Hoosiers sweep shortened road series

The IU club baseball team opened its season with a rain-shortened series sweep against the Clemson Tiger club team last weekend, winning two games Saturday. \nGame three, which was scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled due to inclement weather.\nGame one came down to the seventh inning before the Hoosiers could stage a comeback. They scored five runs, all before an out was recorded, and captured a 10-9 victory. \nThe Hoosiers went down 8-5 in the fourth inning following a Clemson three-run homerun, but managed to stay in the game behind a strong relief pitching performance from freshman Frank Rizzo, giving them the opportunity to make their seventh-inning comeback. \nThe seventh inning rally was led by sophomore outfielder Chris Hollins, who hit a two-run single, giving the Hoosiers a 9-8 lead. Catcher Matt Ostrega added to the lead, knocking in Hollins.\nIU gave up a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but held on for the win.\nIn game two, the Hoosier batters carried their momentum from game one and the Hoosiers cruised to a 17-7 victory behind a 4-for-6 effort from Ostrega at the plate. Ostrega smacked two doubles and a home run. Freshman pitcher Mike Yonke led IU to victory from the mound. \n“The offense was firing on all cylinders from the get go,” Ostrega said. “I think we surprised Clemson. They came in 2-1, already havin g played three games. They were surprised how good we came out. I’m not going to lie, I was surprised how hot our bats were.” \nThe Hoosiers upcoming weekend series against Ball State has been canceled due to weather. They are scheduled to play next Wednesday, March 7, against Rose Hulman in Terre Haute.