The Hoosiers couldn’t have left their lead in better hands.
Leading by two runs against Iowa with six outs to go until IU’s ninth straight win, IU Coach Chris Lemonis turned to junior relief pitcher Thomas Belcher to start the eighth inning.
He surrendered two runs in the eighth before allowing the game-winning run in the 10th in a 6-5 loss against Iowa on Sunday at Bart Kaufman Field.
“They got some hits off one of the hottest pitchers in the country, and some days you just have to tip your hat to the opponent,” Lemonis said.
The three runs were the first in Belcher’s last 10 appearances and in his last 16.2 innings.
It was also the first time Belcher allowed more than one run in an appearance since surrendering four runs against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 26.
In total, Belcher allowed six hits to the Hawkeyes on top of the three earned runs. He also struck out three and didn’t walk anyone in his second loss of the season.
“Thomas Belcher is such a good pitcher, and he’s done well for us,” freshman designated hitter Scotty Bradley said. “Stuff like that happens in baseball all the time, so it’s not a big deal at all.”
The runs allowed by Belcher were the only ones the bullpen allowed in the three-game series against the Hawkeyes.
However, freshman relief pitcher BJ Sabol walked in a run credited to senior starting pitcher Evan Bell. The batter Sabol walked was Iowa’s No. 9 hitter, Mitchell Boe, who was batting .097 at the time.
Bell still doesn’t have a win this season, and IU has now lost eight of his nine starts this season.
Sunday was only the second time in the last 20 games IU’s bullpen has surrendered a lead.
“It was probably the first down day in our bullpen in a couple weeks,” Lemonis said. “We just have to throw more strikes, and then they had some hits.”
At no point in Belcher’s three innings Sunday did Lemonis tell a reliever to run down to the bullpen and warm up.
Given the recent run for both Belcher and the bullpen as a whole, this makes sense. That also might explain why neither Lemonis nor Bradley seemed too concerned with the result Sunday.
The Hoosiers have still won eight of their last nine games and Belcher’s recent run is still among the best of any reliever in the country.
He simply had an off day, Bradley said.
“It’s interesting, but it’s baseball. Anything happens,” Bradley said. “That stuff happens, so you can’t really look at that stuff too much.”
