Arizona vs IU: IU loses 2nd 10-run rule game of the weekend, 12-1

[ptrich]

It's RHP Ethan Phillips on the mound for IU with an ERA of 6.43 in 7 IP and a WHIP of 1.43. It's RHP Cam Walty on the mound for the Wildcats in his first start of the season. Colopy is in RF today with Mitchell at DH and IU is the home team. It's 75 degrees and windy with the wind S17 mph with gusts to 25 mph.

1st inning:

T1st:

Phillips started the game striking out the side.

B1st:

Mitchell led off as the DH. Mitchell reached on a throwing error by the SS. Pyne flied out with Mitchell holding at 1st and one out.

An error on the pitcher on a throw to 1st on a pickoff attempt sent Mitchell all the way to 3rd with still one out.

Taylor Kd for the 2nd out. Tibbitts grounded out to end the inning and IU squandered a chance to take the lead with a man on 3rd and one out.

End of 1st: IU 0 Arizona 0

 

[ptrich]

2nd inning:

T2nd:

Phillips struck out the leadoff man and Phillips started the game with four straight Ks. A groundout for the 2nd out broke the string of Ks. A flyout retired the side.

B2nd:

It's the 5 thru 7 hitters up with Mathison leading off and he flied out for the first out.

Cerny singled for the first hit of the game by either team and one out.

Brenczewski grounded out moving Cerny to 2nd and two outs.

Colopy got a clutch two-out single to score Cerny and IU took the early lead at 1-0.

Burckel flied out to end the inning.

End of 2nd: IU 1 Arizona 0

 

[ptrich]

3rd inning:

T3rd:

It's the bottom of the order up for the Wildcats. Phillips walked the leadoff hitter on a full count.

After cruising through the first two innings, Phillips gave up a double, and the walk scored to tie the game at 1-1, and it's the bottom of the order doing the damage.

Holderfield was warming up in the bullpen. Phillips got a flyout for the 1st out with the runners holding at 2nd.

Mercer pulled Phillips with the top of the order up and he brought in LHP Grant Holderfield with an ERA of 0.00 in 3 IP.

 

[ptrich]

3rd inning:

T3rd:

It's the bottom of the order up for the Wildcats. Phillips walked the leadoff hitter on a full count.

After cruising through the first two innings, Phillips gave up a double, and the walk scored to tie the game at 1-1, and it's the bottom of the order doing the damage.

Holderfield was warming up in the bullpen. Phillips got a flyout for the 1st out with the runners holding at 2nd.

Mercer pulled Phillips with the top of the order up and he brought in LHP Grant Holderfield with an ERA of 0.00 in 3 IP.

Holderfield got a flyout and groundout to retire the side.

B3rd:

It's the top of the order up for IU with Mitchell leading off. Mitchell flied out for the first out. Pyne Kd for the 2nd out. Taylor grounded out to end the inning.

End of 3rd: IU 1 Arizona 1

 

[ptrich]

4th inning:

T4th:

Holderfield was back out there to face the 3 thru 5 hitters. The leadoff hitter singled.

Holderfield then walked the next batter on a 3-1 count and there was two on and no outs.

A SAC bunt moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd with one out. Holderfield then gave up a walk on a full count to load the bases and one out.

A 2-RBI single gives Arizona a 3-1 lead with runners on 1st and 2nd and one out.

Holderfield got a K for the 2nd out and the runners still at 1st and 2nd. Holderfield walked the next batter after having a pitch count violation and that loaded the bases again with two outs.

Holderfield then gave up another 2-run single to make it 5-1 with two outs and Holderfield's day was over. RHP Julian Tonghini replaced Holderfield.

This game is similar to yesterday when IU gave up runs in the middle innings to DBU and found themselves down 6-1.

This is starting to turn out to be a disastrous inning with Tonghini hitting the first batter he faced to load the bases again with two out.

Tonghini then gave up a 2-RBI single to make it 7-1 Arizona and we have given up four runs after having two outs. Brens

Tonghini would go on to give up four more runs after two outs to make it 11-1, before he finally got a K to retire the side.

