Indiana baseball’s offense was firing on all cylinders Sunday as it dominated Ohio State en route to a 14-3 win and a series sweep over the Buckeyes.
Redshirt sophomore center fielder Korbyn Dickerson and junior left fielder Devin Taylor were once again critical pieces to the Hoosiers’ success over the Buckeyes. Taylor got the scoring started on a fielding error in the bottom of the first inning to give Indiana an early lead. He then connected on a two-RBI single in the bottom of the second to extend the lead.
Dickerson, meanwhile, picked up his first RBI of the game on a single during the bottom of the second to increase Indiana’s lead to 6-0. Ohio State managed to pick up a few runs later on, and it looked as if the Buckeyes were beginning to gather a spark of momentum thanks to junior catcher Matthew Graveline’s two-run home run. But Dickerson launched a three-run home run of his own beyond the wall at Bart Kaufman Field in the bottom of the fifth inning to increase the Hoosiers’ lead to 12-3. From there, Indiana never looked back.
Indiana ultimately took home the 14-3 victory to officially clinch the three-game series sweep over Ohio State. It seemed like everyone got in on the action offensively for the Hoosiers in the series finale, as they put up 12 RBIs on 14 total hits.
“Today was a vision, a little bit, of what we had in mind, trying to be more diverse as an offense,” Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer said postgame Sunday. “For us offensively, we’ve got to be diverse, we’ve got to be able to run the bases, we have to show bunt and be able to execute the bunt to really play to somebody else’s weakness.”
And for all the talk about the offensive firepower, the pitching staff came up huge with a standout performance. Starter Deron Swanson pitched just over three innings, but the senior only gave up two earned runs and retired seven batters. Redshirt senior Gavin Seebold and redshirt junior Grant Holderfield each came in in relief and combined for just one earned run and five strikeouts.
“I’m not too concerned with the role I have as long as I can help the team out,” Holderfield said. “But I’ve been in situations over my career, I’m not scared to come in in any role, and I’m doing whatever I can to get the team in the dugout.”
The pitching rotation struck out 12 Ohio State batters and only gave up three runs all game. The pitching, which had gotten off to an inconsistent start over the course of the season, did an excellent job of silencing the Ohio State offense Sunday.
“In the past, we just wanted to play to our strength all the time,” Mercer said. “And that’s fine when it’s working, but when it’s not, you just can’t be a one-trick pony. And that was the vision for us to create a more well-rounded group and we did that. And we’ve done that.”
However, another vitally important aspect of the victory was freshman catcher Hogan Denny’s play, as he served as the designated hitter in this game. Denny tacked on three RBIs, just shy of Taylor’s leading number of four. Denny also slammed the door on the Buckeyes for good with his two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth that brought the game to its final score of 14-3.
Denny has taken on a large role in his first season with Indiana baseball. The Indianapolis native and former Mooresville High School star has hit .270 so far this season. He hit his third home run of the season Sunday and brought his RBI total up to nine. He has carved a spot in the lineup for himself and it’s clear he’s just getting started in Bloomington.
Indiana improved to 11-9 on the season with the series sweep and 4-2 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers also won their fourth consecutive game with Sunday’s victory over the Buckeyes.
Indiana will be back in action against Evansville University at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington. The game will stream on Big Ten+.
