IU@Iowa, Game 1: Iowa 30 IU 16. IU blows big lead and gets drubbed in an absolutely embarrassing fashion...

[ptrich]

RHP Braydon Tucker is on the mound with an ERA of 6.25 in 40.1 IP, while RHP Adam Mazur is on the mound for Iowa with a stingy ERA of 2.18 and a WHIP of just 0.837 in 86.2 IP, and his numbers are even better in recent games.

On a side note, both PSU and Purdue are losing big right now to Illinois and MD, respectively, as I post this.

In the T1st, Whalen leads off with a walk. Jessee then shocks the Iowa crowd with a two-run homer down the RF line on a pitcher that just doesn't give up runs like this. Mathison then doubles to put a runner in scoring position with no outs. Pyne strikes out for the first out and the runner still on 2nd. Glasser then hits a two-run homer to make it 4-0 against the B1G's top pitcher in many categories. There's wind blowing out at about 20 mph today. Ellis grounds out for two outs and no one on. Tibbetts flies out to end a highly productive first inning for IU.

In the B1st, Tucker really struggles in the 1st to find the plate and when we he wasn't throwing balls and giving up a WP which scored a run, he was giving up base hits as Iowa cuts into the lead at 4-2 with runners on 1 and 2nd and one out. Tucker gets a K for the 2nd out with runners still on 1st and 2nd. Tucker then ends the inning on a K and it could have been worse, but Tucker seemed to settle down to limit the damage.

 

[ptrich]

In the 2nd, Doanes grounds out to lead off. Serruto reaches on a single to put a man on and one out with the top of the order in Whalen up. Whalen grounds out at the warning track with Serruto holding at 1st and two outs. Jessee singles to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Mathison then hits a 3-run homer, his 17th of the season, to give IU a 7-2 lead, and Mazur is having his worst game of the season with all 7 runs being earned. Pyne then singles with two outs. Glasser then singles to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Ellis then doubles off the top of the wall to score two more runs to make it 9-2 with Ellis in scoring position and two outs. Iowa finally has activity in their bullpen. Tibbets flies out to end IU's 2nd.

In Iowa's 2nd, Tucker is back out there, but if he loses the leadoff hitter Mercer may have a quick hook since Holderfield is warmed up in the bullpen. We are at the 8, 9, and 1 hitters. Tucker gets off to a good start with a K, his third straight K, for one out. A single thru the infield puts a runner on with one out and Iowa is at the top of the order. A flyout results in the 2nd out with the runner still at 1st. Doanes makes a great play on a line drive at 2B robbing the hitter of a hit and ending the inning.

 

[ptrich]

In the 3rd, IU has chased the Iowa ace in his shortest outing of the season as they go to the bullpen and bring in LHP Cam Baumann with an ERA of 4.73 in 13.1 IP. Doanes flies out to leadoff. Serruto then grounds out for the 2nd out and we are at the top of the order in Whalen. In an infield hit for Whalen, the 1st baseman came in for the ball but the pitcher failed to cover 1st for an easy hit. Jesse singles, his third hit of the game, to put runners on the corners with two outs. Mathison walks to load the bases with two outs and Pyne up. Pyne then hits a grand slam to give IU a 13-2, and all of this came after two outs, something we have done a few times this season. The Iowa fans believe that every pitch thrown in this game by Hawkeye pitchers were strikes and they are really riding the ump. Glasser then grounds out to end IU's 3rd.

In the B3rd, Tucker has really settled down after a shaky 1st, and is back out there. Tucker gets the leadoff hitter on a flyout. Both Purdue and PSU are getting shellacked late in those games, which are results that IU wants to see. Tucker then gives up a walk to put a runner on with one out. IU just missed out on a DP as Doanes caught a line drive and just missed getting the runner at 1st, so there are two outs with the runner at 1st. A flyout ends the inning.

 

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

Was Glasser hurt or benched when he wasn’t playing?

 

[Orford]

Broken finger

 

[ptrich]

Broken finger

Yes, he was out for quite a while over that and is just now getting his hitting stroke back.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Mercer's refusal to remove Stahl should cost both him and Glant their jobs.

 

[ptrich]

In the T4th, IU is at the 6 thru 8 hitters starting with Ellis. Ellis leads off with a single. Tibbetts flies out for the first out. Doanes reaches on a fielder's choice with Ellis out at 2nd for two outs. Serruto walks to put runners on 1st and 2nd with the top of the order up in Whalen. IU just missed on adding to their lead when a Whalen fly almost fell for hit, but IU goes down for their first scoreless inning of the game so far.