B4th:

Tibbitts and Mathison both flied out to start the inning, and then Cerny singled to put a runner on. Brenczewski then flied out to end the inning.

End of 4th: Arizona 11 IU 1

 

[ptrich]

5th inning:

T5th:

RHP Jack Moffitt relieved Tonghini and he put them down in order.

B5th:

It's the 8 thru 1 hitters up for IU with Colopy leading off. Colopy popped out, Burckel Kd for two outs and then Mitchell singled. Mitchell then took 2nd on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. Pyne flied out to end the inning.

End of 5th: Arizona 11 IU 1

 

[ptrich]

6th inning:

T6th:

Moffitt was back out there to face the 2 thru 4 hitters. Moffitt got the leadoff hitter on a groundout. He then walked a batter on a full count. He got a K for the 2nd out, but then gave up a single to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. A flyout retired the side.

B6th:

IU's 1 thru 5 hitters are 1 for 12 in this game so far with Mitchell having the only hit. It's the 3 thru 5 hitters up and Taylor grounded out to lead off. Tibbitts flied out for the 2nd out.

Mathison singled to put a man on with two outs. Cerny popped out to end the inning.

End of 6th: Arizona 11 IU 1

 

[ptrich]

7th inning:

T7th:

Mercer was waiving the white flag as he brought in Jason Oliver to relieve Moffitt and Oliver is on the roster as an infielder although he was also a pitcher in high school.

Oliver walked the first batter and then moved the runner to 2nd on a WP. He got the next batter on a groundout with the runner taking 3rd. A single scored a run and that was it for Oliver.

LHP Brandon Keyster replaced Oliver. Keyster threw one pitch and he got a DP ball to retire the side.

B7th:

It was the bottom of the order up with IU making numerous changes to the lineup. A groundout, pop out, walk, and another groundout ends the game on the 10-run rule, IU's second loss like that on the weekend.

Final: Arizona 12 IU 1

 

[ptrich]

It was a weekend to forget even with the win over DBU. To not be competitive against both Alabama and Arizona really put a damper over everything and in both games it wasn't just the pitching or hitting that was subpar, it was both.

Cerny went 2 for 3 at the plate and Colopy got the lone RBI and that was it for IU. The top five in the batting order were a combined 2 for 16 at the plate and we got dominated by a pitcher in his first start of the season.

Moffitt and Keyster were the only pitchers to have decent outings today and they came in after the score was 11-1 so all they did was slow the hitting parade down after the game was all but decided. Holderfield and Tonghini were charged for a combined 10 earned runs with those two pitchers being on the mound for a combined 1.2 IP.

IU's pitching looked pretty good to start the season, but against two strong teams in the Frisco Classic, we just couldn't compete period. Foley and Bothwell were the bright spots on the weekend when it came to pitching.

Here's the box score that will tell the story.

Baseball vs Arizona on 3/3/2024 - Box Score - Indiana University Athletics

The official box score of Baseball vs Arizona on 3/3/2024

iuhoosiers.com

 

[ptrich]

Here's the recap from the IU site with comments from Coach Mercer.

Sunday Setback in Frisco - Indiana University Athletics

FRISCO, Texas – A large 10-run inning from Arizona was the difference on Sunday (March 3) afternoon at Riders Field. The Indiana Baseball team (7-4) was r...

iuhoosiers.com

 

[hoosier roadtrips]

It was a weekend to forget even with the win over DBU. To not be competitive against both Alabama and Arizona really put a damper over everything and in both games it wasn't just the pitching or hitting that was subpar, it was both.

Cerny went 2 for 3 at the plate and Colopy got the lone RBI and that was it for IU. The top five in the batting order were a combined 2 for 16 at the plate and we got dominated by a pitcher in his first start of the season.

Moffitt and Keyster were the only pitchers to have decent outings today and they came in after the score was 11-1 so all they did was slow the hitting parade down after the game was all but decided. Holderfield and Tonghini were charged for a combined 10 earned runs with those two pitchers being on the mound for a combined 1.2 IP.

