Indiana Baseball Falls Out of Big Ten Lead After 8-6 Loss at Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Looking to keep their Big Ten title hopes alive, Indiana let one slip away Thursday night, falling 8-6 at Michigan State at McLane Stadium despite leading much of the game.

The Hoosiers got a good start from sophomore Luke Sinnard, who struck out 10 batters over 5 2/3 innings, and entered the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead. He gave up two singles and a walk, and was replaced by Ryan Kraft after throwing 102 pitches. Kraft was immediately tagged with a bases-clearing double though, and the Spartans grabbed the lead and never looked back.

It was only the third time all year that Indiana lost a game started by Sinnard. He is 6-3 with 104 strikeouts, the fifth-most for a season in school history.

B6 | LuKKKKKKKKKe is dealing 🃏@LukeSinnard | #IUBase pic.twitter.com/ZOdorQLztZ
— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) May 19, 2023

Indiana is 39-15 overall and 15-7 in the Big Ten with two games left in the regular season. They entered the game tied for the conference lead, but Maryland beat Penn State 17-15 to take the lead with two games to go. It was a big win for Michigan State (30-19, 11-11 in the Big Ten), putting the Spartans in the top-eight in the league standings, which gets them an invitation to next week's Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Neb.

Eight of the nine Hoosier starters collected hits in the game and all nine reached base at least once. Sophomores Carter Mathison and Brock Tibbitts each posted two-hit games, while seniors Hunter Jessee and Peter Serruto also chipped in two hits apiece.

Redshirt junior Bobby Whalen posted a multi-RBI game with two runs batted in, while Jessee and sophomore Josh Pyne chipped in the only two extra base hits for Indiana with doubles.

Michigan State relief pitcher Joseph Dzierwa (6-3) got the win with 3 1/3 innings of one-run work. Wyatt Rush picked up his ninth save of the season with two runs allowed on three hits in two innings.

Here's what's left for the Hoosiers this weekend, with all three games being televised:

Friday: Indiana at Michigan State, 8 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network
Saturday: Indiana at Michigan State, 3 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

Thursday's results

Michigan State 8, Indiana 6
Maryland 17, Penn State 15
Iowa 15, Northwestern 3
Ohio State 7, Michigan 3
Nebraska 10, Purdue 5
Minnesota 5, Rutgers 3
Illinois 7, UT-Martin 3

Friday's schedule

Nebraska at Purdue, 1 p.m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus
Maryland at Penn State, 5 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network
Iowa 15 at Northwestern, 5 p.m. ET.
Michigan at Ohio State, 5 p..m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus
Rutgers at Minnesota, 7 p.m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus
UT-Martin at Illinois 7 p.m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus
Indiana at Michigan State 8 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

Saturday's schedule

Maryland at Penn State, Noon ET. TV: Big Ten Network
UT-Martin at Illinois 2 p.m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus
Nebraska at Purdue, 2 p.m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus
Iowa 15 at Northwestern, 2 p.m. ET.
Michigan at Ohio State, 2 p..m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus
Indiana at Michigan State 3 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network
Rutgers at Minnesota, 3 p.m. ET. Streaming: Big Ten Plus

Here are the current Big Ten standings through Thursday night's games:

Big Ten standings

Team	Won	Lost	GB	Streak
Maryland	16	6	—	Won-3
Indiana	15	7	1	Lost-1
Iowa	14	7	1.5	Won-4
Nebraska	14	8	2	Won-5
Rutgers	13	9	3	Lost-1
Michigan	13	9	3	Lost-2
Illinois	12	12	5	Won-1
Michigan State	11	11	5	Won-2
Purdue	10	12	6	Lost-5
Minnesota	9	13	7	Won-2
Ohio State	7	15	9	Won-7
Penn State	6	15	9	Lost-9
Northwestern	3	19	13	Lost-1

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