IU beats Louisville, sweeps season series

LOUISVILLE, K.Y. – In a battle of top 10 teams, No. 9 IU defeated No. 10 Louisville 7-2 after Kyle Schwarber sealed the game in the top of the 9th with a three-run homerun that left his teammates speechless.

The homer went over the batter’s eye in centerfield, which is approximately 50-60 feet tall. The fence in center field is 402 feet away from home plate, and the ball was one of the longest IU players have ever seen hit.

“It’s just another homerun,” Schwarber said after the game.

The Hoosiers swept the season series from Louisville, taking all three games this year. In the first two games, IU beat the Cardinals by a combined score of 15-5.

Game three saw another strong Hoosier performance from the pitching staff coupled with timely hitting.

IU jumped on Louisville starter Drew Harrington in the second inning. In a display of fundamental baseball, Scott Donley and Dustin DeMuth singled to right field and Brad Hartong laid down the sacrifice bunt to put the two Hoosiers on second and third with one out.

Will Nolden lined a single over the first basemen’s head, scoring both Donley and DeMuth. Nolden advanced to second on the throw and IU took an early 2-0 lead.
The Hoosiers added another run via a Hartong RBI sac fly, which brought home Donley. Donley had reached third base when he belted a ball to right field that Louisville right fielder Colin Lyman dove but missed.

Louisville got back on the board via an RBI single by pinch hitter Kyle Gibson. The throw home by Brad Hartong was wide, allowing Alex Chittenden to score and reduce the deficit to 3-1. Another run, this one in the bottom of the 8th, chipped away at the Hoosiers lead and made it a 3-2 game.

After Tim O’Conner’s infield single put the Hoosiers up 4-2, Schwarber unleashed the homerun in the top of the ninth, giving IU more than enough cushion to take the game.

Evan Hoopfer