In the B4th, Mercer goes to the bullpen to bring in LHP Grant Holderfield with an ERA of 6.31 in 41.1 IP. The leadoff hitter reaches on a bunt. A single puts runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Holderfield has really struggled late in the season and he gives up a 3-run homer to the No. 9 hitter to make it 13-5 with no outs and we are at the top of the order. Holderfield then walks the No. 1 hitter and Mercer had better not stick with Holderfield much longer or the Hawkeyes might take an even bigger chunk out of the lead. A pop out results in the 1st out with the runner still on 1st. Mercer stayed with Holderfield too long in my opinion since he has given a ton of runs lately and he gave up two homers and five runs while getting just one out including a homer to the No. 9 hitter. RHP Nathan Stahl comes in with an ERA of 9.49 in 24.2 IP. A huge lead is now reachable for Iowa. A flyout results in the 2nd out, but the next hitter reaches the top of the RF wall for a double with two outs. A single scores another run to make it 13-8. An error by Stahl on a pickoff attempt sends the runner to second and he scores on a double to make it 13-9, and we have blown a huge lead by giving up six runs in this inning. Stahl then hits a batter to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs and IU is one hit batter away from the century mark. Holderfield and Stahl have been disasters so far in this inning. Stahl then gives up a three-run homer to make it 13-12. Mercer goes the bullpen again to bring in RHP Luke Hayden with a 5.47 ERA in 24.2 IP. Hayden then walks the first batter he faces and follows that with a hit batter, IU's 100th hit batter on the season, so we have two on and two outs. A deep flyout finally ends a 10-run inning for Iowa and their fans are acting like they have this game won although we still have that one run lead, but have lost momentum.

Mercer's refusal to remove Stahl should cost both him and Glant his job.

It's not just Stahl, but I thought he stayed with Holderfield too long and I stated on this forum after Holderfield's last outing that I wouldn't trust him coming out of the bullpen again this season because he was getting hammered in every outing of late. Stahl was the one that gave up the two-run homer in the 9th that cost us the sweep against Minn.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Look I know it is hard when IU has absolutely no reliable pitchers in the bulllpen but this more than anything shows that the Glant experiment cannot continue next year or Mercer cannot remain coach here. The guy has on his own has ruined IU's pitching. The offense is great but it doesn't matter when no one can pitch including guys who were good before Glant got here.

 

[ptrich]

In the T5th, IU has their 2 thru 4th hitters up and Jessee grounds out to lead off. Iowa went to their bullpen again to start this inning and brought in RHP Jacob Henderson with an ERA of 3.65 in 12.1 IP. Mathison grounds out for the 2nd out, but Pyne then doubles to put himself in scoring position with Glasser up. IU gets a run back on a Glasser hit and a throwing error at 2B that allowed Pyne to score an unearned run. Ellis then gets a two-out walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Iowa is going to the bullpen again to bring in RHP Duncan Davitt with an ERA of 3.03 in 29.2 IP and given his innings pitched I have to believe he is one of their top arms out of the bullpen and he averages almost two Ks an inning. Tibbetts flies out deep to end the T5th.

We are at the B5th, and this game is already over 2 1/2 hours old. Hayden is back on the mound for IU and Iowa is at their 4 thru 6 hitters. A fielding error by Pyne at 3rd puts a runner on 2nd with no outs and it's IU's 2nd error of the game. Pyne made a good stop on a hit ball that was an infield hit that kept the runner at 2nd, but we have two on and no outs. A flyout to Mathison moves runners to 2nd and 3rd with one out, and if we ever need a K it is now and it's been a while since we have had a K in this game. Hayden must have read my mind as he gets the next batter on a K for out No. 2 which is huge and we are at the No. 8 hitter. Hayden hits the batter which is IU's 3rd of the game and 101 hit batters on the season and it loads the bases with two outs. I wonder if we have ever hit that many batters in a season before. Maybe in the Bob Morgan days? Hayden then gives up a grand slam homer to the No. 9 hitter to make it Iowa 16-14. The No. 9 hitter has hit three homers today and is 4-4 which is telling about our bullpen tonight. Iowa has scored 14 runs in the last two innings. A K gets the top of the order hitter to end the inning.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Two innings to give up the lead. Glant should be gone after tonight. Good news is IU is getting the help they need from other teams at this moment.

