Hoosiers lose to Indiana State in extra innings

With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, two outs and runners on first and third, the IU baseball team had its chance against Indiana State.\nBut on a set-play, freshman left fielder Sterling Mack was picked off between first and second. As planned, pinch runner David Trager was supposed to break from third for home as Mack intentionally ran himself into a rundown.\n“It’s a set play, but ideally you don’t want to do that,” Smith said. “We were trying to steal a run. (Mack) held and allowed himself to be tagged.”\nFollowing the base-running gaffe, the Sycamores came up to the plate in the top of the 10th inning and quickly put two runs on the board. \nDown 9-7, the Hoosiers went down in order in the bottom of the inning to give Indiana State the win.\nThe loss Tuesday dropped IU to 14-18 on the season.\n“It’s those types of situations where we need to come out and do what we do best and play ball, not make those types of mental errors,” sophomore center fielder Andrew Means said. “Sooner or later, it’s going to get fixed, and we’re going to win some of these games.”\nIn the loss, Means went 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored.\nIn a game that featured four lead changes and two ties, Indiana State took a 5-1 lead after the fourth inning. The Hoosiers took their first lead of the game after they exploded for five runs in the sixth. The offense was capped off by an RBI single from junior first baseman Jon Fixler.\nThe junior finished 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and two doubles. \nAs quickly as IU took the lead, the Sycamores tied the game at 6-6 with a run in the seventh.\nAfter taking the lead on another clutch hit from Fixler, an RBI double, in the eighth to once again go up one run, Smith turned to junior pitcher Chris McCombs to shut the door on Indiana State. McCombs had missed most of the last month with a strained elbow and pitched himself into a jam.\nWith ISU pinch runner Paul Strack on third base, a McCombs wild pitch got away from freshman catcher Josh Phegley, allowing Strack to scamper home and tie the game, all leading up to the Hoosier base-running error in their half of the inning.\n“Everybody thought we had that won, and we kind of let up, let our guard down a bit” Phegley said after the loss. “We have to learn to finish games and play all nine innings. We just let them have that one. It was the little things that beat us.”\nThe Hoosiers will now return to Big Ten action this weekend as they travel to Ohio State for a four-game set with the Buckeyes.\n“We need to get over the hump, and Ohio State’s a great opportunity,” Smith said. “They’re going to come out with a little fire having been swept by Michigan so we have to stand up to them and take some steps forward with this program.”