Indiana baseball played its first of three games in two days against Michigan State on Sunday. With temperature feeling as low as 39 degrees, the Hoosiers battled their way to a 6-4 opening contest win.
Redshirt senior pitcher Gavin Seebold got the nod for the Cream and Crimson in a pivotal game one. For the second time this season, Seebold pitched five innings, giving up just three hits on two earned runs along with three strikeouts and a walk.
Following Michigan State redshirt senior infielder Sam Busch’s RBI single, Seebold retired the final seven batters he faced as he collected two of his three strikeouts in that span.
Despite 17 of the combined 21 hits in the game resulting in singles, run support was plentiful for Seebold. Junior infielder Tyler Cerny collected his 22nd RBI of the season on a single with two outs in the first inning to get it started for the Hoosiers. After falling behind 2-1 in the top of the third, freshman first baseman Jake Hanley evened the game back up with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning.
Hanley’s single kicked off four consecutive innings of scoring as junior left fielder Devin Taylor drove in two runs on a single in the bottom of the fourth to give the Hoosiers their first lead of the afternoon. In the bottom of the fifth with two outs and two strikes on pinch-hitting freshman pitcher and outfielder Caleb Koskie, Cerny made an impact once more by successfully stealing home.
Redshirt sophomore center fielder Korbyn Dickerson tied the Big Ten lead with his 47th RBI of the season with a single in the bottom of the sixth. It was Indiana’s 11th hit in the first six innings of the game as it took a commanding 6-2 lead.
The Spartans got one of those runs back in the top of the seventh inning with senior left-handed pitcher Ryan Kraft on the mound. The run was unearned on senior catcher Jake Stadler’s throwing error. In Kraft’s 11th appearance of the season, he pitched two innings, allowing two hits while striking out two batters.
Indiana took its 6-3 lead into the ninth inning with redshirt sophomore pitcher Jacob Vogel on the mound. With two outs in the inning and a runner on second, Spartans senior catcher Noah Bright hit an RBI double down the first base line to cut the Hoosiers’ lead to two. Michigan State put runners on the corners, however, Vogel found a way out of the inning on a pop fly to Dickerson, as Indiana took game one of the set, 6-4.
The Hoosiers will play a doubleheader at noon and 4 p.m. Monday against the Spartans at Bart Kaufman Field. Both games will be streamed on Big Ten+.
