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Live Game Thread: Indiana vs. Illinois

MatthewByrne5

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Mar 10, 2021
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Starting Lineups:

IU:


1. LF Drew Ashley
2. CF Grant Richardson
3. 3B Cole Barr
4. 1B Kip Fougerousse
5. RF Morgan Colopy
6. DH Jordan Fucci
7. C Jacob Southern
8. 2B James Espalin
9. SS Jeremy Houston

SP: LHP Ty Bothwell

ILL:

1. CF Taylor Jackson
2. 3B Jackson Raper
3. SS Branden Comia
4. DH Justin Janas
5. RF Cam McDonald
6. 1B Kellen Sarver
7. C Jacob Campbell
8. LF Nathan Aide
9. 2B Cal Hejza

SP: RHP Clayton Johnson
 
T1:

Jackson and Raper struck out swinging for the first two outs. Comia then walked and attempted to steal second base. He had the bag easily stolen but overslid and was tagged for the final out of the frame.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B1 --> The game is tied 0-0.

Due Up:

1. Ashley
2. Richardson
3. Barr
 
B1:

Ashley led off and grounded out to third base. Richardson then struck out swinging for the second out. Barr and Fougerousse both walked, but Colopy hit a ground ball to Illinois's shortstop, who flipped to second to end the inning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T2 --> The game is tied 0-0.

Due Up:

4. Janas
5. McDonald
6. Sarver
 
Here's hoping we get a really good game out of Bothwell. Illinois is a really good hitting team and is in 3rd place in the B1G in hitting. With the exception of their 9th hitter, there is not an easy out in the bottom of their order. Their hitters in the 6 through 9 order are hitting .279, .287, .292, and .200. Our hitters in the same batting order today are hitting .230, .125, .158, and .229.
 
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Was hoping this game would be on BTN. Instead, it's Illinois football classic and Campus Eats - Pizza edition!
 
Was hoping this game would be on BTN. Instead, it's Illinois football classic and Campus Eats - Pizza edition!
Yeah it would have been nice, but I don't recall the BTN picking up a make-up game ever. However, I could be wrong on that.
 
T2:

Illinois takes a 2-0 lead.

Janas led off and doubled down the left-field line. McDonald struck out swinging for the first out. Next up to bat, Sarver hit a ground ball to Houston that went under his glove for an error. Janas moved to third on the ground ball and scored on the fielding error. Campbell struck out swinging for the second out. Aide then singled to right-center and Sarver went to third. Hejza then bunted down the third baseline and was safe at first, allowing the inning to continue and Sarver scored from third to extend the lead to 2-0. Jackson then popped out to 2B Espalin in shallow center.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B2 --> Illinois leads 2-0.

Due Up:


6. Fucci
7. Southern
8. Espalin
 
We get ourselves in a early two-run hole because of two unearned runs caused by the Houston error at short. We could have been out of the inning with no damage done. We absolutely can't afford to lose to this team, and I assume the team knows that, but the Illini are not going to come in here and lie down for us.
 
B2:

Indiana strands two runners in scoring position.

Fucci led off and fouled out to the catcher. Southern then walked and Espalin struck out swinging for the second out. Houston singled through the left side and Southern went to second, putting two runners on. Both runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, but Ashley flied out to center field to end the second inning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T3 --> Illinois leads 2-0.

Due Up:

2. Raper
3. Comia
4. Janas
 
T3:

Illinois strands two runners on base.

Raper struck out looking and Comia struck out swinging for the first two outs. A pitch then hit Janas and McDonald walked, putting runners on first and second. However, Sarver struck out looking to end the frame.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B3 --> Illinois leads 2-0.

Due Up:

2. Richardson
3. Barr
4. Fougerousse
 
B3:

LHP Payton Hutchings replaced RHP Clayton Johnson (ILL)

Indiana scores one and then strands a runner in scoring position.

Richardson struck out swinging and Barr fouled out to the catcher for the first two outs. Fougerousse then singled to right field and scored after Colopy doubled to left-center to cut Illinois's lead in half 2-1. Fucci then struck out swinging to end the frame.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T4 --> Illinois leads 2-1.

