Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

sports baseball

Hoosiers sweep Maryland, move into 7th in the Big Ten

Hoosiers shortstop Nick Ramos throws from second base to turn a double play during the bottom of the sixth in the game at Maryland on May 3.

The Hoosiers knew they needed a big weekend.

When senior closer Ryan Halstead struck out Jamal Wade on a breaking ball in the dirt Sunday, IU got just that.

The strikeout finalized a 6-2 win and a Hoosier sweep at Maryland, moving IU from ninth in the Big Ten — out of the conference tournament — to seventh in the standings and in the conference tournament.

IU won the first game Friday 6-5 and Saturday’s game 13-2.

“Our energy level’s really improved over the last couple games,” junior shortstop Nick Ramos said. “I feel like we know what’s at stake, and I feel like this is the time where we have to get it going and a lot of the guys realize that.”

Ramos hit in the second spot in the lineup for the first time this season, going 6-for-15 while scoring five runs and driving in two other Hoosiers.

Ramos said he was seeing the ball well all weekend. In Saturday’s win, Ramos had three doubles, one less than the entire Hoosier team all weekend and two more than all of Maryland.

IU Coach Chris Lemonis said he recognizes the statistical effect Ramos had, but said he thinks him simply being in the lineup, in the No. 2 spot, had a bigger effect.

Lemonis said Ramos’ insertion into the No. 2 spot allowed other batters to move into spots in the lineup where they were more ?comfortable.

Another area where Ramos had an effect that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet was in the field. Not only did he not make an error all weekend, but Ramos made plays in the field Lemonis said the Hoosiers haven’t been making all season.

“He had a great weekend offensively, which he can do, but he made some great plays all weekend that we weren’t making earlier in the year,” Lemonis said.

The Hoosiers had a good weekend offensively as a team, something they haven’t had in a long time.

Senior second baseman Casey Rodrigue didn’t attribute the turnaround to one particular moment or one instance where the team’s culture changed.

Rather, it was simply a group of people collectively realizing what needed to ?be done.

“We wanted it more than they did this weekend,” ?Rodrigue said.

Lemonis agreed on where IU’s turnaround came from.

“We got beat up a little bit and lost our mojo a little bit, and hopefully we got that back,” Lemonis said. “It isn’t an inspirational story or anything, it’s just a good ball club, and hopefully we can keep playing good baseball.”

The most important thing, Lemonis said, is that IU continues to play like it did this weekend and does not ?regress like it has in the past.

There have been moments where IU has appeared to turn things around and break out of its funk.

But it’s always regressed. After a sweep of Rutgers in early April, IU lost its next four games.

After beating Michigan State 6-1 on April 21 in what Lemonis called one of the most complete games IU has played this season, the Hoosiers lost their next four games.

The key for keeping the momentum going is taking care of business at the plate.

“A big thing for us that we didn’t do in the last couple weeks was we drove in a lot of runs and a lot of two-out runs,” Lemonis said. “That takes a lot of pressure off us.”

IU needs to keep this focus at the plate and everywhere else on the field, Rodrigue said.

The Hoosiers need to make this weekend count.

“It can’t be just this one weekend and then we fold the next two weekends,” Rodrigue said. “We have to keep it up and keep our energy level up and keep our focus level up, or this is all for naught.”

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe