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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports baseball

Freshman utility man takes advantage of short opportunity

Junior Colby Stretten and freshman Matt Gorski celebrate the Hoosiers’ 12-1 victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Bart Kaufman Field.

Before IU lost the finale of a four-game series against Hawaii, the Hoosiers had won five consecutive games since the second game of the Middle Tennessee series in Bloomington.

Since game two of that opening home series, one player’s brought consistent production to the lineup where players before him struggled: freshman Matt Gorski.

Gorski has seen action in 11 games throughout the season and has started seven of them and got at least one hit in every game he’s started.

However, it was his play against Middle Tennessee that helped spark the 5-2 run the Hoosiers put up against their last two 
opponents.

He relieved senior Austin Cangelosi at first base and in the second spot in the starting lineup for the final two games of the series and went 4-for-8 with three runs scored and three walks. IU won both of those games.

Then the Hoosiers traveled to Hawaii for their series against the Rainbow Warriors, and Gorski started in right field to give junior outfielder Logan Sowers a day of rest.

He went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, one RBI and a walk that scored senior outfielder Alex Krupa to extend their lead to three runs in the seventh inning.

For most utility players, the rest of the series would have included spot appearances in the field with few at-bats left but not for Gorski. He started the next three games in Hawaii.

The freshman played first base for the next three games with Cangelosi at designated hitter, and he totaled a .333 batting average with six runs scored, five RBI, a double and a home run in the series.

“It was kind of a surprise because I didn’t know,” Gorski said about starting in Hawaii. “I just kind of got thrown a first base glove and was told, ‘Hey, you might be starting this weekend.’ It was kind of a surprise, but I felt like I could do it.”

Gorski credited a lot of his success at the plate to batting in the second spot of the lineup behind Krupa — the Big Ten Player of the Week. Krupa batted .533 with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and five runs scored during the six games that Gorski started.

Most plays in which Gorski was involved, Krupa was involved as well, such as Gorski’s walk that drove in Krupa from third in 
game one.

Krupa was on base when Gorski escaped a potential a Hawaii double play in the ninth of game two to score the game-winning run.

Krupa was the runner who scored in game three when Gorski knocked an RBI single to take the lead in the third inning, a lead IU would never surrender.

Krupa was also the runner that scored when Gorski hit an RBI double to tie game four at 4-4 in the fifth inning.

“Hitting behind a dude like Krupa, it’s awesome because you’re always 
getting a (pitcher) in his stretch or a runner on base so you always have RBI opportunities,” Gorski said. “It’s really nice.”

Gorski’s biggest hit came in the first inning of the final game of the series against Hawaii, when the freshman knocked the first home run of his career to left field.

When asked if he’d remember that moment for the rest of his life, he said for sure. But he’d like to stay in the starting lineup.

That decision is in 
Lemonis’ hands.

“He’s been really good in practice but just had to wait his turn a little bit, and now he’s taking advantage of it,” Lemonis said.

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