4 ; Miller, Luke 2 ; Ashley, Drew 1 ; Bradley, Scotty 1 ; Houston, Jeremy 1 ; Cross, Wyatt 1
SB: Kaletha, Logan 1
HBP: Kaletha, Logan 1 ; Bradley, Scotty 1 ; Houston, Jeremy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
4
H
4
RBI
5
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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LHP
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RHP
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/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
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