Hoosiers' offense overcomes defensive mistakes in 11-5 win over No. 17 East Carolina
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Indiana extended its win streak to five games after defeating No. 17 East Carolina 11-5, but it wasn’t always as pretty and comfortable as the final score suggests. Through the first two weekends of the season, the Hoosiers have struggled defensively but took their fielding woes to a new level in the opening game of the Keith LeClair Classic.
Indiana (5-2) entered the second inning with a 2-0 lead following a Jordan Fucci two-RBI double and a three-up, three-down opening frame from starting pitcher Gabe Bierman. With a runner on first and one out, the Hoosiers seemed to be in control until the defense started to rack up defensive mistakes.
On a 2-1 count, senior catcher Collin Hopkins popped up out of his stance as he reared back to gun down the Pirates' baserunner attempting to steal second. Everything was perfect, a fastball high and outside created an easy transition for Hopkins and he had the runner dead to rights after a poor jump. Instead of an easy out to clear the base path, Hopkins left the throw two-feet short of the bag and it bounced over Drew Ashley’s glove into center field.
Just two pitches later, third baseman Cole Barr would commit the second mistake of the inning while he fielded a hard-hit ground ball and once again squandered an easy Indiana out. Barr scooped up the ball cleanly and rushed to throw out the speedy Connor Norby, short-arming it as the ball bounced past first base putting both runners in scoring position.
Indiana wasn't done making mistakes.
After a single and a suicide squeeze tied the game, Bierman dropped a dribbler back to the mound extending the nightmare inning. In the next at-bat, Zach Agnos laced a single through the second base gap to give East Carolina it’s only lead of the game.
"We have a moment right there where the game can get away from us," Indiana coach Jeff Mercer said. "For a lot of good teams, that game gets away from them but we came right back to execute a plan."
While no other fielding mistakes were scored an error — two other mistakes unexplainably weren't scored as errors — the Hoosiers continued to make life difficult for Bierman.
The sophomore pitcher wasn’t as sharp as his performance against then-ranked No. 30 South Alabama, but he pitched effectively given the extra stress put on him by the defense. Bierman pitched four innings, giving up five runs — only two of which were earned — and struck out six batters while being given a no-decision.
Bierman has felt the effects of IU’s fielding struggles the most out of Indiana’s pitchers as he has allowed 12 total runs this season while only five of those are earned.
Indiana's bullpen was spectacular. Braden Scott came on in the fifth with the score 6-5, and he pitched four scoreless innings, allowing only three hits. Closer Connor Manous pitched the ninth inning, allowing only a walk.
While the defense gave the Pirates ample of scoring opportunities, which they took advantage of, the Hoosiers’ bats made up for the team’s defensive shortcomings.
Each of Indiana’s batters got on base in the game while five players had multiple hits as the team scattered the ball throughout Lewis Field.
The top half of Indiana’s lineup once again carried the offense as the top five batters combined for 11 of the team’s 15 hits and eight runs. Fucci tore the cover off the ball with three hits, two doubles and three RBIs.
The Hoosiers also had the long ball going as Ashley and Grant Richardson both hit no-doubt home runs to energize the lineup and continue the team's offensive onslaught to take control of the game.
"This is a real tough group," Mercer said. "When things don't go right, we go right back to work. When they do go right, we go right back to work."
This was Indiana's third win over a ranked team in the past two weeks, as East Carolina fell to 7-2 on the season. The Hoosiers will go back to work Saturday at Noon ET when they take on High Point, and they'll see another ranked team on Sunday when they take on No. 15 Ole Miss.
BOX SCORE: Indiana 11, No. 17 East Carolina 5
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