Indiana baseball went undefeated this past weekend in Cary, North Carolina, in the USA Round Robin, moving the Hoosiers to 3-4 on the season. It was a full weekend of baseball for Indiana, which faced off against Fordham University, Harvard University and Northwestern after going winless to start the season.
Saturday vs. Fordham
It was a matchup between two teams looking for their first wins of the season, as the Rams and Hoosiers met Saturday. Redshirt senior pitcher Gavin Seebold got the Hoosiers’ nod for the opening game following his first start of the season Feb. 14, which resulted in a loss against the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Like his game against Las Vegas, Seebold had a slow start to the game in the first inning, giving up one earned run following a lead-off walk and single from the Rams. Over his next five innings of work, Seebold struck out seven batters and gave up just one hit, leading the Hoosiers to a dominating 15-2 win.
The duo of redshirt sophomores Joey Brenczewski, who has been the Hoosier’s designated hitter, and outfielder Korbyn Dickerson, a transfer from the University of Louisville, stayed hot in game five of the season. They went a combined 4-9 against Fordham, with Dickerson slugging a two-run shot that scored Brenczewski. Those were two of Dickerson’s four RBIs against the Rams.
Brenczewski and Dickerson were two of four players with multiple hits in the ballgame as senior shortstop Tyler Cerny and senior catcher Jake Stadler both collected a couple of hits. The Hoosiers finished with 12 hits in the game along with 14 walks.
Sunday vs. Harvard
The bats stayed hot in the second game of the round robin as the Hoosiers turned to graduate student pitcher Cole Gilley. After striking out 11 batters in his 5 1/3 innings of work against Xavier University on Feb. 15, Gilley did much of the same against the Crimson. In five innings of pitching, Gilley struck out seven batters, allowing just four hits and two earned runs on a two-run home run hit by Harvard senior infielder George Cooper in the fifth inning.
Even with Gilley’s stellar performance, the Hoosiers’ offense stole the show, scoring 14 runs on 11 hits on their way to a 14-4 victory.
While Brenczewski and Dickerson had scorching hot starts to their seasons, junior outfielder Devin Taylor looked to break out. He did so by crushing his first home run of the season, collecting four RBIs in a 3-4 showing, finishing just a single shy of the cycle.
It didn’t help the Crimson that Dickerson hit his third home run in as many games while also collecting five RBIs. It was the third-straight game Dickerson had three or more RBIs, which moved his total to 12 in three games.
Jackson Yarberry, a sophomore transfer from Saint Louis University, looked solid in his four innings of pitching this season, giving up just one earned run. He entered in the ninth inning in a game that was essentially over, giving up just one hit and striking out a batter. He now has seven strikeouts in his two appearances on the season.
Monday vs. Northwestern
A team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2000, Northwestern entered its Monday matchup against the Hoosiers on a five-game winning streak after losing its opening game to Long Beach State University on Feb. 14. Northwestern knocked off Harvard on Saturday before beating Fordham twice Sunday.
The Wildcats started up 2-0 on Indiana on a sacrifice fly in the first inning from graduate student utility player Tyler Ganus, followed by a ground out from sophomore infielder Ryan Kucherak that scored a run in the second.
That would be the end of the road for Indiana starting pitcher Pete Haas, as he was pulled in favor of graduate student Drew Buhr. Haas, a redshirt junior, also pitched against Oregon State University on Feb. 16, when he gave up six hits and four runs across three innings.
The Hoosiers scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double off the bat of freshman infielder Jake Hanley. He now has a hit in all seven games he has played this season, hitting .333 on the year.
The game stood still for a few innings with both bullpens controlling the opponents’ offense. Buhr was getting it done on the mound across four innings for Indiana, allowing three hits, two walks and a strikeout. As for Northwestern, it was freshman left-hander Alex Grant who was slowing the Hoosiers down, striking out five batters in his three innings pitched.
The stalemate was broken up by none other than Dickerson, who drove in Brenczewski in the bottom of the seventh for his 13th RBI of the season, knotting the game up at 2. Brenczewski came to the plate the very next inning with two runners on base and two outs before hitting an infield single that scored freshman infielder Will Moore to give the Hoosiers the lead.
All felt well for Indiana with freshman Henry Brummel making his second career appearance before the Wildcats tied the game up at 3 on a base hit from junior outfielder Jack Lausch.
Lausch, a two-sport athlete, gave the Hoosiers trouble in October on the football field with 277 total yards and two passing touchdowns. He again faced off against the Hoosiers Monday, hitting the game-tying single in the top of the ninth Monday.
With Dickerson leading off the bottom of the ninth and sophomore outfielder Andrew Wiggins, who already had three hits in the game, right behind him, the Hoosiers were preparing to score in their third-straight inning. Dickerson picked up his third hit of the game, the fourth straight game he’s done so, before Wiggins found a way on base with a walk.
Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer turned to sophomore catcher TJ Schuyler, who was a combined 0-20 in his career. There was no better time for Schuyler to pick up his first career hit, which he did, scoring Dickerson and moving the Hoosiers to 3-0 on the weekend with a 4-3 win.
Looking to get back to .500 on the season, Indiana now turns to its home opener at 2 p.m. Wednesday against Xavier, which it lost to 8-6 in 10 innings on Feb. 15.
