IU Coach Chris Lemonis said coming into Wednesday’s game against Ball State the Hoosiers would rely heavily on the bullpen once again in the mid-week matchup.
The men out of the pen didn’t disappoint, throwing up six scoreless frames to keep a powerful Ball State team from adding any extra damage at the plate. The extra arms for the Hoosiers held the Cardinals to just two hits in their final 20 at-bats at the plate.
“When we get a one-run lead, we feel really comfortable with those guys coming in,” junior first baseman Austin Cangelosi said. “We’ve got a young team but we’re tough as nails right now so that’s good to see those young guys playing that well.”
Junior starting pitcher Luke Stephenson cruised through his first two innings before getting tagged with three runs in the third. Stephenson had been battling velocity problems due to reoccurring arm issues, so for him to sit between 88 and 90 mph on his fastball Wednesday night was crucial for him to get back in the right mindset.
Freshman pitcher Jonathan Stiever entered the game in the fourth and worked three quality innings while racking up five strikeouts. The freshman got into an initial jam with runners on second and third and zero outs in the fourth but worked out of it, which allowed him to retire the final nine batters he faced in order.
Junior pitcher Kent Williams followed Stiever in just his seventh appearance of the season, and produced his best outing by far. Needing just 11 pitches to work through three hitters, Williams struck out the first batter looking while recording a fly out and ground out for the remaining two outs.
“In the fall we knew we had a really good pitching staff, it was just getting our younger guys developed,” junior relief pitcher Thomas Belcher said. “We know that if we pound the zone and throw strikes, we’re going to give our hitters a real good chance at winning ball games.”
IU did exactly that with sophomore BJ Sabol entering the game in the eighth and getting the first two outs from a fly ball and a strikeout before allowing a double to force Lemonis’ hand. Lemonis turned to Belcher for the sixth game in a row as he struck out the final Ball State hitter looking in the eighth.
Belcher tossed a scoreless ninth to execute in his fourth straight save opportunity. Cangelosi described Belchers pitches as “disgusting” on the mound as he stays attacking the zone to get ahead of hitters.
Belcher also attributed his strong relief outings as of late to the command that he’s had over his slider compared to the beginning of the season when he struggled to find his touch on the hill.
The shutout appearance for Belcher marked the tenth straight for him proving he can be a major asset to the team in the late innings.
“I’ve been really pleased at the results that I’ve been getting from my slider,” Belcher said. “To be able to throw that in any count really throws a hitter off and allows you to mix in your pitches a lot better which has given me a lot of success.”