 

[ptrich]

You know the bullpen has been a disaster tonight when the No. 9 hitter has gone 4-4 with three homers to include a grand slam homer. We have hit these guys hard earlier, but we have been quiet of late with the exception of getting a run last inning because of the error.

 

[Orford]

Can’t really blame the hitters as they did their job. Night should be over

 

[82IU]

After tonight, I'm not sure we deserve to get in the B1G tournament and continue the season. If we can't pull out tonight's game, my bet is we will get swept. After losing a 13-2 lead, I feel like we just totalled a Maserati. Uuuggghhh!
82

 

[ptrich]

After tonight, I'm not sure we deserve to get in the B1G tournament and continue the season. If we can't pull out tonight's game, my bet is we will get swept. After losing a 13-2 lead, I feel like we just totalled a Maserati. Uuuggghhh!
82

Iowa has the No. 1 pitching staff in the B1G and the relievers coming out of the bullpen in recent innings have good ERAs and they have slowed us down at the plate. Meanwhile, with the 13-2 lead, Mercer probably thought it was safe to bring in two struggling bullpen pitchers in Holderfield and Stahl and it blew up in his face. After a shaky 1st inning, Tucker was in a groove when Mercer pulled him to start the 4th bringing in Holderfield and with 20/20 hindsight you have to question that move.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

After tonight, I'm not sure we deserve to get in the B1G tournament and continue the season. If we can't pull out tonight's game, my bet is we will get swept. After losing a 13-2 lead, I feel like we just totalled a Maserati. Uuuggghhh!
82

The way this is trending IU has a decent chance to get in to Big Ten Tourney even if they are swept.

 

[ptrich]

In the T6th, Serruto got on with a walk after and a Doanes strike out, but a ground out and a K ended IU's 6th.

In the B6th, Hayden gets a ground out and then gives up a single to the OF. Hayden walks the next batter to put runners on 1st and 2nd and one out. A throwing error by Hayden scores an unearned run and loaded the bases. A walk scored another run to make it 18-14 with the bases still loaded with one out. RHP John-Biagio Modugno comes in with an ERA of 9.84 in 32 IP. A ball down the 3rd base line was ruled foul which caused the Iowa coach and fans to blow up over the call. Modugno then got a K for the 2nd out, but a WP scored a another run to make it 19-14. A K finally ended another bad inning and the Hawkeyes have scored 17 runs over the last three inning.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Nevermind. Minny's pitching is just as bad and that game is now tied. If NW wins and IU losses it will take a win and NW or PU loss, or Two NW losses or two PU losses to make it.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

I would hope tonight is the final nail in the coffin for Glant. Obviously he is not getting fired tonight as much as she should but after the season a change better be made there.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Minnesota just got the lead back but like IU a one run lead to the ninth is so far from safe.

 

[ptrich]

In the T7th, Mathison leads off with a ground out and Pyne then struck out for two outs. Glasser singles with two outs. Ellis walks to put runners on 1st and 2nd and two outs. Tibbetts then doubles to score Glasser to make it 19-15 with runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs with Doanes up. Doanes grounds out to end IU's 7th.

In the B7th, Iowa is at the top of the order and the leadoff hitter gets a double. A little bloop fly drops in CF to put runners on the corners with no outs. Iowa averages 6.1 runs a game and we have given them their most runs on the season and will probably give up more. Another little blooper that probably should have been caught, drops to score another run. In a forgettable game, Jessee drops a fly ball to load the bases and we have four errors on the game, and the bases are loaded with no outs. We led the B1G in fewest errors for a big part of the season, but all of a sudden we are committing at least one and usually two every game with this one being a disaster. A base hit scores two more runs to make it 22-15 and this has become an embarrassment for the team with lousy bullpen pitching and lousy fielding. Mathison then drops a foul ball that he should have had in a mental error that doesn't count. A K gets the first out. Another homer scores three more to make it 25-15 in the worst IU game from a pitching and fielding perspective that I can remember, and if the coaches and players aren't embarrassed about this, they should, and they will have to look in the record books for something similar to this if it exists. Modugno gets a K for the 2nd out. The No. 9 hitter, a .250 batter for Iowa, is now 5-6 after getting a single with two outs in what is probably his best game in his college career with the three homers to include the grand slam. Mercer goes to the bullpen to give RHP David Platt some work since this game is pretty much over with. Platt has an ERA of 6.75 in 5.1 IP and he walks the first batter he faces to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs and Iowa's best hitter average-wise at the plate. Platt gets a K to end the inning.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Minny wins so IU's magic number to get to Big Ten Tournament is down to 1 despite this embarrassment tonight.

