Hoosiers split 4-game series with Penn State

With just three Big Ten series left, the IU baseball team split a four-game set with Penn State this weekend, winning the last two games.\n“We were on a terrible losing streak,” sophomore center fielder Andrew Means said. “We knew we were capable of playing better. We weren’t going out and performing as a team, but we came together, made some big plays and got some big hits and went from there.”\nAfter this weekend’s action, IU’s record now stands at 16-25 overall and 6-14 in conference play.\nIn Sunday’s series finale with the score knotted at five, junior designated hitter Jon Fixler punched a single through the right side of the infield, bringing Means home from second. The Hoosiers would score two more runs to take an 8-5 lead.\nFreshman reliever Chris Squires gave up two runs in the eighth. But in the ninth he was able to shut down the Nittany Lions and IU held on for the 8-7 win.\nIn Friday’s opener, IU struck early with two runs in the fourth, but Penn State put four of its own up in the second. \nThe Hoosiers came within one run in the fifth, but Penn State responded, scoring two runs in the late innings to win 6-4.\nIn the first half of Sunday’s doubleheader, Penn State held a 6-1 lead after four innings. In the fifth, a Brian Lambert RBI single knocked in sophomore right fielder Chris Hervey from third base. But that was all for IU’s offense, as the Hoosiers fell 6-2.\nAfter the loss, IU rebounded quickly in the second half of Saturday’s action thanks to freshman starter Matt Bashore. The southpaw threw a complete game, scattering nine hits over seven innings and only allowing one run.\n“It felt good just to be out there giving us a chance to win,” Bashore said. “We battled, and it was a good game.”\nAfter pitching five shutout innings, Bashore allowed a run in the sixth to cut IU’s lead to 2-1. But in the Hoosiers’ half of the inning, Fixler drove a ball deep over the center field wall for his second home run of the season and IU’s first at Sembower Field this year.\n“I was just trying to put a swing on it,” Fixler said. “We needed a couple insurance runs. I was trying to get on base, to tell you the truth, and let my teammates knock me in.”\nUp 3-1, Bashore found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, but the freshman pitched out of it, inducing a flyout to right field to end the game.\nThe win snapped IU’s 10-game losing streak heading into Sunday’s game.\nAfter IU’s win Sunday, IU coach Tracy Smith was pleased to see his team win, but Smith knows they can’t settle for a series split.\n“(The wins) were important for this year, but also for the future,” Smith said. “Guys have to believe they can win. We did what we had to do to stay in this and give ourselves a chance. Looking at this league, there’s a lot of beating up going on, so we still have a chance to get into that tournament as long as we put our uniforms on and give ourselves a chance.”