IU@Illinois St: IU 3 ISU 1. Four pitchers combine to hold ISU to an unearned run...

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RHP Luke Hayden is on the mound for IU and he has an ERA of 7.47 in 15.2, while ISU will have RHP Colin Wyman on the mound with an ERA of 3.38 in 32 IP. Serruto is behind the plate for IU with Ellis as the DH and Goforth is at 3rd in place of Pyne. Mathison and Doanes have moved up in the order to 4th and 5th, respectively.

In the 1st, Whalen leads off the game with a single. Jessee, who was 4-4 against Butler, goes down swinging for the 1st out. Whalen then gets picks off 1st as he is caught leaning for the 2nd out, and while I don't know the number, but IU has been picked off far too many times this season. Ellis then strikes out to end IU's 1st.

In ISU's 1st, Hayden gets the leadoff man on a flyout. Hayden then gets the next two batters on Ks as Hayden, who had a really bad 2 IP against Neb when he was all over the place, looks good in the 1st.

 

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In the 2nd, Mathison grounds out. Doanes, who is among the leaders in walks in the B1G, walks on a 3-2 count to put a man on with one out. Tibbetts then walks after seeing 11 pitches to put two men on with one out. The ISU pitcher came into this game with just 7 walks in 32 IP and he has walked two in this inning. A passed ball moves Doanes to 3rd with Tibbetts remaining at 1st to put runners on the corners with one out. Goforth gets his first hit of the season, a double, to score Doanes and puts runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Serruto grounds out to SS, but Tibbetts scores to make it 2-0, with a runner at 2nd and two outs. Johnson flies out to end IU's 2nd.

Hayden gets the leadoff man for ISU on a flyout to start their 2nd. Hayden then gets his third K for two outs. A ground out ends ISU 2nd, and Hayden is a completely different pitcher so far after his control problems in his last outing against Nebraska.

 

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In the 3rd, IU goes down in order.

In ISU's 3rd, they are at the bottom of their order. Hayden gets the leadoff hitter on a K. A guy hitting .067 gets the first hit for ISU with a single to CF. Hayden then commits an error on a pickoff attempt to move the runner to 2nd with one out. A flyout keeps the runner at 2nd with two outs and ISU is at the top of their order with their best hitter in Cermak up. He singled to LF to score the runner from 2nd, an unearned run although Hayden was responsible for it, and he is thrown out trying to turn it into a double. IU has not committed many errors this season, but of the ones they have committed, several have been on pickoff attempts at 1st. IU 2 ISU 1.

 

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In IU's 4th, Mathison strikes out to leadoff. Doanes then reaches on a throwing error by the SS. Doanes steals 2nd with one out. IU is 2nd in the B1G in steals. IU has been making the starting pitcher throw a lot of pitches as he has had a lot of 3-2 counts and he walks Tibbetts on a 3-2 count and his PC is at 75. Goforth then flies out for the 2nd out with the runners holding at 1st and 2nd. Serruto strikes out to end IU's 4th leaving two on.

In ISU's 4th, Hayden has another good inning putting them down in order to include another K.

 

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In the 5th, ISU goes to their bullpen to bring in LHP Keegan Gagliardo who has an ERA of 8.59 in 7.1 IP. IU has the No. 9, 1 and 2 hitters in the order up. Johnson lines out to LF for the first out. Whalen lines out to SS for the 2nd out. Jessee singles with two outs. Ellis strikes out to end IU's 5th.

In ISU's 5th, Hayden's excellent night is finished as IU brings in LHP Jack Walker who has an ERA of 6.35 in 11.1 IP. Walker walks the first batter he faces which is the first BB by IU tonight. A fielder's choice moves the runner to 2nd with one out. Walker then gets back-to-back Ks to end the inning.

 

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In the T6th, Doanes singles for his 2nd hit of the game after Mathison struck out. Doanes looked like he was going to be caught in a pickoff attempt but he manages to reach 2nd, but two throwing errors allowed Doanes to make it all of the way to home for another run. Tibbetts grounds out to end the inning. IU up 3-1.

In ISU's 6th, they get a leadoff triple. IU catches a break when a pitch hits off Serruto's chest and bounces out toward the pitcher who throws the ball back to Serruto to put the tag on the runner trying to score from 3rd. The next batter hit a single to put a runner on with one out. Walker gets two more Ks to strand the runner at first as IU is fortunate they didn't give up a run after the leadoff triple.

 

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In IU's 7th, IU's 8, 9 and 1 hitters are up and Serruto and Johnson strike out for the first two outs. Whalen flies out to end IU's 7th and we are at the 7th inning stretch.

In the B7th, Walker gets the first batter on a ground out, but then gets himself in a jam by hitting a batter and then giving up a single to put two on and one out. Walker then gets his 5th K of the day for the 2nd out and runners at 1st and 2nd. A slow roller results in an infield hit to load the bases with two outs. A ground out ended the inning as IU dodges another bullet.

 

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In the 8th, Jessee grounds out to leadoff. Ellis then singles and Vecrumba comes in to run for Ellis. Mathison then singles to send Vecrumba to 3rd with runners on the corners and one out. Doanes bunts but Vecrumba is tagged out at home for the 2nd out and runners on 1st and 2nd. Tibbetts then walks to load the bases with two outs. Goforth then strikes out to end IU's 8th.

In the B8th, ISU is at the top of their order. IU brings in LHP Grant Holderfield with an ERA of 5.14 in 35 IP. Holderfield puts them down in order to end the inning.

 

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In the 9th, ISU brings in LHP Nate Davis with an ERA of 11.57 in 2.1 IP. IU has their 8, 9 and 1 hitters up. Serruto and Johnson both strike out to start the inning and Whalen grounds out to end IU's 9th.

In ISU 9th, IU brings in RHP Reese Sharp with an ERA of 9.82 in 33 IP. Sharp gets a K after going 3-0 on the leadoff hitter. A base hit to left center puts a runner on with one out and brings up the tying run at the plate. A ground out moves the runner to 2nd with two outs. A K ends the game.

 

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Both teams had 7 hits today, so there wasn't much offense today by either team. Doanes was 2 for 3 and he was the only multi-hit player for IU. IU pitchers combined for 13 Ks and just one BB to go along with one hit batter, and gave up no ERs, although Hayden was responsible for the unearned run on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, but that shouldn't take away from an otherwise excellent outing. Hayden and Walker rebounded from bad outings against the Huskers where they had control problems, with Hayden going 4 IP and giving up just 2 hits, 5 Ks, no BBs, and no WPs. As far as strikes go, 35 of Hayden's 53 pitches were for strikes in a very efficient outing. Walker in 3 IP, gave up 4 hits, 5 Ks, one BB, and one hit batter, and 35 of his 54 pitches were for strikes. Holderfield and Sharp pitched the last two innings and combined for one hit, no BBs, and 3 Ks, and 22 of their 33 pitches were for strikes.

 

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Here's the game recap along with a link to the box score:

Vite App

iuhoosiers.com

 

[mk30]

2 wins is 2 wins and 5 of 6 is pretty stout for this team. Makes me wonder if they can muster a late season rally and surprise everyone. Either way, this has been an encouraging week plus. I’ll take one walk and one HBP every single game.