Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers Split Wild Doubleheader
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – They say if you watch baseball long enough, you'll see something you've never seen before. It was that kind of day for Indiana's baseball team on Saturday, as the Hoosiers experienced all sorts of craziness while splitting a doubleheader in the swamps of Jersey.
Indiana beat Rutgers 5-3 in 11 innings in the first game Saturday, but then lost to Nebraska 7-6 in the nightcap in a game that was affected – and then delayed – by rain.
After the split, the Hoosiers are 22-10 and in a virtual tie for first with Michigan (23-11), with Nebraska (22-11) now just a half-game behind. The Hoosiers play Nebraska again on Sunday – and have three games next weekend at Michigan.
In the first game, Indiana starter McCabe Brown was sensational. He was perfect through six innings, retiring all 18 batters he faced and striking out 11 in the process. The only problem was that Rutgers pitcher Ben Wereski – the Big Ten's leader in earned run average – was nearly just as good, throwing a no-hitter himself through six and allowing only a first-inning walk.
Two no-hitters going through six. Ever seen that before?
But in the seventh, Indiana finally broke through against him with consecutive singles from Paul Toetz and Grant Richardson, and then Cole Barr walked to load the bases with no outs. But then he got soft pop-outs from Morgan Colopy and Collin Hopkins, and then struck out Kip Fougerousse to end the threat.
Bases loaded and no outs in scoreless game, and no runs? That doesn't happen very often, either.
That missed opportunity was exacerbated when Rutgers' Mike Nyisztor, who was leading off the bottom of the inning, hit a home run off Brown to end his perfect game and give Rutgers a 1-0 lead.
Indiana forced extra innings in dramatic fashion when Hopkins, who's been on fire at the plate, drove in a run with a two-out single in the ninth. The Hoosiers then scored twice in the 10th on an RBI single by late-game replacement Jeremy Houston and a groundout by Richardson, but then Nebraska matched them with two in the bottom of the innings.
Two in the top, two in the bottom in extras? That doesn't happen very often either.
But then the Hoosiers won it in the 11th when Jordan Fucci, another late-game replacement, hit a dramatic two-run homer to give Indiana a 5-3 win. It was a shocking game-winner because Fucci hadn't had a hit since April 3 and had lost his starting job at first base to Fougerousse. It was his first home run since March 27, and he did it after fouling off five straight pitches to keep the at-bat alive
The second game against Nebraska was just as crazy. Some of the game was played in a downpour, and Indiana committed a season-high five errors in the wetness, allowing four unearned runs. It was a joke that you don't see very often, and the 52-minute rain delay that followed came too late.
But still, Indiana found a way to erase that early 4-1 deficit with four runs in the top of the fifth. The big blast came from Cole Barr, who hit a three-run homer to give the Hoosiers the lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Grant Richardson made a catch for the ages in center field, robbing a Nebraska home run. It was a classic, good enough to make SportsCenter's top plays.
Nebraska scored twice in the seventh to go back ahead 6-5, but then the Hoosiers tied it up again in the eighth when Houston walked with the bases loaded.
But Nebraska won it in the bottom of the ninth, scratching out a run against Reese Sharp, who gave up his first run of the season after a walk, a single and a ground ball that scored the game-winner.
Indiana wraps up the weekend on Sunday when Gabe Bierman (4-2, 2.51 ERA) takes the mound against Nebraska at 11 a.m. ET. Bierman has been terrific lately. In his last four starts, he's 3-0 and has allowed only four combined earned runs, while striking out 31 batters against just four walks.
Related stories on Indiana baseball
- TOMMY SOMMER PROFILE: Indiana starter Tommy Sommer leads the Big Ten in wins and innings pitched, but he knows he's still capable of much more down the home stretch. Here's Tom Brew's profile on the junior from Carmel, Ind. CLICK HERE
- PLAYER OF WEEK: Indiana third baseman Cole Barr was named the Big Ten's Player of the Week, the Hoosiers' first such honor in more than a year. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN STANDINGS, SCHEDULE: Indiana took a half-game lead in the Big Ten, barely ahead of Nebraska and Michigan. Here's the latest, plus this weekend's critical schedule. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is Indiana's complete schedule for the season, including links to game stories from Tom Brew for every game this season. CLICK HERE