Inspired Hoosiers fall short of conference title

The clock struck midnight, ending the IU baseball team’s Cinderella run.\nThe Hoosiers fell 11-7 to rival Purdue on May 24 after fighting back from a first-round loss to Penn State by beating three teams to get to within a game of a shot at eventual tournament champion Michigan.\nA month ago the Hoosiers were in the dumps, tied for last in the Big Ten and needing a near-miracle performance just to make the conference tournament.\nIn its final regular-season series, IU swept Michigan State on the road en route to climbing into the sixth and final spot of the tournament.\nAfter day one it looked as though IU’s 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 setup of the tournament, the Hoosiers weren’t quite done.\nIU again picked itself up and refused to let its season end. The Hoosiers defeated Ohio State, Illinois and then Penn State with late-inning heroics from Tyler Cox.\nThe senior infielder booted a ball in the top of the ninth, allowing the go-ahead run for the Nittany Lions to score.\n“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.”\nCox 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.\nIn their fifth game in four days, Indiana’s already depleted pitching staff finally ran out steam.\nIU surrendered 11 runs, allowing 13 hits, including three home runs to Boilermaker catch Dan Black.\nThe Hoosiers’ season record came to a halt at 31-30 with a 15-18 conference record.