Hoosiers defeat No. 20 Wildcats

With a big swing, junior catcher Kyle Schwarber launched a solo home run to straight-away center field.

It was his third of the season and it gave the Hoosiers a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning, putting the game out of reach from the Kentucky Wildcats.

“It was just a fastball,” Schwarber said. “I didn’t have very good at bats before that and was kind of getting sick of it.”

No. 16 IU improved to 8-6 on the season with the 7-2 victory. The No. 20 Wildcats fell to 13-4.

The home run was not the only one of the game. IU senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth whacked his first of the year, a two-run homer to right field in the fourth inning. Junior third baseman Max Kuhn hit a solo home-run in the fourth inning for Kentucky.

“It’s always good to get one under your belt,” DeMuth said. “Hopefully there are more to come.”

Junior left-hander Kyle Hart got the start on the hill for IU and went eight innings, getting the win. He gave up two runs — only one earned  — on five hits and struck out eight batters, walking none and also hit one batter.

“We’ve been looking for that consistency out of him,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “It was a big win not just for the team, but also for him to get him back on track.”

Sophomore Dylan Dwyer got the start for Kentucky and went 7.1 innings, giving up seven earned runs on five hits, no walks and nine strikeouts.

“It was a big win,” junior first baseman Sam Travis said. “We needed to come out how we did today, and I thought we did a great job.”

The scoring started for the Hoosiers in the first inning when Schwarber got on base with a double, a ball that the center fielder lost in the sun. Then junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue hit a double to right field, driving in Schwarber. Rodrigue scored on a groundout by junior designated hitter Scott Donley.

IU picked up its next three runs on the home runs before tacking on two more in the ninth inning, when Travis hit a two-out single, driving in both Schwarber and Rodrigue.

“Generally in baseball when you get the two-out RBI, you have a good chance of winning,” Smith said. “I thought our guys that needed to hit in crucial situations did a good job of it today. If you draw it up that’s what it’s supposed to look like.”

The warm temperatures brought 2,746 people to Bart Kaufman Field, something Smith said gave IU energy.

“I think that’s what people fail to realize is that when you’re a team from the North, you’re playing a lot of baseball on the road, and you’re playing in that environment when they’re rooting against you,” Smith said. “It’s nice for our guys to come back and have people pulling for them.”