Redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning during Indiana’s rubber match Sunday against Maryland and ripped a monster home run over the wall at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington.
That home run gave the Hoosiers a lead they never relinquished en route to a rubber match victory. Dickerson’s weekend performance, along with Indiana’s explosive offense, propelled Indiana to a 2-1 series victory over Maryland.
However, in the first game of the series, Indiana’s play started out less than impressive. The Hoosiers found themselves in a 6-1 hole in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Thanks to a dramatic comeback in the next two innings, though, the Hoosiers pulled through and took the first game of the series. Following a flurry of runs, including Dickerson’s key RBI single, Indiana tied the game heading into the ninth inning.
From there, freshman infielder Will Moore connected on an RBI single of his own to walk it off for Indiana, giving it the 7-6 win.
In the second game of the series, Maryland made sure it would not be a repeat of the first. The Terrapins dominated Saturday’s contest, which featured a half-hour rain delay in the middle of the third inning. Indiana was down 14-1 when the rain started to come down.
After play resumed, junior outfielder Devin Taylor rewrote the record books with his 48th home run of his career, breaking the record for most home runs in program history.
However, Taylor’s home run was as good as it got for the Hoosiers in the second game of the series. Maryland won 17-4, tying the series and setting up a rubber match on Easter Sunday.
Despite Saturday’s loss, Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer was proud of Taylor and the hard work he put in to achieve such a historical accomplishment.
“Just an incredible achievement of consistent great play,” Mercer said postgame. “You just not only have to be right for a short period of time, but for a season. You have to be right for a long time.”
In the third and final game, the scoring took a bit to kick into gear, as both teams were knotted at three runs apiece in the top of the sixth inning.
Once the inning flipped, though, Dickerson and Indiana’s offense got hot in a hurry. Dickerson launched his second home run of the weekend to put the Hoosiers up 5-3. Freshman infielder Jake Hanley and junior infielder Tyler Cerny each came up and hit home runs themselves as Indiana led by five runs.
Maryland put up two more runs, but Dickerson then connected on an RBI single and brought in another run to put Indiana up 9-5. Maryland didn’t score again, as Indiana put up another six runs over the next two innings, punctuated by Taylor’s three-run home run to give the Hoosiers the 15-5 win in eight innings.
In a season full of excellent performances, Dickerson added yet another to his resume. He combined for seven hits, six total RBIs and two home runs in the weekend set. Following the game, he credited the team for their mindset and game plan offensively.
“We just had a really good approach going into the game,” Dickerson said. “We had a game plan, and we stuck to it. It’s always big for us, I think, just sticking to our approach. The swings are there, the talent’s there, we just have to stick to our approach.”
The pitching staff was also solid in the third game. Graduate student starter right-hander Ben Grable lasted four innings and only gave up three hits and one earned run. Sophomore left-hander Ryan Rushing entered in relief and did not give up a single hit, while only allowing Maryland one earned run.
Similarly, Indiana’s offense performed well over the three games. The Hoosiers racked up 34 total hits, including 17 in the rubber match. They also put up nine home runs and, saved for the second game, the Maryland defense could not consistently stop Indiana’s offense.
Indiana will be back in action at 6 p.m. Wednesday when it takes on Ball State University at Victory Field in Indianapolis. The game will stream on Big Ten+.
