IU baseball held their own, but it wasn’t enough to top No.1 seeded Kentucky in the NCAA Lexington Regional on Monday evening.
After starting off the weekend undefeated, the Hoosiers will miss out on their first NCAA Super Regional appearance in a decade with their loss to the regional hosts, 4-2.
After a disappointing 10-run loss the night before, the Hoosiers were eager to regain confidence offensively. They did just that, as IU jumped off to an early lead behind a single from Phillip Glasser and an RBI double from Bobby Whalen to follow suit in the top of the 1st.
It was another record-setting attendance at Kentucky Proud Park, and reliever Ty Bothwell was tasked with taking on the Kentucky offense to start off. It would prove to be too much too fast, for Kentucky would load the bases with the first three batters, and bring in two runs behind sacrifice fly-outs to take the lead heading into the 2nd.
Indiana got a run back in the top of the 2nd behind a fielder’s choice from Phillip Glasser to tie the game at two runs a piece. Glasser was one of two hitters to go above .500 at the plate for Indiana, finishing off his season with a 3-for-5 night with an RBI.
However, that would be the last sign of any offense from the Hoosiers. In the end, IU would finish a staggering 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position, even with getting their leadoff man aboard in 6-of-9 innings.
Bothwell looked comfortable on the bump after the 1st, going 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts on the night. However, Kentucky would go back to back with doubles in the bottom of the 6th to take the lead, and after a walk given up by Bothwell followed by another double, Kentucky would extend their lead to 4-2.
It was Kentucky’s Mason Moore that would give Indiana problems at the plate to finish the last five innings. Moore struck out five Hoosiers, and ended his night credited with the win. Kentucky will move on to play LSU in the NCAA Super Regional round.
IU baseball finished their season with a record of 43-20.