 

[ptrich]

In the T8th, after two outs, Jessee doubles to put a runner in scoring position. Mathison then singles to score Murrison who was pinch running for Jessee. A flyout ends IU's 8th.

In the B8th, Iowa has scored 23 runs over the last four innings, so maybe IU can get through an inning with giving up runs. Platt hits the first batter for the 4th hit batter of the game for IU. The ump talks to Platt like maybe he did that on purpose, but if he knew IU pitching he would know that hitting batters is part of their DNA. Platt throws a couple of WPs with the last one on a walk to put runners on 1st and 3rd and no outs. With the way this inning has started, Iowa may get to 30 runs before this inning is over with, but Platt gets a strikeout for the first out and runners still on the corners. A base hit scores a run with runners on 1st and 2nd and one out. Well, we have had everything but a balk in this game and Platt takes care of that little item by moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd with a balk and one out. Platt gets a K for the 2nd out. Platt then walks a batter to load the bases with two outs. A base hit scores two more runs. IU is getting into the B1G record books with this one as the last hit was by No. 9 hitter Kyle Huckstorf has set a B1G record with 12 RBIs while going 6-7 at the plate to include three homers with a grand slam. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs, Mercer brings in Jack Walker and he walks the first batter to load the bases. He then hits a batter, IU 5th, to score another run. The Iowa fans are mocking the IU players as Walker walks in another run. IU finally gets out of the inning on a flyout as IU pitching gives up 5 more runs and unless IU comes up with 14 runs in the 9th, Iowa won't be able to embarrass them anymore in this game.

 

[82IU]

What is the IU record for runs allowed in a game? Got to be getting close.
82

 

[ptrich]

What is the IU record for runs allowed in a game? Got to be getting close.
82

I don't know, but when a No. 9 hitter batting .250 batters your pitching staff with a B1G record hitting performance, this is about as embarrassing as it can get. If we had lost this game 20-16 it would have been embarrassing.

 

[ptrich]

In the 9th, IU goes down in order and I don't remember another game like this ever. What an embarrassment.

 

[hoosier roadtrips]

In the 9th, IU goes down in order and I don't remember another game like this ever. What an embarrassment.

I wasn't confident of winning when we were up 13-2, but I didn't expect to almost give up the entire lead in one inning. All season long we have only had about four reliable pitchers.

 

[ptrich]

Iowa outhit IU 23-19 but after the first three innings we played about as bad as you can when it came to our bullpen and our fielding which was also atrocious. There's no sense in giving a summary of this game since there was just too much negativity involved with the game. Tucker had a shaky 1st, but recovered and pitched well after finding a groove, but Mercer just had to replace him in the 4th and brought in two struggling bullpen pitchers which started an avalanche of runs for Iowa that we couldn't stop as Mercer chose to save his better relief pitchers. After Tucker left the game after the end of the 3rd, Mercer brought in six pitchers and our bullpen gave up the following:

20 hits
28 runs
20 ERs
9 BBs
9 Ks
4 WPs
1 Balk
5 hit batters
8 xtra base hits (5 homers and 3 doubles)

They (the bullpen) threw 206 pitches with 114 of them being strikes.

We hit the ball well, especially in the early innings, but it had to be deflating to watch our pitchers give up runs the way they did. The pitchers weren't all to blame as we committed four errors on the game which certainly contributed to the onslaught by Iowa.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Iowa outhit IU 23-19 but after the first three innings we played about as bad as you can when it came to our bullpen and our fielding which was also atrocious. There's no sense in giving a summary of this game since there was just too much negativity involved with the game. Tucker had a shaky 1st, but recovered and pitched well after finding a groove, but Mercer just had to replace him in the 4th and brought in two struggling bullpen pitchers which started an avalanche of runs for Iowa that we couldn't stop as Mercer chose to save his better relief pitchers. After Tucker left the game after the end of the 3rd, Mercer brought in six pitchers and our bullpen gave up the following:

20 hits
28 runs
20 ERs
9 BBs
9 Ks
4 WPs
1 Balk
5 hit batters
8 xtra base hits (5 homers and 3 doubles)

They (the bullpen) threw 206 pitches with 114 of them being strikes.

