IU suffers 4-game sweep by Nittany Lions

A four-game sweep certainly could not have been what the IU baseball team envisioned when it headed to Penn State looking to break a five-game losing streak. But the bad became worse for the Hoosiers as the Nittany Lions sank IU (15-22, 4-12) further into the Big Ten cellar.\nBut it was not the usual poison for IU in Pennsylvania, as the Big Ten’s best offense struggled to put runs on the board for the visiting Hoosiers, totalling just 15 runs in the four-game set.\nIU coach Tracy Smith said Sunday his team has done well offensively this season, but he said it cannot simply rely on heavy offense every game. He said bats can cool off as easily as arms or gloves. \n“Sometimes that’s baseball,” Smith said. \nSunday might have been the toughest on the team. After letting Penn State explode for 11 runs in the first five innings – and roll through three different IU pitchers in the process – the Hoosier bullpen got a hold on the Nittany Lion bats. \nThe visitors launched a furious late-inning rally, plating three in the eighth and four in the ninth. But the Hoosiers bid to stop the bleeding came up two runs short, and Penn State took the fourth and final game, sweeping IU in the process. Sophomore pinch hit-designated hitter Michael Early finished 3-for-3 Sunday with two runs batted in, and freshman right fielder Kipp Schutz plated a pair of runs as well for the Hoosiers. \nGame one saw IU take a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning off sophomore catcher Josh Phegley’s 13th double of the season, driving in sophomore Tyler Rogers. \nIU sophomore Matt Bashore held the home team for the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth. The Nittany Lions got to the sophomore left-hander – the Hoosiers best pitcher this year – using three hits and taking advantage of a timely walk to put two runs on the board and take a lead they never relinquished. Two errors and three walks an inning later left the score at 6-1, and the Hoosiers never closed the gap to less than three runs. \nGames two and three Saturday saw the Hoosiers fall big early and hard late, as an 8-1 early loss gave way to a walk-off 3-2 defeat for IU in the second game. \nIn game three, the Hoosiers again took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. An Andrew Means single, an Evan Crawford sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch put the junior center fielder and two-sport athlete at third – the perfect place for Phegley – who scored Means on a single. Means finished 3-for-4 on the day. \nPenn State answered with one run in the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the third, putting the score at 2-1. The Hoosiers came back with one run of their own in the top of the fourth, and the score stayed knotted at two until the bottom of the seventh, when a two-out single with a runner on third sent the home fans away happy and the Hoosiers just short of their first win in a week and a half. \nNow mired in a nine-game losing streak, the Hoosiers will return home to face Indiana State at Sembower Field for the first of 11 straight games at home. However, Smith said he’s never thought playing at home made a big difference in his experience “because it’s still baseball.” \nAfter Sunday’s loss, Smith expressed disappointment in his team’s defensive mentality, something he said is costing them key runs. He said he wants his players to “want” the ball hit to them so they can make plays. \nThe veteran skipper said Sunday he remains confident in his team’s ability to compete with anyone the Hoosiers face. He said the problem they face is a lack of confidence, and he said it is up to him and his coaching staff to “keep these guys believing.” \n“We’re just going to keep working,” Smith said. “The thing that we need to mature on as a team is making the play, or making the pitch, or having the (at-bat) in the crucial time of the game when it matters.”