Tommy Sommer Leads Indiana Baseball to Sixth-Straight Win
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer couldn’t risk it. Even though junior pitcher Tommy Sommer had been dominant all afternoon, with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate, Mercer turned to the bullpen. After a short talk with Sommer, Mercer turned and gave the sign for Connor Manous to enter the game and get the final out of Indiana’s 5-1 victory.
For eight and two-thirds innings, Sommer shut down High Point’s lineup as he mowed down batters with ruthless efficiency en route to his second win of the season.
The junior from Carmel, Ind., consistently got ahead in the count, forcing the Panther’s batters to chase pitches leading to easy putouts for the Hoosiers and limiting the number of high-pressure situations. In the fifth inning, Sommer barely broke a sweat as it only took the lefty eight pitches to retire the side.
Even when he ran into some trouble, Sommer remained the calming presence on the mound for the Hoosiers.
In the sixth inning, when High Point pushed across its only run of the game due to shortstop Jeremy Houston tripping over himself, Sommer didn’t panic with the tying run at second. He executed his pitches on the edges of the strike zone, forcing a double play on a short flyout to center field on a botched hit-and-run by the Panthers.
Sommer finished the day allowing just two runs (only one earned) on five hits, giving up three walks and striking out five batters.
At the plate, Indiana continued to fill up the box score. For the second game in a row, seven out of the nine Indiana batters recorded a hit while Grant Richardson, Jordan Fucci and Hunter Jessee all had a multi-hit game.
The Hoosiers pounced on the Panthers early as Fucci ripped an RBI single to left-center field in the bottom of the first inning to open the scoring.
Indiana would break the game open in the seventh inning as the top of the order exploded for three runs. After Richardson, Drew Ashley and Cole Barr each got on to load the bases, Big Ten Player of the Week Elijah Dunham continued to come through in the clutch roping a two-RBI single just past second base.
Fucci added some more insurance, beating out a double play to keep the inning alive while scoring Barr from third for his second RBI of the game.
Fucci continues to be an impact transfer for the Hoosiers, continuing his blazing hot start to the season. The transfer from Samford is now batting .282 with seven RBIs in eight games to start the season.
Fucci is loving Greenville, N.C. as he is now batting five-for-nine with five RBIs and three extra-base hits in the team’s first two games of the series and has been one of the main catalysts in the Hoosiers’ lineup.
With each passing game, the Hoosiers continue to grow during this early part of the season, showing how dangerous they can be and that they are coming to defend their Big Ten title.
Indiana will get another chance to earn a statement win and extend its win-streak as they take on No. 13 Ole Miss tomorrow at 11 a.m.
Box Score: Indiana 5, High Point 1
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