We hit the ball well, especially in the early innings, but it had to be deflating to watch our pitchers give up runs the way they did. The pitchers weren't all to blame as we committed four errors on the game which certainly contributed to the onslaught by Iowa.

And yet no one else in the Big Ten could pitch either tonight and IU is on the cusp of going to Big Ten Tournament in spite of this since everyone below them lost very high scoring games also.

Glant needs to be fired after season and I think he is single-handedly the problem that will quickly fix with a new pitching coach. Impressive rally at end of season to (likely) make Big Ten Tourney and the season did not go off rails but the pitching is atrocious,

 

[ptrich]

And yet no one else in the Big Ten could pitch either tonight and IU is on the cusp of going to Big Ten Tournament in spite of this since everyone below them lost very high scoring games also.

Glant needs to be fired after season and I think he is single-handedly the problem that will quickly fix with a new pitching coach. Impressive rally at end of season to (likely) make Big Ten Tourney and the season did not go off rails but the pitching is atrocious,

I put the conference standings up along with some scenarios about how things could play out. We aren't having a banner season, but we still want to make the tournament even if it's as an 8-seed. While we don't have the pitching to win it, maybe we can make a little bit of noise before they send us packing.

 

[ptrich]

Here's the game recap with a link to the box score if you can stomach it. The box score looks pretty good until you get down to the pitchers.

Slugfest Slips Away - Indiana University Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Both teams had double-digit leads in one of the most unique games in college baseball in 2022, as the Indiana baseball program dropped ...

iuhoosiers.com

 

[Bligedy]

It's not just Stahl, but I thought he stayed with Holderfield too long

I'm absolutely shocked that they still use Holderfield

 

[Orford]

I would have said same about Kraft after his meltdown against Illinois few series back but they brought him back in small doses. But sticking with grant too long questionable as well. Oh well I may not be able to watch tonight… will see if big10 + works in Canada!

 

[TomEric4756]

Iowa outhit IU 23-19 but after the first three innings we played about as bad as you can when it came to our bullpen and our fielding which was also atrocious. There's no sense in giving a summary of this game since there was just too much negativity involved with the game. Tucker had a shaky 1st, but recovered and pitched well after finding a groove, but Mercer just had to replace him in the 4th and brought in two struggling bullpen pitchers which started an avalanche of runs for Iowa that we couldn't stop as Mercer chose to save his better relief pitchers. After Tucker left the game after the end of the 3rd, Mercer brought in six pitchers and our bullpen gave up the following:

20 hits
28 runs
20 ERs
9 BBs
9 Ks
4 WPs
1 Balk
5 hit batters
8 xtra base hits (5 homers and 3 doubles)

They (the bullpen) threw 206 pitches with 114 of them being strikes.

We hit the ball well, especially in the early innings, but it had to be deflating to watch our pitchers give up runs the way they did. The pitchers weren't all to blame as we committed four errors on the game which certainly contributed to the onslaught by Iowa.

Yet another slow pitch softball score.
4 errors is inexcusably bad. VFW teams do better.
If we get one win v. Iowa, I think we hang onto 8th.

 

[mk30]

Wow. Glad I missed this one. #totaltrainwreck

 

[HoosierJimbo89]

Wow. Glad I missed this one. #totaltrainwreck

I don't know if I have ever heard of a baseball team scoring 30 runs at any level.

Admittedly, I don't have much knowledge regarding the staff. Is the pitching coach really this bad, or is there no pitching talent (or a little bit of both)?

 

[Orford]

Some big talent left to draft (3 wknd starters) but picked up two of them via portal and had at least 5 effective relievers who were good to very good last year. All 5 dropped off a cliff era balloon, bb, hbp along with two new weekend (they generally get 5-6 innings and not huge hits/runs) but have the bb and hbp virus which also embraced incoming freshmen talent as well. Two (Ty and Reece seem full recovery and tucker has the long version maybe). Everyone else symptoms continue. so yes stats are not good and tendency to pitch from behind and meltdown other than that all good. One would think pitching coach has a hand in this.

Oh more pitchers beyond that who may have talent but never before performed. They are still positive based up last test but perhaps they were positive upon arrival at campus whenever that was.