Due Up:

7. Campbell
8. Aide
9. Hejza
 
T4:

RHP John Modugno replaced LHP Ty Bothwell

Illinois goes down 1-2-3.

Campbell grounded out to short, Aide struck out swinging and Hejza also grounded out to short.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B4 --> Illinois leads 2-1.

Due Up:

7. Southern
8. Espalin
9. Houston
 
B4:

Southern singled to right-center field and Espalin singled to center, putting runners on first and second. Houston then bunted down the third baseline and was called out at first but looked safe. Regardless, Southern and Espalin advanced to third and second respectively on the sac bunt.

RHP Grant Leader replaced LHP Payton Hutchings (ILL)

A pitch hit Ashley, which loaded up the bases with one out. Richardson then hit a sacrifice fly to center field and Southern tagged from third, scoring to tie the game 2-2. Barr struck out swinging to end the inning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T5 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

1. Jackson
2. Raper
3. Comia
 
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We had a big opportunity for a huge inning in the 4th, but at least we tied it, to start all over again after handing them the two runs earlier.
 
T5:

Another 1-2-3 inning for Modugno.

Jackson grounded out to third base, Raper grounded out to second and Comia struck out looking.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B5 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

4. Fougerousse
5. Colopy
6. Fucci
 
B5:

Fougerousse led off the inning with a single to right field, but Colopy, Fucci and Southern all struck out swinging to end the inning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T6 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

4. Janas
5. McDonald
6. Sarver
 
T6:

Janas flied out to right field and Colopy made a great running catch toward the wall. McDonald then struck out swinging and Sarver drew a two-out walk. However, Campbell struck out swinging for the final out of the frame.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B6 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

8. Espalin
9. Houston
1. Ashley
 
B6:

Indiana is retired 1-2-3.

Espalin struck out swinging, Houston struck out looking and Ashley grounded out to shortstop.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T7 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

8. Aide
9. Hejza
1. Jackson
 
T7:

RHP Grant Macciocchi replaced RHP John Modugno

Aide led off and grounded out to shortstop. Hejza then walked, but next up to bat, Jackson, grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B7 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

2. Richardson
3. Barr
4. Fougerousse
 
B7:

Richardson led off and hit an extremely hard comebacker back at Illinois's pitcher Leader and there was no play to be made, so Richardson reached safely. The comebacker resulted in Leader being taken out of the game.

RHP Aidan Maldonado replaced RHP Grant Leader

Barr grounded out to third and Richardson moved to second base. Next up to bat, Fougerousse also grounded out to third and then Colopy struck out swinging to end the inning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T8 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

2. Raper
3. Comia
4. Janas
 
The bottom of the order has had a decent day at the plate, and we are going to need for them come through in the 8th.
 
T8:

Raper struck out swinging and Comia grounded out to Macciocchi for the first two outs. Janas then singled up the middle, but McDonald grounded out to second base.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B8 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

6. Fucci
7. Southern
8. Espalin
 
Come on boys, let's score some runs and end this thing in the top of the next inning.
 
Another scoring opportunity out the window. We have stranded 10 runners on the game so far.
 
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B8:

RHP Ty Rybarczyk replaced RHP Aidan Maldonado (ILL)

Fucci led off and singled through the right side. Murrison then pinch-ran on the basepaths for Fucci. Southern struck out swinging for the first out. Murrison then stole second, but slid hard and appeared to be holding his left shoulder after the play. Whalen replaced Murrison on the basepaths and moved to third after Espalin grounded out to second base. Houston then flied out to right-center to end the inning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T9 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

6. Sarver
7. Campbell
8. Aide
 
T9:

1-2-3 inning for Macciocchi.

Sarver struck out looking, but tossed his bat, expecting it to be a walk. Instead, he had to walk back to the dugout. Campbell then struck out swinging and Aide struck out looking, then yelling frustration.

