Rutgers @ IU, Game 2: IU takes the series with a 12-6 win...

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LHP Ty Bothwell is on the mound for IU with an ERA of 5.37 in 52.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.27 with an OBA of .245. The lineup/batting order is the same as yesterday.

LHP Donovan Zsak is on the mound for Rutgers with an ERA of 4.50 in 18.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.33 with an OBA of .206.

It's 74 and cloudy with the wind out of the SSW at 9 mph and gusts to 18 mph.

1st inning:

T1st:

Bad luck to start the game as the leadoff hitter reached on a double after Taylor lost a high pop up in the sun. A groundout got the first out with the runner taking 3rd.

Bothwell got a big K for two outs and the runner still at 3rd. Bothwell hit a batter to put runners on the corners with two outs. A single then scored a run with runners at 1st and 2nd.

A WP put the runners at 2nd and 3rd and Bothwell then got a K to retire the side with IU giving up a bad luck run.

B1st:

Taylor hit a leadoff homer to tie the game at 1-1. On a full count, Pyne was hit by a pitch to put a runner on and no outs.

Mitchell walked on a full count to put runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs.

Cerny Kd and Pyne was called out trying to steal 3rd and Mercer challenged the call at 3rd, and the call was upheld for two outs and Mitchell still at 1st. Brenczewski grounded out to end the inning.

End of 1st: IU 1 RU 1

 

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2nd inning:

T2nd:

Bothwell faced the bottom of the order. The leadoff hitter reached on a single. A flyout got the first out with the runner holding at 1st.

Bothwell got a K for the 2nd out with the runner at 1st stealing 2nd. A groundout retired the side on a good play by Pyne.

B2nd:

It's the 6 thru 8 hitters up with Stadler leading off. Stadler was hit by a pitch to reach and he was the 2nd IU batter to be hit in the game so far.

Oliver singled to put runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs with Mathison up. Mathison reached on a FC with Oliver out at 2nd and Stadler taking 3rd with one out and runners on the corners.

Sefcik singled to score Stadler and Mathison reaching 3rd to put runners on the corners with one out and the top of the order up in Taylor.

Taylor was having a huge day early on and he tripled to score two runs with still one out.

Pyne Kd looking for the 2nd out. Mitchell hit a two-out RBI single to give IU a 5-1 lead.

Cerny hit a hard liner to LF that was caught to end the inning.

End of 2nd: IU 5 RU 1

 

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3rd inning:

T3rd:

Bothwell faced the 2 thru 4 hitters. The leadoff hitter reached on a single and the leadoff man had reached for three straight innings for Rutgers.

A groundout got the first out with the runner taking 2nd. A foul out to 1B got the 2nd out. Bothwell got a K to retire the side.

B3rd:

It's the 5 thru 7 hitters up with Brenczewski leading off. Rutgers went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Ben Gorski with an ERA of 3.57 in 22,2 IP and a WHIP of 1.10.

Brenczewski singled and then took 2nd on a WP.

Stadler walked on four pitches to put runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs.

Oliver flied out with Brenczewski taking 3rd to put runners on the corners with one out.

Mathison Kd looking for the 2nd out. A diving catch on a Sefcik fly ball ended the inning and IU missed out on a chance to add to the lead.

End of 3rd: IU 5 RU 1

 

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4th inning:

T4th:

Bothwell faced the 6 thru 8 hitters. Bothwell's PC was at 37. For the 4th straight inning, the leadoff hitter has reached for Rutgers with Bothwell walking the batter on a 3-1 count.

A single put runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs. A bunt attempt was popped up to Bothwell for the 1st out and runners still at 1st and 2nd.

A FC got the lead runner at 3rd and two outs with runners at 1st and 2nd with the top of the order up.

Bothwell hit a batter to load the bases with two outs with Rutgers top hitter up in Kuroda-Graue who leads the country in hits. A single to CF scored two runs with runners at 1st and 2nd with two outs.

A ground rule double scored another run to make it 5-4 IU with runners at 2nd and 3rd and three runs scored after two outs.

