Hart Tosses Four-Hitter as Hoosiers Down Iowa, 7-1

Friday, April 15

Bloomington, Ind.

6:05 P.M.

Indiana University

19-13, 0

Iowa

16-16, 0

Iowa

Indiana

Hart Tosses Four-Hitter as Hoosiers Down Iowa, 7-1

4/15/2016 10:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

BLOOMINGON, Ind. – Indiana baseball (19-13, 5-2 Big Ten) upped its winning streak to seven games with a 12-hit, 7-1 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday evening. Senior Kyle Hart went the distance in a four-hit performance, striking out five, while surrendering an unearned run to improve to 7-2 on the year.

Freshman Luke Miller paced Indiana's offence, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, including his first career home run. Freshman Ryan Fineman went 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run, while junior Tony Butler also had a perfect 2-for-2 game and picked up his second career home run in the effort. Sophomore Chris Lowe drove in a run late in the game in a pinch hitting appearance.

A pitcher's duel carried into the fourth inning before the Hawkeyes played small ball to push a runner to third. After a lead off-single and sacrifice bunt, a groundout moved the Iowa runner to third, but Hart froze the batter at the plate for a caught-looking strikeout.

Fineman extended his hitting streak to 13 games in the home half with a chopper through to right field.

Hart needed minimal pitches in the fifth, collecting two quick strikeouts before a 5-3 putout to retire the side. Miller led off the fifth with a double to right-center for his second hit of the night. He came around to score on junior Austin Cangelosi's chopper to left field. Butler followed with a solo shot over the wall in left to up the Indiana lead to 2-0.

Hart cruised through the sixth with another 1-2-3 frame before the Hoosiers added an insurance run in the home half with a solo home run off Fineman's bat. Iowa cut its deficit to 3-1 in the top of the seventh courtesy of a two-out double but Hart stranded the runner at second with his fourth strikeout of the game.

Back-to-back singles by senior Brian Wilhite and Butler forced a Hawkeyes' pitching change in the seventh, but the Hoosiers would be able to capitalize. With two on in the eighth, Lowe connected on the first pitch he saw for an RBI single before Miller put the game out of reach with a three-run shot over the wall in left.

Indiana and Iowa continue its three-game series tomorrow afternoon with a first pitch time set for 2:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Kyle Hart got his 28^th career win, third most wins in IU history, and his seventh win of the season which leads the Big Ten… Hart threw his third complete game of his career… Hart also notched his 200^th strikeout of his career… With 204 strikeouts, Hart is tied for the sixth most career strikeouts from an IU pitcher… Hart's 9.0 innings pitched moved him into third place for all-time innings pitched with 300.0 innings pitched at IU... Luke Miller's first career home run was the Hoosiers third home run of the day, the first time the Hoosiers have hit three home runs in a game since they did against Rutgers on April 2… Ryan Fineman's single in the fourth inning extended his hit streak to 13 straight games and reached base streak to 18 straight games, career and current team-highs in both… The Hoosiers improved to 7-2 on Friday games… The Hoosiers are now 14-2 when outhitting their opponent… The Hoosiers extended their winning streak to seven games, the most since last year's 12-game win streak from 2/28-3/22.