IU makes bold statement

Sophomore catcher Josh Phegley’s four RBIs propelled the IU baseball team (16-22) to a 7-2 victory against the Terre Haute native’s hometown Indiana State Sycamores (12-24) on Wednesday at Sembower Field.\nBut Phegley and Hoosiers did not need the extra incentive of a hometown team or in-state rival – a nine-game losing streak was enough.\n“It was a big win, obviously for me playing the hometown team and some guys I grew up playing with,” said Phegley, who entered Wednesday’s game with a .431 batting average – top in the Big Ten. “But just for our team to come out, play solid and win, it’s good.”\nThe Hoosiers struck first, plating two runs in the first \ntwo innings. \nIndiana State knotted the contest in the top of the fifth as Sycamore third baseman Brian Ramirez drove in two runs with a two-out double.\nBut the Hoosiers quickly responded, crossing the game’s final five runs in the following half-inning, highlighted by a three-run blast from Phegley over the Michigan flag in deep left-center field.\nThis was the first time in nine games the Hoosiers pieced together their hitting, defense \nand pitching.\nTaking care of the pitching effort fell to sophomore Eric Arnett who, on Sunday, pitched two scoreless innings before leaving with a sore arm in a loss to Penn State.\nArnett said his arm felt fine, and his final line backed up his statement. Arnett worked over Sycamore batters for six innings, allowing only four hits and two runs, while striking \nout four.\nHe said he was happy with himself pitching deep into a midweek game, giving other arms a chance to rest while giving the Hoosiers an opportunity to win.\n“It was good to get (Arnett) on track a little bit,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “We got him attacking the zone, and he got some confidence in his fastball, which was something he needed to do.”\nThe Cream and Crimson were errorless on defense, which, for a team with the most errors in the Big Ten and with the worst fielding percentage, is music to a coach’s ear.\n“It’s only one game, so I don’t want to get too excited,” Smith said. “But our problem hasn’t been scoring runs, and the pitching hasn’t been great, but good enough. We just haven’t been picking up the baseball. If we continue to make routine plays, we’ll do fine.”\nShedding the losing streak with an all-around effort could not have come at a better time for the Hoosiers. At 3 p.m. Friday, IU will welcome the Big Ten-leading No. 23 Michigan Wolverines to Bloomington for a four-game series. \n“Our focus this weekend is, ‘Indiana, play as well as Indiana can play,’” Smith said. “If we can do that and Michigan slips up, or whatever, we’re going to beat them.”