COLUMBUS, Ohio --- A night after needing a late-inning comeback to beat Ohio State and capture a share of the Big Ten regular season title, the IU baseball team wanted to leave no doubt who the best team in the conference was.
The normally-potent Hoosier offense looked vulnerable through the first 17 innings of the series, scoring just one run, but broke out in a big way Sunday to help IU to do something it hadn't done in more than eight decades.
IU jumped all over Buckeye starter Jaron Long, scoring six runs through the first three innings to beat Ohio State 8-1 and capture its first outright Big Ten regular season title since 1932 with an 8-1 victory Saturday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.
Senior shortstop Michael Basil continued his hot hitting in the first, ripping a double into the left center field gap that scored Sam Travis and Scott Donley, who both singled with two outs.
The Hoosiers (40-13, 17-7 Big Ten) added three runs in the second. Kyle Schwarber knocked a base hit up the middle to score Justin Cureton. Following a Will Nolden walk, Sam Travis sliced a ball down deep the right field line that rattled around in the corner, plating Nolden and Travis.
Casey Smith got IU's sixth run in the third with a single through the right side that scored Basil, who led off the inning with a walk.
Sophomore left-hander starter Kyle Hart did the rest, his only blemish an RBI double by Kirby Pellant that knocked in Joe Ciumacco, who led off the bottom of the first with a walk.
Hart (8-2) did look a little shaky at the start, allowing two hits and two walks through the first two innings, along with some hard-hit outs.
He settled into a grove after that, though, retiring 12 straight Buckeyes. Ohio State (34-21, 15-9) threatened with back-to-back two out singles in the sixth, but Jacob Bosiokovic hit a chopper to DeMuth. DeMuth's throw was low but Travis made a beautiful pick at first to save his third basemen and end the inning.
Hart got the first out in the ninth before being pulled in favor of freshman righty Scott Effross. Hart allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 8.1 innings pitched.
Schwarber added his Big-Ten leading 14th home run in the ninth, an opposite-field shot to left with one out that made it 8-1 IU.
Long (6-6) last eight innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
The Hoosiers will head to Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time. Ohio State, who was trying to capture a share of the Big Ten title, is the No. 2 seed.
