Saturday, April 27
Bloomington, Ind.
12:05 p.m.
Indiana University
29-14, 0
7
vs
6
Minnesota
18-21, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Minnesota
0
0
1
1
2
2
0
0
0
6
13
0
Indiana
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
4
7
7
2
Baddest of the Bad Bombs Gophers
4/27/2019 5:55:00 PM | Baseball
By Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's host Hoosiers, for much of Saturday afternoon, looked dead.
But they still had The Baddest Man Alive.
Matt Lloyd crushed a full-count pitch with two out in the bottom of the ninth for the three-run homer that hoisted the Hoosiers to an unlikely 7-6 win over Minnesota, capping a comeback from a 6-1 deficit.
"Top of the world," was how Lloyd described the feeling he had running the bases after his majestic clout cascaded high over the right field wall.
IU coach Jeff Mercer, while exiting the Hoosiers' indoor batting cage facility where Lloyd was meeting the media, called back over his shoulder, "Matt Lloyd is the baddest man alive."
Nobody argued.
Lloyd leads the Big Ten in both homers (14) and .RBI (45) while batting a robust .318 (.645 slugging percentage entering play Saturday.) He is also, of course, the Hoosiers' closer on the mound.
Saturday he closed out a game in a different manner. Lloyd recalled he had a walk-off a couple of years back against Ball State, but rating Saturday's higher, because of the circumstances.
The No. 23-ranked Hoosiers (29-14 overall, 10-4 Big Ten) came into league play a half-game out of the conference lead and haven't lost a series since late February at Tennessee.
But Minnesota's defending Big Ten champs had beaten IU six straight games, dating back to a 5-0 mark against Indiana last year and including Friday's 7-3 Gopher win opening the current series.
The Hoosiers had issues hitting Minnesota ace Max Meyer in Friday's opener and were similarly frustrated by Saturday starter Sam Thoresen.
Thoresen, a sophomore who entered Saturday with a 6.61 ERA, dominated through his six innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out a career-high 11.
Indiana did have a chance to knock Thoresen out early but couldn't.
Drew Ashley led off the IU first by lining a breaking ball into left for a single. Walks to Matt Gorski and Lloyd loaded the bases with none out. Ashley scored on a 4-6-3 double-play and a pop out to center ended the inning, so Thoresen limited the damage to a single run.
The Gophers then tied the game in the third, the first of four consecutive frames in which they scored.
Jordan Kozicky stroked a leadoff single, took second on a balk, then scored as No. 9 hitter Riley Smith took a 2-strike pitch opposite field down the left field line for a RBI double.
IU starter Tanner Gordon did a good job getting out of a one-out, first-and-third situation with a strikeout and a nice backhanded play by shortstop Justin Walker. But he couldn't keep the Gopher bats quiet for long.
Eli Wilson tripled off Grant Richardson's glove in the right-center gap, then scored on Cole McDevitt sac fly to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead in the fourth.
Minnesota (18-21 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) made it 4-1 in the fifth. Jack Wassel the lined a single to right, followed by back-to-back RBI doubles from Eduardo Estrada and Wilson.
Then a hit-batsman, a sacrifice bunt, an error and consecutive RBI singles by Ben Mezzenga (who went 4-for-5 on the day) and Andrew Wilhite gave the Gophers a 6-1 cushion in the sixth against reliever Braden Scott.
Minnesota had out-hit Indiana 10-2 at that juncture and signs of life seemed few and far between for the home team.
But then sophomore Elijah Dunham and senior catcher Ryan Fineman – back this week after missing almost a month due to injury – provided a spark in the seventh.
Dunham drilled a lined leadoff single to center off Gopher reliever Jeff Fasching and, one out later, Fineman blasted a two-run homer just to the right of the flag pole in left-center that pulled the Hoosiers within 6-3.
"I think it was Fineman's 2-run home run (that got us going)," Lloyd said. "That kind of helped get us back into our (proper) approaches. Hunting the right pitches."
Indiana freshman Grant Richardson decided Minnesota closer Brett Schulze's first pitch looked right in the bottom of the ninth. Richardson's inside-out swing sent it over the wall in center, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
Ashley and Gorski then crucially worked two-out walks, setting the stage for Lloyd.
