Weekend Review: Indiana Baseball Suffers First Series Loss To Penn State Since 2008

Indiana baseball is hitting well, but pitching and defense hasn’t been consistent in 7-9 start for the Hoosiers.

Indiana third baseman Cooper Malamazian is off to a good start at the plate for the Indiana baseball team. | Indiana athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s baseball team entered Big Ten play last Friday hoping for a fresh start after an uneven start in its early nonconference games that had the Hoosiers one game under .500.

What the Hoosiers got instead in its weekend series at Penn State was more of the same problems.

The Nittany Lions took two out of three games from the Hoosiers in State College. Pa. A Friday doubleheader was split. Penn State won the opener 15-9 with Indiana winning the nightcap 17-6 in eight inning. Penn State took the series with a 10-6 victory on Sunday.

In Friday’s opener, Indiana led 3-1, but a six-run third inning proved decisive for the Nittany Lions. Indiana starting pitcher Gavin Seebold have up nine earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings of work. Indiana lost despite home runs from Devin Taylor, Hogan Denny and TJ Schuyler.

In the second game, Indiana scored at least two runs in all but one of the first five innings. The top three spots in the batting order – Andrew Wiggins, Taylor and Korbyn Dickerson – combined to got 7 for 15 at the plate with a home run (Dickerson) and four RBI. Third baseman Cooper Malamazian went 4-for-5 at the bottom of the order. (Malamazian was later named Big Ten Player of the Week.)

Indiana led Sunday’s game 2-0 until Penn State surged ahead starting in the fifth inning. Two runs were scored in fifth, one in the sixth, three in the seventh and four runs in the eighth inning as Penn State led 10-3 at the end of it. The Hoosiers had three errors – two of them in the outfield – and the Indiana bullpen gave up all seven earned runs.

It was Indiana’s first series loss to Penn State since 2008.

What has plagued the Hoosiers (7-9, 1-2) so far? Indiana’s pitching continues to be a problem. As of Monday, the Hoosiers ranked 14th in the Big Ten with a 6.44 ERA. Opponents are hitting .264 against Indiana and averaging 4.6 walks per game against Indiana’s staff.

Indiana’s defense has been uneven. The Hoosiers have 23 errors in 16 games and they rank 223rd in the NCAA in fielding percentage at .959. Indiana had three errors in Sunday’s loss to Penn State.

On the positive side, Indiana was expected to hit well and has. Dickerson (.380, 8 HR, 27 RBI), Taylor (.382, 6 HR, 21 RBI) and Jake Hanley (.394, 0 HR, 10 RBI) are 2-3-4 in the Big Ten in base hits. Dickerson is third in the Big Ten with eight home runs and 27 RBI. Malamazian is tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a .440 batting average.

The Hoosiers have been patient at the plate and lead the Big Ten in walks with 119 – 20 more than any other school. Indiana is third in the Big Ten in batting average (.321), home runs (24) and runs scored (150).

There’s a long way to go in the season, but Indiana has a lot of work to do to put itself in NCAA Tournament consideration. At present, Indiana is ranked No. 121 in RPI with a 1-5 record in Quad 1-2 games.

Indiana goes back to work on Tuesday as it travels to Indiana State for its annual round robin series with the Sycamores. Indiana State is also 7-9.

Indiana will then host its first home Big Ten series of the season as Ohio State comes to Bart Kaufman Field on Friday for a three-game series. Expect runs – Ohio State (4-9) has a team ERA of 8.68.