Buckeyes sweep past IU in 4-game series

The Big Ten road woes continued this weekend for the IU baseball team as Ohio State claimed all four games of the series.\n“This league is too good, nobody’s going to roll over,” IU coach Tracy Smith said after Sunday’s loss. “Everybody’s trying to win, and you have to go out there and pitch to win. The big innings absolutely killed us.”\nAfter being swept by the Buckeyes, IU’s record stands at 14-22 overall and 4-12 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers have now dropped seven in a row and nine of their last 10 games.\nIn Sunday’s finale, sophomore center fielder Andrew Means got things started off with an RBI triple that knocked in freshman second baseman Evan Crawford from second.\nBut in the bottom half of the first, the Buckeyes jumped on junior starter Doug Fleenor to the tune of six runs, four earned, in just two-thirds innings of work. His replacement, freshman Billy Kitchen, did not fare any better, allowing four more runs in 1 1/3 innings.\nStaked to a 10-1 lead after two innings, Buckeyes starter J.B. Shuck did not allow another run. Shuck gave up nine hits but also struck out eight batters.\nThe Hoosiers would score two runs in the ninth to make the final score 11-3.\n“As an offense, we need to go out there and score some more runs,” senior shortstop Keith Haas said. “Sometimes, you get comfortable with an early lead, and then they come back, and we’re down two or three runs. We’ve got to keep playing hard, playing aggressive.”\nIn Friday’s opener, the score was knotted up at three after seven innings, but in the bottom of the eighth the Buckeyes scored three more runs.\nHaas hit an RBI single, his second of the day, to cut the lead to two in the ninth, but junior designated hitter Jon Fixler struck out with two runners on to end the game as the Hoosiers fell 6-4.\nIn the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, IU held a 1-0 lead heading into the fourth inning when Ohio State put up four runs off freshman starter Matt Bashore.\nWith the Hoosiers down 4-1, sophomore right fielder Chris Hervey and freshman catcher Josh Phegley each had RBI singles in the sixth, but it was not enough. Buckeyes closer Jake Hale came in and shut the door to earn the save in Ohio State’s 4-3 win.\nIn the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader, the big inning was the issue again for the Hoosiers. Down 6-3, IU clawed back into the game, scoring two in the sixth and three in the seventh to take a 8-6 lead.\nBut the high-powered Buckeyes lineup scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh capped off by a sacrifice fly from third baseman Tony Kennedy to win the game 9-8.\n“A win would be huge for us right now,” freshman outfielder Brian Lambert said.