"Grant Richardson led off that inning with a home run. That was huge," Lloyd said. "And then Drew Ashley working a walk, and Gorski working a walk as well.
"And then, yeah, get a good pitch to hit, put the barrel on it, good things happen."
Lloyd had gone 0-for-4 Friday. And he was 0-for-1 Saturday with three walks until delivering the decisive blow.
"Matt Lloyd hasn't had a great series to that point, but every single at-bat, every pitch of every game, he's the most competitive, the toughest and the most accountable guy out there," Mercer said. "He doesn't dodge it. He doesn't dodge responsibility.
"He goes out and he works his butt off every day and gives himself a chance to succeed and gives us a chance to succeed. There's a lot of guys in those last couple innings that did their job to give us a chance."
That included Grant Sloan, Alex Franklin and Tommy Sommer who supplied a combined 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief while striking out seven Gophers. Sommer struck out the side in the Minnesota ninth.
And it was part of a more competitive stretch run from his Hoosiers than Mercer had seen most of the day.
"The one thing you can control is your ability to compete," Mercer said. "You can control that in everything you do. You can show up every day, you can give a great effort, you can be passionate, you can work hard and you can go and compete and be tough.
"For the majority of the last two days, they were tougher than us. They were flat-out tougher than us. (But) I was really thrilled to see us continue to go and fight. You get 27 outs."
And Saturday the Gophers couldn't get that last one.
"I just think it's kind of a little bit of a wake-up call," Lloyd said of the Hoosiers' offensive struggles earlier. "Yesterday and today, our at-bats weren't what they should be, in our approaches.
"The last couple of innings, we got back to it, and I think we can carry it into tomorrow."
That means Sunday's 12 p.m. series finale, nationally telecast by ESPNU.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's host Hoosiers, for much of Saturday afternoon, looked dead.
But they still had The Baddest Man Alive.
Matt Lloyd crushed a full-count pitch with two out in the bottom of the ninth for the three-run homer that hoisted the Hoosiers to an unlikely 7-6 win over Minnesota, capping a comeback from a 6-1 deficit.
"Top of the world," was how Lloyd described the feeling he had running the bases after his majestic clout cascaded high over the right field wall.
IU coach Jeff Mercer, while exiting the Hoosiers' indoor batting cage facility where Lloyd was meeting the media, called back over his shoulder, "Matt Lloyd is the baddest man alive."
Nobody argued.
Lloyd leads the Big Ten in both homers (14) and .RBI (45) while batting a robust .318 (.645 slugging percentage entering play Saturday.) He is also, of course, the Hoosiers' closer on the mound.
Saturday he closed out a game in a different manner. Lloyd recalled he had a walk-off a couple of years back against Ball State, but rating Saturday's higher, because of the circumstances.
The No. 23-ranked Hoosiers (29-14 overall, 10-4 Big Ten) came into league play a half-game out of the conference lead and haven't lost a series since late February at Tennessee.
But Minnesota's defending Big Ten champs had beaten IU six straight games, dating back to a 5-0 mark against Indiana last year and including Friday's 7-3 Gopher win opening the current series.
The Hoosiers had issues hitting Minnesota ace Max Meyer in Friday's opener and were similarly frustrated by Saturday starter Sam Thoresen.
Thoresen, a sophomore who entered Saturday with a 6.61 ERA, dominated through his six innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out a career-high 11.
Indiana did have a chance to knock Thoresen out early but couldn't.
Drew Ashley led off the IU first by lining a breaking ball into left for a single. Walks to Matt Gorski and Lloyd loaded the bases with none out. Ashley scored on a 4-6-3 double-play and a pop out to center ended the inning, so Thoresen limited the damage to a single run.
The Gophers then tied the game in the third, the first of four consecutive frames in which they scored.
Jordan Kozicky stroked a leadoff single, took second on a balk, then scored as No. 9 hitter Riley Smith took a 2-strike pitch opposite field down the left field line for a RBI double.
IU starter Tanner Gordon did a good job getting out of a one-out, first-and-third situation with a strikeout and a nice backhanded play by shortstop Justin Walker. But he couldn't keep the Gopher bats quiet for long.
Eli Wilson tripled off Grant Richardson's glove in the right-center gap, then scored on Cole McDevitt sac fly to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead in the fourth.
