IU@Iowa, Game 3: Iowa 2 IU 1. Iowa sweeps, but IU makes the tourney...

[ptrich]

RHP Bradley Brehmer is on the mound for IU with an ERA of 6.13 in 61.2 IP, while RHP Ty Langeberg is on the mound for Iowa with an ERA of 3.96 in 52.1 IP.

At the risk of getting jumped on, we will face Maryland if we lose tonight and that is the last team we want to start the tournament off with.

In the 1st, Whalen leads off with a K. Jessee and Mathison ground out to end IU's 1st.

In Iowa's 1st, Brehmer gets the first two batters, but then give up a homer to give the Hawkeyes an early 1-0 lead. The next batter singled to put a man on with one out. A WP sends the runner to 2nd with two outs. Brehmer then walks a batter to put two runners on with two outs. Of Iowa's lineup tonight, 8 batters are righties with the No. 2 batter being the only lefty. A ground out ends the inning.

 

[ptrich]

In the 2nd, Pyne leads off with a single as the DH, Glasser hits into a fielder's choice forcing Pyne at 2nd for the 1st out. Ellis strikes out for the 2nd out with Glasser on 1st. Tibbetts walks to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Doanes flies out to end IU's 2nd.

In the B2nd, Iowa is at the bottom of the order. The leadoff man reaches on a throwing error by Doanes at 3B who is playing out of position with Pyne at DH, and that is the 8th IU error of the series and our fielding has gone into the toilet after being ranked high in that category for much of the season. A K gets the first out with the runner stealing 2nd. Brehmer gets a pop out for out No. 2. A strikeout by the top of the order hitter ends the inning.

 

[ptrich]

In IU's 3rd, Goforth leads off with a single to right center and we are at the top of the order in Whalen. A SAC bunt moves Goforth to 2nd with one out. Jessee reaches on an infield hit with Goforth holding at 2nd and one out. Mathison flies out with Goforth moving to 3rd and we have runners on the corners with two outs and we need a clutch hit which something that has eluded us for the most part since the early part of game one. Pyne walks to load the bases with two outs and Glasser up. Glasser grounds out and the clutch hit eludes us as IU's 3rd is over with.

In Iowa's 3rd, their 2-4 hitters are up and Brehmer is at a PC of 40. Brehmer gets the leadoff hitter on a ground out. Brehmer gets Anthony on a K for two outs. An infield hit puts a runner on with two outs. Brehmer then ends the inning with another K and despite the 1st inning homer, this is the good Brehmer on the mound tonight.

 

[ptrich]

In the 4th, nothing is going right for us in this series as the 3rd baseman catches an over-the-shoulder little blooper by Ellis with his bare hand that looked like it was going to drop. Tibbetts strikes out for the 2nd out. Doanes flies out to end IU's 4th.

In the B4th, we are at the 6 thru 8 hitters and Bothwell is warming up in the bullpen. Brehmer loses the lead off hitter on a walk. Brehmer gets the next hitter on a K for one out and the runner still on 1st. A DP started by Doanes ends the inning.

 

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In the T5th, IU is at the 9, 1 and 2 hitters. Goforth grounds out for one out and the top of the order up in Whalen. Whalen reaches with a walk and one out. An infield single by Jessee puts runners on 1st and 2nd with one out and Mathison up. Mathison goes down on a K with runners still on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Pyne flies out to end IU's 5th.

In Iowa's 5th, IU goes to LHP Ty Bothwell with an ERA of 4.01 in 42.2 IP. For the 2nd straight inning, the leadoff hitter reaches on a walk. Bothwell then walks the next batter to put two on. An error on a fielder's choice loaded the bases with no outs and that is IU's 2nd error of the game and 9th of the series. Bothwell then gets a K for the first out with the bases still loaded. A WP scores a run with runners now on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Iowa has yet to get a hit in the inning, but after another walk they now have the bases loaded with one out. Bothwell then gets a big K for two outs. Bothwell then gets a K getting all three outs on Ks, but Iowa gets a run without a hit.

 

[ptrich]

In IU 6th, we have the 6 thru 8 hitters up. Iowa goes to the bullpen to bring in RHP Connor Schultz with an ERA of 4.74 in 38 IP. Glasser strikes out to leadoff and Ellis then clubs a homer to right CF for IU's first run in what seems like an eternity. IU went 15 scoreless innings before that homer. Two fairly hard hit fly balls are caught to end the inning.

