IU @ Abilene Christian, Game 2: IU goes for the sweep tomorrow after a 14-5 win...

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It's RHP Ben Grable on the mound with Schuyler behind the plate. Grable has an ERA of 4.91 and a WHIP of 1.39 in 40.1 IP. He has 40 Ks to 14 BBs and he has an OBA of .264.

The batting order is Moore, Taylor, Dickerson, Hanley, Denny (DH), Cerny, Koskie (RF), and Schuyler.

ACU will have LHP Brett Lanman on the mound with an ERA of 6.14 and a WHIP of 1.51 in 55.2 IP.

It's 72 degrees and sunny with the wind at 8 mph and no gusts to speak of.

T1st:

Moore fouled out to start the game. Taylor reached on an error and made it to 2nd on the error.

Dickerson singled to score Taylor.

Hanley singled to put runners on the corners with one out.

With a runner on 3rd, Malamazian Kd and IU has done that too many times this season where they had a runner at 3rd and one out and couldn't bring the runner in at 3rd.

Fortunately, a clutch two-out single brought in Dickerson to make it 2-0. Cerny hit into a FC to retire the side.

B1st:

Grable got off to a great start by putting them down order to include two Ks.

End of 1st: IU 2 ACU 0

 

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T2nd:

It's the 8 thru 1 hitters up with Koskie leading off and he Kd. Schuyler flied out for the 2nd out and we were at the top of the order.

Moore singled to put a runner on with two outs.

Taylor singled to put runners at 1st and 2nd with Dickerson at the plate and two outs.

Dickerson grounded out to retire the side.

B2nd:

Grable faced the middle of the order and he Kd the leadoff hitter. He then gave up a single to the next batter, but an error on Cerny who airmailed a throw to 1st that went into the dugout and the runner was allowed to go all the way to 3rd with one out.

A groundout scored an unearned run to make it 2-1 and two outs with there being no one on.

A lineout ended the inning and we should have been out of the inning with no damage done, except for the error which was costly, and Cerny's penchant for errors hurt us that time.

End of 2nd: IU 2 ACU 1

 

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T3rd:

It was the middle of the order up and Hanley popped out.

Malamazian singled to put a runner on with one out.

Denny homered to RF to give IU a 4-1 lead. Cerny grounded out for the 2nd out.

Koskie grounded out to retire the side.

B3rd:

Grable faced the 8 thru 1 hitters and he gave up a leadoff single. Wiggins replaced Koskie in RF.

My goodness, Cerny just had another error to put runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. It probably would have been a DP if not for Cerny bobbling the ball.

A bunt single loaded the bases with no outs. If I were Mercer, I would bench Cerny for the rest of this game since his fielding is killing us so far.

Garble got a big K with the bases loaded and one out.

A groundout scored another run with runners at 2nd and 3rd and two outs. Why that wasn't an unearned run is surprising to me.

A groundout ended the inning and Grable pitched out of a mess not to his making by giving up just one run in an inning that could have been much bigger for ACU.

End of 3rd: IU 4 Cerny 2 (yes, I'm that annoyed at Cerny)

 

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T4th:

Schuyler led off and Kd.

We were at the top of the order and Moore walked on a 3-1 count.

Taylor doubled to CF to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out, and here we go again with a runner on 3B and one out. Can we get that runner in?

The answer is no as Dickerson Kd swinging, so we need a clutch hit with two outs.

Hanley Kd and IU missed out on another golden opportunity to score with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs. It's almost like a curse on IU in that situation this season.

B4th:

Grable gave up a single to the leadoff hitter. A flyout got the first out with the runner still at 1st.

Grable moved the runner to 2nd on a balk with one out. A full count walk put runners at 1st and 2nd with one out and the hitter that walked was hitting .167.

A flyout got the 2nd out with runners holding at 1st and 2nd.

A groundout ended the inning as Grable pitched out of a mini-jam.

End of 4th: IU 4 ACU 2

 

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T5th:

It's the 5 thru 7 hitters up and ACU went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Blaine Palmer with an ERA of 8.64 and a WHIP of 2.04 in 16.2 IP.

Malamazian led off and reached on a single.

Denny flied out for the first out. Malamazian then stole 2nd to put a runner in scoring position with one out.

Cerny reached on an infield hit to put runners at 1st and 2nd and one out.

A double steal put runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out, and we are in that dreaded position of having a runner at 3B and less than two outs. Can we do it?

Wiggins walked on a full count to load the bases with one out.

Brenczewski came in to pinch hit for Schuyler, so Stadler will be behind the plate the rest of the game.

Brenczewski reached on a FC to score Malamazian and we actually got a runner across from 3B with contact on a ball.

Moore doubled to score both Cerny and Brenczewski.