Minnesota (18-21 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) made it 4-1 in the fifth. Jack Wassel the lined a single to right, followed by back-to-back RBI doubles from Eduardo Estrada and Wilson.
Then a hit-batsman, a sacrifice bunt, an error and consecutive RBI singles by Ben Mezzenga (who went 4-for-5 on the day) and Andrew Wilhite gave the Gophers a 6-1 cushion in the sixth against reliever Braden Scott.
Minnesota had out-hit Indiana 10-2 at that juncture and signs of life seemed few and far between for the home team.
But then sophomore Elijah Dunham and senior catcher Ryan Fineman – back this week after missing almost a month due to injury – provided a spark in the seventh.
Dunham drilled a lined leadoff single to center off Gopher reliever Jeff Fasching and, one out later, Fineman blasted a two-run homer just to the right of the flag pole in left-center that pulled the Hoosiers within 6-3.
"I think it was Fineman's 2-run home run (that got us going)," Lloyd said. "That kind of helped get us back into our (proper) approaches. Hunting the right pitches."
Indiana freshman Grant Richardson decided Minnesota closer Brett Schulze's first pitch looked right in the bottom of the ninth. Richardson's inside-out swing sent it over the wall in center, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
Ashley and Gorski then crucially worked two-out walks, setting the stage for Lloyd.
"Grant Richardson led off that inning with a home run. That was huge," Lloyd said. "And then Drew Ashley working a walk, and Gorski working a walk as well.
"And then, yeah, get a good pitch to hit, put the barrel on it, good things happen."
Lloyd had gone 0-for-4 Friday. And he was 0-for-1 Saturday with three walks until delivering the decisive blow.
"Matt Lloyd hasn't had a great series to that point, but every single at-bat, every pitch of every game, he's the most competitive, the toughest and the most accountable guy out there," Mercer said. "He doesn't dodge it. He doesn't dodge responsibility.
"He goes out and he works his butt off every day and gives himself a chance to succeed and gives us a chance to succeed. There's a lot of guys in those last couple innings that did their job to give us a chance."
That included Grant Sloan, Alex Franklin and Tommy Sommer who supplied a combined 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief while striking out seven Gophers. Sommer struck out the side in the Minnesota ninth.
And it was part of a more competitive stretch run from his Hoosiers than Mercer had seen most of the day.
"The one thing you can control is your ability to compete," Mercer said. "You can control that in everything you do. You can show up every day, you can give a great effort, you can be passionate, you can work hard and you can go and compete and be tough.
"For the majority of the last two days, they were tougher than us. They were flat-out tougher than us. (But) I was really thrilled to see us continue to go and fight. You get 27 outs."
And Saturday the Gophers couldn't get that last one.
"I just think it's kind of a little bit of a wake-up call," Lloyd said of the Hoosiers' offensive struggles earlier. "Yesterday and today, our at-bats weren't what they should be, in our approaches.
"The last couple of innings, we got back to it, and I think we can carry it into tomorrow."
That means Sunday's 12 p.m. series finale, nationally telecast by ESPNU.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sommer, Tommy (4-2)
L: Schulze, Brett (5-1)
Batting:
2B: Estrada, Eduardo 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; Smith, Riley 1
3B: Wilson, Eli 1
RBI: Bertrand, Easton 1 ; Estrada, Eduardo 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1 ; Smith, Riley 1
SH: Hmielewski, Drew 1
SF: McDevitt, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Estrada, Eduardo 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; Kozicky, Jordan 2 ; Smith, Riley 1
SB: Mezzenga, Ben 1
CS: Smith, Riley 1
HBP: Kozicky, Jordan 2
Batting:
2B: Bradley, Scotty 1
HR: Lloyd, Matt 1 ; Richardson, Grant 1 ; Fineman , Ryan 1
RBI: Lloyd, Matt 3 ; Richardson, Grant 1 ; Fineman , Ryan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Ashley, Drew 2 ; Gorski, Matt 1 ; Lloyd, Matt 1 ; Dunham, Elijah 1 ; Richardson, Grant 1 ; Fineman , Ryan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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OF
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C
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RHP
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RHP
/ BaseballLHP
/ Baseball
INF
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