IU's pitching looked pretty good to start the season, but against two strong teams in the Frisco Classic, we just couldn't compete period. Foley and Bothwell were the bright spots on the weekend when it came to pitching.

Here's the box score that will tell the story.

Baseball vs Arizona on 3/3/2024 - Box Score - Indiana University Athletics

The official box score of Baseball vs Arizona on 3/3/2024

iuhoosiers.com

I was concerned about the pitching. Not that it gives me any pleasure to be right about wanting to see about higher level opposition.

 

[ptrich]

I was concerned about the pitching. Not that it gives me any pleasure to be right about wanting to see about higher level opposition.

We aren't the only B1G team with some pitching concerns. Iowa went 1-2 on the road at Ole Miss who is expected to be at the bottom of the western division in the SEC along with Miss. St. Marcus Morgan and Cade Obermueller, their No. 2 and No. 3 weekend pitchers both took losses in less than stellar performances. They have lost some games they were leading in after turning the game over to their bullpen.

Brecht is pitching really well, so their star pitcher is off to a good start to the season. It's still early, but how things turn out in the B1G is certainly going to be interesting.

 

[Bucket Getter]

Might be time to leave a couple of these guys on the pine. What’s Tonghini’s era now? 😳 Edit: Nevermind. Just checked. Our pitching is a joke.

 

[ptrich]

Might be time to leave a couple of these guys on the pine. What’s Tonghini’s era now? 😳 Edit: Nevermind. Just checked. Our pitching is a joke.

For whatever reason, our hitting in the last four games seems to need five or six innings before they can start getting in the groove so to speak at the plate. We were down 8-0 to PFW before they started chipping away at the lead near the end of the middle innings. Same thing with DBU, while with Bama and Arizona, we never got going in those games.

 

[hoosier roadtrips]

There are several of the pitchers who have performed well. Conner Foley has been a good starter with a 1-0 record and 2.51 E.R.A Relievers who have been good so far are Ty Bothwell with a 2-0 mark and 2.13 E.R.A. and Jack Moffitt and Drew Buhr have E.R.A. percentages just over 3. It is too bad that we couldn't have retained the commitment of Ben Hess, who ended up as the ace for Alabama.

 

[ekk]

We definitely need a few of these young guys to step it up.

 

[ptrich]

There are several of the pitchers who have performed well. Conner Foley has been a good starter with a 1-0 record and 2.51 E.R.A Relievers who have been good so far are Ty Bothwell with a 2-0 mark and 2.13 E.R.A. and Jack Moffitt and Drew Buhr have E.R.A. percentages just over 3. It is too bad that we couldn't have retained the commitment of Ben Hess, who ended up as the ace for Alabama.

We have had uneven performances with some of the pitchers. For instance, Tonghini got annihilated yesterday against a hot hitting Arizona lineup that was obviously seeing the ball well, but against both George Mason and Baylor he went a combined 6.2 IP with no earned runs and gave up just one hit in those innings. Obviously, Arizona is a squad that is much better than George Mason or Baylor, but the point is, which are the outliers. Is he more the pitcher in the earlier games and yesterday was just a bad outing or is it the other way around? Needless to say, we will get those answers as the season progresses. Also, Kraft is a better pitcher than what we have gotten out of him in the early going, and I expect him to turn things around.

 

[Orford]

Kraft only threw about 21 pitches Friday and was pulled. I thought was because he would be used again but didn’t appear again which makes me think there’s an injury

 

[ekk]

I thought the same.

 

[ptrich]

Kraft only threw about 21 pitches Friday and was pulled. I thought was because he would be used again but didn’t appear again which makes me think there’s an injury

Maybe you're on to something there, but the fact they let him complete the final inning of the two innings he pitched against Bama, kind of tells me maybe it wasn't because of an injury. The move to Manase after Kraft left sure blew up in our faces after he got just one out while giving up six earned runs to put the game out of reach. It turned out the first run by Bama in the game was enough for the win anyway since we couldn't hit the ball and almost got a no-hit game pitched against us.

 

[Orford]

Yeah just weird that we didn’t see Kraft again given all the incompetence we did see on Sunday