Taylor was intentionally walked and then there was another double steal by Moore and Taylor.

Dickerson hit a three-run homer to right center field.

Hanley followed that up with a solo homer to make it 11-2 and IU has broken this game open.

Malamazian Kd to retire the side.

B5th:

Grable was back out there to face the top of the order and he got the leadoff hitter on a groundout.

A full count walk put a runner on with one out.

A double scored a run with a runner at 2B and one out.

A groundout got the 2nd out, but a two-out, two-run homer made it 11-5 as ACU chipped away at the big lead.

Cerny misplayed a grounder for his third error of the game to put a runner on with two outs.

LHP Grant Holderfield relieved Grable and he had an ERA of 7.89 with a WHIP of 1.89 in 21.2 IP.

Holderfield gave up a single to put runners at 1st and 2nd and two outs in an inning we should have been out of.

Holderfield then got a K to end the inning.

End of 5th: IU 11 ACU 5

 

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T6th:

ACU went to the bullpen and brought in RHP David Jeon with an ERA of 3.60 and a WHIP of 1.50 in 10.0 IP.

Denny led off with a double. A Cerny flyout sent Denny to 3rd with one out.

A passed ball scored Denny to make it 12-5 with no one on.

Wiggins was hit by a pitch to put a runner on with one out.

With Stadler at the plate, ACU goes to the bullpen again and brought in RHP Cooper Hrbacek with an ERA of 7.32 and a WHIP of 2.32 in 7.1 IP.

Wiggins stole 2nd to get into scoring position. Stadler popped out on the infield for the 2nd out and we were at the top of the order in Moore.

Moore singled, but Mercer coaching at 3rd, sent Wiggins to home and he was easily thrown out to retire the side.

B6th:

Holderfield faced the 9 thru 2 hitters and he Kd the leadoff hitter. He then walked a batter on four pitches to put a man on.

Another K got the 2nd out with the runner still at 1st. A flyout end the inning and it was a good inning for Holderfield.

End of 6th: IU 12 ACU 5

 

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T7th:

It was the 2 thru 4 hitters up and Taylor led off with a double.

Dickerson singled to put runners on the corners and no outs. Dickerson stole 2nd to put the DP ball out of play.

Hanley hit a SAC fly to score Taylor with Dickerson taking 3rd and one out.

Dickerson scored on a WP to make it 14-5 and one out with no one on.

I don't know if the WAC has the run-rule for their conference but IU is getting close to it.

Malamazian Kd for the 2nd out. Denny walked on a full count to put a runner on.

Denny advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. Cerny grounded out to retire the side.

B7th:

RHP Gavin Seebold came in for Holderfield and he had an ERA of 8.22 and a WHIP of 1.74 in 46.0 IP.

Seebold had a great inning with two Ks and a groundout to put them down in order and end the inning.

End of 7th: IU 14 ACU 5

 

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T8th:

It's the 8 thru 1 hitters up with Wiggins leading off. ACU went to the bullpen and brought in little used RHP Hoah Galvan with an ERA of 27.00 and a WHIP of 3.01 in 2.2 IP.

Wiggins walked on a full count. Stadler flied out, Moore Kd, and Taylor flied out to retire the side.

B8th:

Seebold faced the bottom of the order and he put them down in order for the 2nd straight inning.

End of 8th: IU 14 ACU 5

 

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T9th:

DeMartino was hit by a pitch but was left on base with the inning ending with a DP ball.

B9th:

Seebold was out there to close it out and he gave up a single to the leadoff hitter. It's mostly replacement players on the field for both teams.

A K, a groundout, and a pop up ended the game.

Final: IU 14 ACU 5

 

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IU has not trailed in this series so far. They outhit the Wildcats 17 to 8 and seven of their hits were for extra bases to include four doubles and three homers. The first four batters in the batting order were a combined 11 for 20 today. We used just three pitchers today so with the two pitchers used in Game 1, we have used five pitchers with plenty of bullpen left for the game tomorrow and look for Haas to start the Sunday game although I haven't heard anything on that. Cerny had a miserable game in the field and was responsible for all three errors committed today, so it was a good thing this game wasn't close since by my count, Cerny was responsible for two of the Wildcats five runs. The Wildcats had one error.

Due to the late start on this recap, I won't go over the numbers and here is the box score with those numbers.

Baseball vs Abilene Christian on 5/3/2025 - Box Score - Indiana University Athletics

The official box score of Baseball vs Abilene Christian on 5/3/2025

iuhoosiers.com

 

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Of interest in the B1G, Iowa dropped another game to Washington out in Seattle and have lost their first series of the season, with the Huskies going for the sweep today. I believe that Iowa and UCLA are tied in the loss column right now for that top seed in the conference tourney.