Indiana University
Indiana State
Butlers’ Walk-Off Homer Seals 5-3 Victory over Indiana State
3/27/2016 4:20:00 PM | Baseball
Senior Caleb Baragar went the first 6.1 innings in the no decision. The lefty fanned five and scattered six hits for three runs. Junior Thomas Belcher (2-1) retired 11 batters en route to his second victory of the season. Butler two-run shot in the bottom of the 10th sealed the deal for the Hoosiers. Sophomore Logan Sowers was responsible for Indiana's other three runs, slugging two home runs and finishing 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Baragar retired the first eight batters he faced before allowing a two-out double in the top of the third, but the lefty picked up his third strikeout to leave the runner stranded. The Sycamores plated the game's first run with a leadoff home run in the fourth, breaking Baragar's streak of 27.2 innings without allowing an earned run.
Sowers returned the favor in the bottom half of the fourth with a solo shot to even the score at 1-1. Indiana State used two hits to push across two runs in the top of the fifth, but great defensive plays by freshman Luke Miller and sophomore Isaiah Pasteur kept the deficit to 3-1.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Miller worked a walk and scored on Sowers' second home run in as many at bats to even the score at three-all. The Hoosiers found themselves in a tight spot in the seventh, as two Sycamores were in scoring position with one out, but Belcher, who entered the game with one away, retired two to wipe the threat.
Indiana State got its leadoff hitter on in the top of the eighth but a caught-looking strikeout and a 4-6-3 double play quickly got the Hoosiers out of the frame. Belcher made quick work of the Sycamores in the ninth and tallied and easy 1-2-3 inning.
Sowers opened the bottom of the ninth with a walk and advanced into scoring position off of freshman Scotty Bradley's sacrifice bunt but was unable to score.
Belcher needed just four pitches to retire the side in the first frame of extra innings. Senior Brian Wilhite started the bottom of the 10th with a single to center field. With two strikes and Wilhite at first base, Butler sent the Hoosiers home victorious with a shot over the wall in left-center field.
Indiana is back in action on Tuesday, as the Hoosiers play host to the Cincinnati Bearcats. First pitch from Bart Kaufman field is set for 6:05 p.m.
Game Notes: In his last four starts, Caleb Baragar has allowed 14 hits in 27 innings and striking out 28... Baragar's scoreless earned run streak was snapped after 27.2 innings following a solo homer in the fourth inning… Logan Sower's two-home run's were his ninth and 10th in his career, a team high for active career home runs…It's the first time in his career that Sowers has had a multi-home run game…The 10-inning battle was the sixth time the Hoosiers have gone to extra innings this season, the most out of Big Ten teams thus far… With a single in the 10th inning, Brian Wilhite extended his hitting streak to 10 games…Tony Butler's walk-off home run was his first home run in his NCAA Division I baseball career…The last extra-inning walk off home run for the Hoosiers dates back to the 2013 NCAA Regional when Chad Clark hit one against Valparaiso... The Hoosiers improved to 6-4 on the year wearing their red jerseys.
