The clock struck midnight ending the IU baseball teams Cinderella run as the Hoosiers fell 11-7 to rival Purdue.
A month ago the Hoosiers were in the dumps. They were tied for last in the Big Ten needing the storybook run they have since written just to make the conference tournament.
In their final regular season series IU rallied and swept Michigan State on the road en route to climbing into the sixth and final spot of the tournament.
After day one it looked like their stay in Ann Harbor, Mich. was going to be a short one when they lost their first round game to Penn State. But with the double-elimination set-up of the tournament, the Hoosiers weren't quite done.
IU again picked itself up and refused to let its season end. The Hoosiers defeated Ohio State, Illinois and then Penn State last night with late-inning heroics from Tyler Cox.
The senior infielder booted a ball in the top of the ninth, allowing the go ahead run for the Nittany Lions to score.
"I kind of just wanted to somebody to kill me there," he said. "I was about the lowest I could get. I just let them go up and at that time I thought that was the game."
Cox lived and the game wasn't over as he blasted a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth, guaranteeing IU a shot at least third place in the Big Ten, which is where the Hoosiers ended their season after losing to the Boilermakers today.
In their fifth game in four days, Indiana's already depleted pitching staff finally ran out steam.
IU surrendered 11 runs, allowing 13 hits, including three home runs to Boilermaker catch Dan Black.
The Hoosiers' season record comes to a halt at 31-30 with a 15-18 conference record.
