No. 6 seeded IU lost to No. 3 seeded Minnesota 5-4 at Bart Kaufman Field in the opening game of the 2017 Big Ten Tournament Wednesday.
IU Coach Chris Lemonis came into the tournament with 99 career wins, all with the Hoosiers.
For most of Wednesday’s game it looked as if he was going to capture his 100th win as his team held a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
A home run by Minnesota left fielder Jordan Kozicky scored two runs for the Golden Gophers just a half inning after the Hoosiers extended their lead. Lemonis said he thought his team played well for the first five innings until Kozicky’s 2-run homer.
“It’s a tough game to lose when you come up on the bottom side of that one,” Lemonis said. “Once Minnesota responded, we didn’t play so well through the last couple of innings, but you have to tip your cap to those guys for what they did.”
The Gophers cut the lead to one run in the fifth with Kozicky’s home run, a play that Minnesota coach John Anderson said changed the game.
“Momentum came back on our side after that,” Anderson said. “I knew we were going to need a big hit and he delivered. That really got us back in the game. The turnaround that inning was huge.”
Minnesota went on to score one run in the sixth to tie the game on a sacrifice fly to center field. A single by shortstop Terrin Vavra scored a runner a gave the Golden Gophers their first lead of the contest in the bottom of the seventh. Minnesota was able to hold onto that lead through the closing innings.
“For me, it was a heck of a ball game,” Anderson said. “We went down 4-1 and then our kids responded. I thought it was an excellent team effort by our guys.”
Lemonis said he thought the Hoosiers were close to breaking the game open in the fifth after senior centerfielder Craig Dedelow hit a solo shot in the fourth inning. Sophomore Matt Lloyd added two runs with a double in the fifth before Minnesota responded with two runs of their own.
The Hoosiers put the pressure back on the Gophers in the sixth after sophomore infielder Luke Miller singled and advanced to third a couple batters later via two bunts that moved him along. With Miller on third, Minnesota made a mound change bringing in pitcher Fred Manke.
“We were in a tough situation,” Anderson said. “We brought Manke in from the bullpen. On the first pitch, it was a fly ball to the outfield and we got a double play. It’s all about executing pitches and making plays.”
Miller attempted to tag up on the catch and run home to score, but was called out for not waiting until the ball was caught. Miller said he thought he left at the right time, but Minnesota third basemen Micah Coffey disagreed. Coffey was the one who appealed for the umpires to make the controversial call.
“It was a big out for us,” Coffey said. “That’s just one of the responsibilities I have at third base. It was just one of those situation you’re able to recognize and it pays off.”
Lemonis was also a little upset with the call that disallowed IU another run. He said it was a disappointing play in the game because Minnesota wasn’t even making a play at the plate.
“I thought he tagged when it was caught and scored,” Lemonis said. “I guess everyone has their opinions, but I’m not agreeing.”
After that out, Minnesota went on to score a game-tying run in the sixth and the go-ahead run in the seventh. Manke was able to shut down IU until he gave the ball up in the eighth to the closer, Brian Glowicki.
The Hoosiers failed to score off of either pitcher after getting off to a hot start in the first few innings. Miller said part of it was due to the difference in pitching styles later in the game.
“I think it just messed up our timing a little bit,” Miller said. “He threw a little more off speed and we were getting out in front of it. Staying more relaxed would have been better.”
Lemonis said this has been the case with his team all year long and even though this loss is frustrating, he said his guys will definitely be ready to bounce back in their second game.
“We’ve been a little up and down at times, but we’ve played really well at times too,” Lemonis said. “We have to show up tomorrow at 10 a.m. I think we’ll show up and get after it because we’re playing good baseball.”
Lemonis announced after the game that sophomore pitcher Pauly Milto will be on the mound for tomorrow’s game. The Hoosiers will match up against the No. 2 seeded Michigan Wolverines.
IU defeated Michigan in a regular season series about a month ago. The Hoosiers traveled to Ann Arbor and collected the first two games of the series before dropping the final one. The Wolverines outscored them 21-18 in runs though.
Indiana will have and long road to get out of the loser’s bracket and back into contention to win the championship. If the Hoosiers win Thursday, they will play again on Friday in one of the two games being played that day.
IU would play the loser of Thursday’s game between No. 3 Minnesota and No. 7 Northwestern. A possible rematch with the Golden Gophers would take place at 1 p.m. on Friday if both teams were to wind up there.
Saturday’s games consist of matchups between the unbeaten teams in each bracket against the winning teams from both loser’s brackets. The championship game will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
