Hoosiers split 1st 2 games against in-state rival Purdue Boilermakers

IU has won two and lost one in an ongoing four-game series against Purdue. The final game is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m.\nFor the first 15 innings of the series, the Boilermakers had the Hoosiers down and under control. Andrew Means changed that with one swing of the bat. \nMeans took an Andy Loomis pitch over the left-center field wall for a two-run, game-tying home run– his first of the season. Evan Crawford reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a Josh Phegley single, and delivered the Hoosiers their 19th win of the season.\nGame two started rough for sophomore ace Matt Bashore, who surrendered four runs – all earned – in the first two innings. \nHe certainly didn’t have much trouble with the top of the order each inning, as he struck out the first batter in each of the first four innings. Overall, Bashore struck out nine in a seven-inning complete game performance picked up his fifth win. \n“He’s a mature kid, a tough pitcher,” IU coach Tracy Smith said after the win. “I just kind of said to him, ‘It looked like you were sleepwalking there for an inning.’ He let a couple of calls get to him but once he settled in and got in his rhythm a little bit, he’s as tough as any pitcher there is.”\nThe Hoosiers’ offense – best in the Big Ten coming into the weekend – had all kinds of trouble figuring out Purdue starter Matt Jansen. The Hoosiers didn’t score until the fourth inning, and those runs were unearned. \nBut they left it late and got to the Purdue bullpen for the second straight game, scoring three off relievers Sunday after putting up five against the visiting relief work Saturday. \nPoor relief pitching and what Smith termed “free stuff” proved too much for the Hoosiers in game one of the doubleheader, as Purdue downed the home team 11-7 despite being out-hit 11-9. \nSophomore catcher Josh Phegley banged another home run for the Hoosiers, his eighth of the year, and Andrew Means and Jerrud Sabourin each had three hits. Means also added three runs batted in and a stolen base on the day for the Hoosiers. \nBut it was IU’s inability to put a stopper in the Purdue offense that did the Hoosiers in, as IU sent five different pitchers to the mound, and only the last – freshman Matt Carr – succeeded in not surrendering at least one run. Sophomore right hander Eric Arnett started the game, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up six runs–five earned–on five hits. He walked three and struck out six. \nArnett left the game down 5-0, but the Hoosiers did all their scoring in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. However, the bullpen’s inability to hold momentum gave Purdue the win. \n“I don’t want to say nobody wanted the ball,” Smith said Saturday. “But you got to have a little something to you to give yourself a chance to win, because I honestly feel like, the way we’re swinging, if one of these guys could hold it down, we’d have a realistic shot.”\nThe “free bases” Smith talked about weren’t just errors and walks, but also hit batters and similar mental errors that gave the Boilermakers extra baserunners and second chances at innings that should have ended.