A fouled pop up finally retired the side.

B4th:

It was the top of the order up with Taylor leading off. Taylor got his 2nd solo homer of the game to make it 6-4 IU.

Pyne doubled to put a man in scoring position with no outs.

A base hit by Mitchell scored Pyne to make it 7-4 IU and a runner at 1st and no outs.

Cerny singled to put runners on 1st and 2nd with Brenczewski up and no outs and that chased the Rutgers pitcher. Rutgers brought in LHP Joe Mazza with an ERA of 6.14 in 22.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.57.

Brenczewski reached on a bunt to load the bases and no outs and Stadler up.

Stadler Kd for the 1st out with the bases still loaded and Oliver up. Oliver Kd for the 2nd out and with the bases loaded and no outs, Stadler and Oliver couldn't put the ball in play.

Mathison Kd on a pitch way outside and Rutgers got three straight strikeouts to prevent IU from possibly breaking this game wide open. IU did add to their lead though with two runs.

End of 4th: IU 7 RU 4

 

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5th inning:

T5th:

Bothwell faced the 5 thru 7 hitters and he was at 60 pitches. For the 5th straight inning, the leadoff hitter for Rutgers had reached with it being a 3-1 walk. Bothwell then hit a batter in the head with the batter on the ground. The batter hit was Hugh Pinkney who is the Rutgers' catcher and he will have to leave the game for concussion tests which is now required.

For the 2nd straight inning, Bothwell had put the first two batters on with no outs. IU went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Drew Buhr with an ERA of 4.50 in 22 IP and a WHIP of 1.41.

A SAC bunt moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd and one out. A groundout scored a run and two outs with a runner at 3rd. A base hit scored another run with two outs and a runner at 1st and the top of the order up.

Another two-out single put runners on the corners and Rutgers was threatening to tie or take the lead in this game.

Mitchell caught a deep fly that he caught with his back to the wall to finally retire the side.

B5th:

It's the 9 thru 2 hitters up for IU with Sefcik leading off. IU went down in order with all three outs made by the SS.

End of 5th: IU 7 Rutgers 6

 

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6th inning:

T6th:

It was the 3 thru 5 hitters up with Buhr back out there. The leadoff hitter for Rutgers was finally out for the first time today on a lineout to Buhr. An infield hit put a runner on with one out.

The runner on 1st stole 2nd with one out. Buhr Kd the next two batters to retire the side.

B6th:

It was the 3 thru 5 hitters up with Mitchell leading off.

Mitchell singled to lead off.

Cerny hit an RBI-double scoring Mitchell from 1st and that chased the Rutgers pitcher. They brought in RHP Sonny Fauci with an ERA of 5.14 in 21.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.48, and he faced Brenczewski.

Brenczewski flied out to LF with Cerny holding at 2nd and one out. A shallow flyout by Stadler resulted in the 2nd out and Cerny still at 2nd. Oliver Kd to end the inning.

End of 6th: IU 8 RU 6

 

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7th inning:

T7th:

Buhr faced the bottom of the order. Mitchell caught a deep fly at the wall for the second time in the game for one out. A groundout got the 2nd out. Cerny made a great play on a liner to retire the side as they went down in order.

B7th:

It was the 8 thru 1 hitters up with Mathison leading off. Mathison flied out near the warning track for the first out. Sefcik, who really struggled at the plate until recently, hit a single to put a runner on and it was his 2nd hit of the game.

A WP moved Sefcik to 2nd with one out and the top of the order up in Taylor. Taylor grounded out for the 2nd out with Sefcik taking 3rd and Pyne up. Pyne Kd to end the inning.

End of 7th: IU 8 RU 6

 

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8th inning:

T8th:

Buhr was back out there to face the top of the order. A grounder to Buhr got the leadoff hitter.

Buhr then got a K for the 2nd out. The next batter doubled to put a runner in scoring position with two outs.

Buhr then got a K to retire the side and IU got through the meat of the Rutgers batting order in this inning.