Coming up is the bottom of the last inning for the Hoosiers—a good opportunity to walk it off with the top of the lineup coming up to bat.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B9 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:

1. Ashley
2. Richardson
3. Barr
 
We get the leadoff batter on in the 9th, and then we go down 1-2-3. What a bummer. Those two unearned runs we gave up because of the error in the 2nd, continues to hang over our heads.
 
B9:

RHP Jack Crowder replaced RHP Ty Rybarczyk

A pitch hit Ashley to put the leadoff man on, but Richardson flied out to center, Barr struck out swinging and Fougerousse grounded out to short to end the inning.

We are going to extras.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into T10 --> The game is tied 2-2.

Due Up:


9. Hejza
1. Jackson
2. Raper
 
T10: Mid-Inning Update

RHP Reese Sharp replaced RHP Grant Macciocchi

Hejza struck out looking, but Jackson hit a solo home run to left field to regain a 3-2 lead.
 
Last edited:
T10:

Raper struck out swinging and Comia flied out to center field to end the frame.

We go to the bottom of the 10th --> Last chance for IU.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heading into B10 --> Illinois leads 3-2.

Due Up:

5. Colopy
6. Whalen
7. Southern
 
I just had that feeling that the longer we allowed this game to stay at 2-2, that something bad was going to happen to us. Now we are between a rock and a hard place in the B10th, and we are through most of our better hitters.
 
B10:

LHP Cole Kirschsieper replaced RHP Jack Crowder

Colopy singled through the right side and then Whalen struck out swinging. Colopy moved into scoring position on a passed ball, but Southern flied to right-center and pinch hitter Skrine struck out swinging.

IU loses 3-2 and now falls 1.5 games behind first-place Nebraska.
 
A really bad loss. I'm still steaming over those two unearned runs we gave up in the 2nd, and we had plenty of opportunities to score after we tied the game, but couldn't get a clutch hit. We not only fell farther behind Nebraska, but we are now in 3rd place behind Michigan, and we are ahead of Maryland in the loss column by one game while tied with them in wins. We have lost 3 of 4 games now, and a bad or so-so showing in the pod we host this weekend just might sink our post-season hopes. We have had a problem at the shortstop position all season long and that is an area we need to shore up in the off-season maybe by finding a grad transfer or a JC player that can provide immediate help there. Maybe there are others that disagree with this, but that is my opinion on it.
 
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We're going to dick around and miss the postseason if we don't get this back on track
Why bat skrine last chance for espalin (who btw was a top ranked SS prospect) when you have toetz with many more at bats and an average above 0?
 
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Why bat skrine last chance for espalin (who btw was a top ranked SS prospect) when you have toetz with many more at bats and an average above 0?
Yeah, I was kind of surprised by that since Skrine had just five at-bats and no hits on the season. Espalin is just a freshman and maybe this season is a learning experience for him and better things will come later. However, there has to be some concern over this position after the season is over with. He played 2nd base today, and there were no issues. Like I said in a another post, it's just my opinion, and maybe Mercer and his staff see it differently. I'm not in charge, so I guess it's easy for me to be critical from my easy chair at home.
 
Yeah, I was kind of surprised by that since Skrine had just five at-bats and no hits on the season. Espalin is just a freshman and maybe this season is a learning experience for him and better things will come later. However, there has to be some concern over this position after the season is over with. He played 2nd base today, and there were no issues. Like I said in a another post, it's just my opinion, and maybe Mercer and his staff see it differently. I'm not in charge, so I guess it's easy for me to be critical from my easy chair at home.
Didn't really think about that aspect of it. I was just happy about the change at 2nd.
 
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Our middle infielders have cost us all year. Toetz, at least, has been a threat at the plate.

I’ve pulled for Houston to clean up the sloppy play and become a .250 hitter, but neither of those have happened in 5 (6?) years. He seems to have the talent, but it has rarely surfaced. I’d hate to think the freshman SS is headed down the same path.

There are a lot of times I can’t quite figure out what the staff is trying to do on offense. Rarely running. Rarely bunting. Rarely much of anything that puts pressure on the defense. It’s weird. Running the inexperienced guys out there tonight is another example.

Bad loss at a terrible time. They need to snap out of it. Pronto.
 
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