IU wins conference opener but drop next 3

So much for riding the momentum.\nAfter winning its Big Ten opener Friday, the IU baseball team dropped its next three games against Michigan State this weekend.\nHoping to split the series with a win Sunday, the Hoosiers came out flat, mustering only one run on six hits in a 6-1 defeat. Junior pitcher Doug Fleenor went seven innings but got some unlucky breaks when his defense wasn’t able to make plays behind him.\nFleenor allowed six runs, only two of them earned, on eight hits.\nThe Spartans wasted no time getting on the board, scoring two runs in the first inning and four more in the fifth.\n“We don’t score runs, we’re not going to win,” IU coach Tracy Smith said after Sunday’s loss. “It really just comes down to executing and competing, and right now we’re not hitting at all.”\nOne bright spot for the Hoosiers came from sophomore Tyler Tufts, an IU pitcher tied for the team lead with three wins. Tufts started in left field, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk while scoring IU’s lone run in the game.\nFollowing the loss, Tufts said he was trying to help his team out while enjoying his first in-game at-bat in two years. He also originally thought Smith’s putting him in the lineup was an April Fools’ joke.\n“First career (college) at-bat, definitely,” Tufts joked after the game. “I was out there with nothing to lose, just having fun.”\nIn Friday’s opener, the Hoosiers started off strong as Tufts, at his usual position, came within one out of a complete game shutout. Down a run in the ninth, the Spartans scored on a throwing error from sophomore right fielder Chris Hervey to tie the game.\nBut IU did not dwell on the defensive misfortune. Junior first baseman Jon Fixler hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 2-1.\n“This is a big win for the team, especially because in the past we’ve had trouble with one-run games,” Fixler said after the win. “It was a great win for our program.”\nFollowing Friday’s late-innings drama, the Hoosiers struggled in Saturday’s doubleheader.\nAfter fighting back from an early deficit, IU found itself down 3-2 in the seventh. In the top half of the inning, Spartan center fielder Dennis Jones hit a three-run bomb to the left that capped the day for Michigan State, as it held on 6-2.\nThe loss snapped IU’s seven-game winning streak.\nIn the second half of the doubleheader, IU dug itself into a hole early. Freshman starter Eric Arnett was rocked for seven runs, six earned, without recording an out.\nDown big, the Hoosiers did claw back into the game, coming within one run. But with Michigan State leading 7-6, the Spartans exploded for five runs in the sixth. The difference proved to be too much as IU fell 12-6 to finish the doubleheader.\n“Michigan State was much more competitive in the box today,” Smith said. “I thought they were much more into the baseball game and coming out here today with something to prove.”\nWith this weekend’s slate of games completed, IU stands at 11-11 and 1-3 in Big Ten play. Next up for the Hoosiers is a midweek game at Ball State. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday.