Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers' NCAA Hopes Crushed in Doubleheader Loss to Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – It was all there for the taking, and just like that, it was gone.
Indiana was in cold and rainy Maryland on Saturday, looking to get a win or two against the Terrapins and secure an NCAA Tournament bid. The Hoosiers had a two-run lead late in the opener, but then it all slipped away, losing the first game of a 4-3 in 10 innings and the nightcap 5-2.
With the two losses, the Hoosiers are now 25-18 and in deep trouble when it comes to getting an NCAA Tournament bid when they are announced on Monday. Indiana has really struggled of late, losing six of seven and seven of nine, falling from first place all the way to fourth – and likely out of the postseason now.
The opening game fell apart late. Indiana was leading 3-1 through seven innings, getting another great start from Gabe Bierman, who pitched six innings and allowed just one run on four hits.
Grant Macciocchi, who hadn't allowed a run all season through 14 innings, pitched a perfect seventh, but allowed a double in the eighth that led to a run after a fly ball and a groundout made it 3-2.
He returned for the ninth, which was something of a surprise, and Maryland first baseman Maxwell Costes, the second batter of the inning, homered to tie the game.
Indiana didn't score in the top of the 10th, but then Maryland won the game in the bottom of the inning without a single hit. Macciocchi walked the leadoff hitter and then hit two batters to load the bases.
He was replaced by Nathan Stahl, but he walked the first batter he faced to force in the winning run.
The Hoosiers had only six hits in the first game, and center fielder Grant Richardson had three of them. Leadoff hitter Jeremy Houston had two hits and Paul Toetz had the other.
The bats were even more silent in the nightcap. They didn't get their first hit until the seventh inning, when first baseman Kip Fougerousse singled, and they didn't get their first run until the eighth when left fielder Drew Ashley homered. Indiana added another run in the ninth on Jacob Southern's RBI single.
Those runs didn't matter much, because the Hoosiers were behind right from the start. Starter McCade Brown could not find the plate in the first inning, walking five batters and forcing in two runs. He lasted only three innings, his second-shortest outing of the year, throwing 88 pitches and walking eight of the 17 batters he faced.
Braydon Tucker pitched three innings and struck out seven while allowing just one run. Reece Sharp gave up two runs in the seventh to make it 5-0. Connor Manous pitched a scoreless eighth.
For the day, the Hoosiers went 10-for-64 at the plate, a .156 batting average. It's been a problem for the Hoosiers down the stretch, where they've scored only 17 runs in eight games.
The two teams end the regular season on Sunday, with first pitch at 1 p.m. ET