In Iowa's 6th, Bothwell who struggled some to find the plate in the previous inning, strikes out the side and they said it was an IU record setting 559 strikeouts on the season and counting.

 

[ptrich]

In IU's 7th, we are at the 9, 1, and 2 hitters. Goforth and Whalen strike out to start the inning and a Jessee ground out ends IU's half of the inning.

In the B7th, after Bothwell struck out the side in the last inning, Mercer goes to the bullpen and brings in RHP Reese Sharp with an ERA of 7.23 in 47.1 IP. Iowa is at the top of the order. Sharp puts them down in order to end the inning.

 

[mk30]

What in the h was that call??

 

[ptrich]

What in the h was that call??

That was totally screwed up by the ump crew. Like it's been mentioned more than once we need instant replay review which other conferences have. Gee, even the MVC has it.

 

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In the T8th, IU has their 3 thru 5 hitters up and Iowa goes to the bullpen to bring in their top reliever in LHP Ben Beutel with an ERA of 1.44 in 25 IP. IU has outhit Iowa 5-3 going into this inning, but that homer in the 1st and the run scored on that WP have been the difference. Mathison leads off with a bunt single. Pyne walks to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs and Glasser up. Glasser strikes out for the 1st out and we needed to put the ball in play there. Ellis then took a strike three call for two outs. In an awful call, it looked like Tibbetts was called out on a K on a pitch that was actually fouled off to end IU's 8th.

In Iowa's 8th, Sharp puts them down in order again.

 

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In the 9th, IU has their 8, 9 and 1 hitters up. Doanes gets a single to open things up with Goforth up. Goforth walks on a controversial 3-2 count (to the Iowa players and fans) to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs and we are at the top of the order in Whalen and he is due. Whalen flies out for the first out with runners still at 1st and 2nd. Jessee gets an infield hit to load the bases with one out and Mathison up. Mathison did what you can't do in this situation and takes a strike three call for two outs and the bases loaded with Pyne up. Pyne flies out and Iowa wins on just 3 hits as IU strands 12 runners.

 

[82IU]

Why did we not try a double steal with no one out and runners on 1st and second? How many times have we seen the same scenario where we get a couple of runners on with no outs and they never advance? It is maddening to lose these kind of games because of sloppy play and bad fundamental baseball. Oh well, at least we get to see 2 more games this year. Never thought we would make it to the tournament the way the first half of the season started.
Let's make some noise in the BTT.
Go Hoosiers!
82

 

[ptrich]

IU outhit Iowa, 8-3 and stranded 12 runners, but lost on a solo homer in the 1st and a WP scoring a run in the 5th. IU had gone 15 straight innings of nothing but goose eggs before Ellis homered in the 6th for IU's only run. IU had scoring threats in both the 8th and 9th inning and had the bases loaded in the 9th with one out but couldn't push across a run to tie or take the lead. We now have to face the best team in the B1G in Maryland right out of the gate in the tournament. Jessee was the only multi-hit player for IU going 3 for 5. Brehmer gave up the solo homer in the 1st, but that was it before Bothwell replaced him in the 5th and he had a shaky inning eventually giving up the winning run on the WP, but he settled down and pitched really well in the 6th before getting relieved by Sharp who was really good and put them down in order over the last two innings.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

That is a loss you can be proud of as IU battled their butts of but were overwhelmed by the conferences best pitching staff.

Facing Maryland is not ideal, but after that assuming you lose the bracket is not bad at all. Facing the loser between Michigan and Illinois is ideal as both teams are clones of IU with awful pitching and good hitting and can be outscored. IU might need to win a couple 15-12 type games against these two teams (and they are likely to face both of them back to back in some order if they win their first elimination game). IU has a 1% chance of beating Maryland but after that getting to Saturday is no worse than 50-50 and would be a huge accomplishment.

 

[ptrich]

Here is the game recap and the link to the box score. One thing I didn't mention in my summary after the end of the game is we had two more errors tonight which makes for 9 errors in the series.

Baseball Falls in Finale at Iowa - Indiana University Athletics

It was a one-run game in the ninth inning with the bases loaded, but the Indiana baseball team could not scratch across the game-tying run in its 2-1 loss at...

iuhoosiers.com

 

[TomEric4756]

Good to hear IU made the BiG tournament.

Of course let’s hope IU sends MD to the loser’s bracket.