After cruising to a 12-6 victory against Miami (OH) last Tuesday, the Hoosiers stayed hot as they handled Baylor for the sweep in Waco. It marked the first time Indiana sweeps an away non-conference opponent since 2007.
The offense shined over the weekend as Indiana scored a combined 29 runs across three games against the Bears. Leading the way were Devin Taylor and Morgan Colopy, who hit a combined five home runs on the weekend.
Indiana opened the series with an 8-4 win on Friday night. Brayden Risedorph got the starting nod, but struggled in the early innings after giving up four runs across 3.1 innings pitched. However, Indiana got some relief from the bullpen, as Julian Tonghini and Grant Holderfield each gave up no runs with only one hit earned. Tonghini would be credited with the win, and Holderfield the save.
The Hoosiers opened up the scoring in the top of the first, when Josh Pyne scored on a throwing error. Indiana continued to pour it on after Brock Tibbitts, Tyler Cerny, and Cal Sefcik each batted in a run in. Colopy capped off the inning with a blast, sending a shot over the center field wall to finish off a 5-run third inning.
Taylor went 3-for-3 on the day, and reached base the other two ABs with walks. Tibbitts also had a nice game going 3-of-4 with two RBIs. Colopy’s home run was his only hit of the game, as he finished 1-for-4.
Indiana continued their momentum into Saturday afternoon, coming away with a 6-1 victory to ensure a series victory. Reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Connor Foley got the start for the Hoosiers, and tossed a gem. The Jasper native continued off of his spectacular game last weekend and went six full innings with just one hit and seven strikeouts.
Foley was relieved by Ty Bothwell in the 7th, who went three innings with just one earned run. Foley was credited with the win, and Ty Bothwell earned his first save of the season.
Indiana once again opened up the scoring in the first when Brock Tibbitts singled to bring in a run. Taylor got on the board with his first home run of the season when he sent a shot over the right field wall in the 3rd. Colopy followed suit an inning later, sending a moonshot that just cleared the wall in right. Jake Stadler and Sefcik both gained an RBI in the 5th, and Stadler singled to bring in another in the 7th.
Stadler went 2-for-3 on the game with 2 RBIs. Taylor’s homer was his lone hit of the game, as he finished 1-for-3. In the end, each player on the starting lineup card recorded a hit.
The Hoosiers poured on the offense in their last game of the series, taking the sweep in a 15-5 victory on Sunday afternoon in eight innings of play.
It was another reliever-centered game for the pitching staff as Ethan Phillips started for the Hoosiers. Phillips went for 3.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. Kraft relieved Phillips in the 4th, and struck out two across 2.2 innings, which was good enough to be credited with the win. Evan Whiteaker, Drew Buhr, Brandon Keyster, and Jack Moffitt all saw action in the game as well.
As the score shows, the Indiana bats showed out heavily in their final game of the series. Taylor continued the hot streak in the first inning with a two-run shot in his first at-bat. A run scored on an error and a Tibbitts solo shot in the third put the Hoosiers up three. The Hoosiers poured it on in the seventh, with Taylor gaining another RBI on a single.
Baylor walked in two more runs later in the seventh, and with the bases still loaded, Colopy got his third homerun in the same number of games with a grand slam to cap off the inning. Taylor added some insurance an inning later, sending a shot over the left field wall for his second homer of the game.
Taylor’s 3-for-5 performance cemented his place as the Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time this season. Taylor is currently putting up monster numbers with a .552 batting average and a 1.526(!) OPS. Colopy already has three more homers than the season prior, and all of Cerny, Tibbits, Pyne and Mathison all had productive weekends as well.
If the Hoosiers can carry on this hot start on the offensive side into Big Ten play, they will certainly be looking for that top spot by the end of May.
No. 20 Indiana (6-1) hosts Purdue Fort Wayne at Bart Kaufman field on Tuesday at 4:00 pm Eastern.
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