IU traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, in a three-game series against Samford after tying Florida Atlantic in their last weekend series, 1-1-1.
IU was finally able to get the bats going, as it scored at least one run in five of nine innings on its way to a 10-5 victory Friday.
In a series where IU Coach Chris Lemonis and senior outfielder Craig Dedelow both said they were looking for increased offensive performance, IU jumped out to a quick lead against Samford’s ace sophomore Jesse McCord.
Dedelow hit his fourth home run of the season with two outs in the first inning, and the Hoosiers tacked on four more 2-out runs.
IU batted all the way through its lineup in the top of the first inning, including runs batted in by junior outfielder Logan Sowers, senior infielder Tony Butler and freshman shortstop Jeremy Houston.
Sowers, who was batting .129 coming into the game, added a second inning solo home run, and by the fourth inning, the Hoosiers’ lead had grown to 7-0.
But with his pitch count rising, IU sophomore pitcher Tim Herrin surrendered three hits and an earned run in the fifth inning before he was replaced by junior Kade Kryzsko.
Kryzsko allowed one of his inherited runners to score on a bases-loaded walk and then allowed another to score on a wild pitch. Kryzsko didn’t make it out of the inning before being replaced by junior BJ Sabol. Sabol allowed another run to score on a single, and the Bulldogs ended the inning with four runs on the scoreboard.
With another Samford run added in the sixth inning, IU saw its seven-run lead dwindle to two, as Samford pulled the score to 7-5.
Sabol continued for three more innings, finishing his day with 3.2 innings pitched, three hits allowed and five strikeouts.
While Sabol tied down the Bulldogs, the Hoosiers added two more in the eight and ninth innings, thanks in large part to a two-run double from sophomore infielder Matt Lloyd.
Sophomore pitcher Pauly Milto closed out the ninth inning, and IU survived Samford’s near-comeback.
Dedelow finished the game with a home run, a triple, a single, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, two runs scored and an RBI. Sowers finished with a home run, a double, two runs scored and two runs batted in.
Herrin, who started in place of sophomore ace Jonathan Stiever to give the pitcher rest, finished the day with 4.1 innings pitched, five hits allowed, three earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts.
The Hoosiers pushed their record to 4-4-1 with two games remaining in the series. IU plays Samford again on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Taylor Lehman