B8th:

It's the 3 thru 5 hitters up with Mitchell leading off. Mitchell walked on four pitches to put the leadoff hitter on.

Cerny reached on a FC with Mitchell out at 2nd and one out. Brenczewski walked on a 3-1 count to put runners at 1st and 2nd and one out.

With Stadler up, Rutgers went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Sam Portnoy with an ERA of 9.53 in 21.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.76.

Stadler got a huge single to give IU an insurance run with Cerny scoring and Brenczewski taking 3rd to put runners on the corners with one out.

A FC got Oliver at 1st with Brenczewski scoring and Stadler at 2nd and two outs.

Mathison then clubbed a two-run, two-out homer to pretty much put the icing on the cake for IU.

Sefcik grounded out to end the inning.

End of 8th: IU 12 RU 6

 

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9th inning:

Buhr was back out there to close it out and he faced the 5 thru 7 hitters and Buhr put them down in order to end the game.

Final: IU 12 Rutgers 6

 

[TomEric4756]

Big 10 series win … was glad to see the insurance run in the bottom of the 6th … we didn’t let the 1-2-3 “down in order” bottom of the fifth kill the momentum … and then padded the stats with another 4 runs. The only hitter who didn’t score got an RBI. Kudos to Buhr for pitching 4 goose eggs to close out the game, and get the win.

Hope the bats stay hot to get the sweep at 11am Sunday. Maybe the bullpen can pull off another win.

Like the K105 feed …

 

[ptrich]

IU goes for the sweep tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET and the game will be on BTN. IU had a big day at the plate while the pitching was a mixed bag with good pitching early on and also in the late innings but not so good in the 4th and 5th middle innings. While they haven't announced a starter for tomorrow as they go for the sweep, look for Ty Rybarczyk to probably get the start.

IU outhit Rutgers 16 to 11 and IU was 16 for 39 for a team average of .410, while the Scarlet Knights were 11 for 37 for an average of .297. IU hit three more homers to go with the three homers they had yesterday. Rutgers was hitting .315 on the season but they were just .247 in B1G play going into this game. IU had five players with multiple hits.

Taylor - 3 for 5 with a triple and two solo homers for 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored.

Mitchell - 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs and he walked twice.

Cerny - 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI.

Sefcik - 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Brenczewski - 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Mathison - 1 for 5 with a two-run homer.

Pyne had a double, and Stadler and Oliver had an RBI each with all 9 players in the batting order getting at least one hit.

There were no errors in the game.

After using just three pitchers in Game 1, IU used just two pitchers today so they will have a well-rested bullpen for the series final tomorrow. Bothwell pitched well for three innings while giving up one run in the 1st when a fly ball was lost in the sun for a double, but he started to run out of gas beginning with the 4th and to start the 5th inning. He was charged with five runs over those two innings with Buhr entering the game in the 5th with no outs and two runners on. Those two runners in the 5th eventually scored with both charged to Bothwell. After getting out of the 5th with limited damage done, Buhr shut the Scarlet Knights out for the rest of the game.

Bothwell - 4.0 IP, 7 hits to include 2 doubles and 6 earned runs, 4 Ks, 2 BBs, 1 SP, and 2 hit batters.

Buhr - 5.0 IP, 4 hits to include a double and no earned runs, 4 Ks, and no BBs with the rest of his slate clean.

 

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The other results in the B1G for Saturday with all games final except for the suspension of the Iowa/Neb game.

Minn 5 PSU 4

MSU 17 OSU 12

Maryland 9 Illinois 8

Purdue 10 NW 7

Michigan 7 Long Beach St. 5

Neb 8 Iowa 1 (game suspended in the top of the 6th because of bad weather. It will be completed starting at 11 a.m. tomorrow before the scheduled Sunday game.)

 

[Orford]

Buhr pitched well and made up nicely for bothwell off day

 

[rcaulfie]

I was at the game, and the one inning where Burh retired the side but one 3 absolute smashes, I thought he shouldn't come back for the following inning. But he did and put zero's up the rest of the game. I thought they were getting to him.....shows what I know!