Everyone was standing around waiting for a decision. The two umpires were huddled together near the mound.
The game was tied at four in the top of the ninth between IU and No. 23 Cal State Fullerton, and IU and sophomore relief pitcher Thomas Belcher were on the verge of escaping a bases loaded and no out situation.
After Belcher got a strikeout for the first out a ground ball was hit to senior second baseman Casey Rodrigue.
“My focus was at home plate,” Rodrigue said. “We needed to get that guy and couldn’t let that run score.”
The throw was in plenty of time to Hartong, who caught after one hop on the turf. He was then barreled into by the Fullerton runner, and the umpires were deciding whether or not he interfered with Hartong’s ability to get the third out at first base.
The home plate umpire turned, pointed to the runner standing on first and signaled out. Bart Kaufman Stadium erupted as Belcher spike the ball off the mound, 10 feet into the air.
IU (12-4) would walk off in the tenth thanks to three Cal State Fullerton (9-8) errors in a 5-4 win Saturday in game one of a doubleheader. IU would win the second game 2-0.
“I was pretty pumped about that,” Belcher said. “Just trying to ride that momentum, try and get it to our position players to try and score a run right there and get the guys pumped up.”
Rodrigue, the man who made the throw home, drove in senior right fielder Will Nolden to tie the game in the seventh inning.
The RBI was his team leading 16th.
It was also the fourth run IU scored off Fullerton junior starter Thomas Eshelman, who entered the game with a 1.23 ERA.
“Obviously he’s a great pitcher, he was hitting his spots and he was locked in,” Rodrigue said. “It felt really good.”
Junior Christian Morris started game one and went five innings allowing four runs before departing for Belcher. The sidearmer went four innings including the dramatic ninth, striking out three and allowing one hit.
Senior Luke Harrison would pitch a scoreless tenth a pick up his second win of the season.
Rodrigue led off game two of the doubleheader with a triple to right center field, off of the other Cal State Fullerton ace, junior Justin Garza.
He would score after the next batter, sophomore center fielder Craig Dedelow, hit a sacrifice fly to right field.
“It was huge,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said of the first inning run. “It’s nice to play with the lead so to come out from the break and be able to jump on somebody I thought was really good.”
Junior Caleb Baragar started the second game for IU, pitching four scoreless innings allowing three hits and striking out five.
The next two out of the bullpen were freshmen Brian Hobbie and Austin Foote, who combined to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings allowing one hit and striking out five.
These two were the key to IU winning the second game, Lemonis said.
“Our two other freshman were electric I thought,” Lemonis said. “That was the key of the game for us to bridge that together to get it to Ryan (Hasltead).”
Halstead pitched 1.1 scoreless innings for his third save of the season striking out two.
“He looks a little more comfortable on our mound this week then when he’s been pitching everywhere else,” Lemonis said.
Lemonis said sweeping the first two games against Fullerton was huge, especially considering the quality of its first two starting pitchers.
Given how consistently Eshelman and Garza have pitched deep into games in their careers, the doubleheader favored the Titans. They would not need their bullpen as much as IU.
This was true. IU’s bullpen pitched a combined 10 innings Saturday in the two games. Fullerton’s bullpen pitched three.
But Lemonis was fine with this because he said he has one of the best bullpens in the country. He said he loves bullpen games.
”Our bullpen matches up with anybody’s in the country,” Lemonis said. “We may not have that frontline closer that’s throwing 95 but we have that three headed monster back there with Harrison, Belcher and Halstead.”
The final game of the series is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Bart Kaufman Field.
IU will start sophomore Jake Kelzer against Fullerton freshman John Gavin.
