But when IU Coach Chris Lemonis handed the ball to his senior closer Ryan Halstead in a tie game in the eighth inning against Radford, he couldn’t keep the Hoosiers in the game.
Halstead looked the perfect man to turn to. He’s IU’s all-time appearances and saves leader. Bad performances are a rarity for Halstead.
But Sunday was a rarity. Halstead lost the game for the Hoosiers.
He walked the first batter he faced, Radford’s No. 9 hitter Chris Coia, to load the bases. Then he surrendered an RBI single to right field and a sacrifice fly to center. Radford had taken a late two-run lead, a lead the Hoosiers could not erase in their final two innings.
Sunday, IU’s season came to an end at the hands of Radford by a score of 5-3. For eight IU seniors, it was the last time they will wear an IU uniform.
The half-inning before Halsted couldn’t keep Radford off the score board, senior catcher Brad Hartong couldn’t come through with runners on base.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Hartong worked the count to two balls and two strikes. He got a pitch to hit over the plate and lined it to center field, but Radford center fielder Trevor Riggs immediately broke in and to his left, running down the potential RBI single before the ball could bounce off the AstroTurf at Hawkins Field.
The line out was ?Hartong’s final at-bat of the game, a game in which he went 0-for-4. The final at-bat of Hartong’s collegiate career.
The half-inning after, senior designated hitter Scott Donley saw his IU career end with a groundout to second base. Donley went 0-for-3 against Radford.
In the bottom half of the ninth inning, the Hoosiers final shot, Lemonis stuck with his seniors.
Senior right fielder Will Nolden led off the inning and struck out on three pitches, swinging at a breaking ball in the dirt. He struck out in his second-to-last at-bat as a Hoosier as well, going 1-for-4 in his final game with a single to left field.
Then, senior Ricky Alfonso pinch hit for the Hoosiers. He also struck out on three pitches, looking as a fastball cruised by on the outside corner.
One Hoosier, however, was unable to contribute in the final inning of his collegiate career.
Senior second baseman Casey Rodrigue was in the on deck circle when junior Brian Wilhite grounded out to third to end the game.
As Wilhite threw his helmet to the side after IU’s final out of the season, Rodrigue dropped into a crouch.
He remained in the crouch in the on deck circle for about 20 seconds, his gaze fixed upon the turf as Radford celebrated surviving another game.
But after the game, Rodrigue could not have been more appreciative of his teammates.
“This season has been an unbelievable experience, and these last two years at Indiana have been great,” Rodrigue said. “I couldn’t ask for a greater group of guys.”
He was also appreciative of his coach, Lemonis, who did not turn his back on the pre-existing senior class as a first-year head coach.
Lemonis said the speech he gave to his team Sunday night was the toughest he’s given all season. He had to say goodbye to his seniors.
“The reason it’s tough is because it’s a great experience,” Lemonis said. “I told our guys it’s a special experience what these kids have gone through at Indiana. For a lot of our seniors, they put this program on the map nationally.”
While Rodrigue was explaining just what his teammates and Lemonis meant to him, he wiped at his left eye. Then, after he finished, he stared up into the lights, perhaps thinking back on his IU career.
“These kids have built this program, and it’s an everlasting memory,” Lemonis said. “The kids are treated great, the fans are great but it makes it bitter-sweet at the end.”
