Each time IU got knocked down by Kentucky it responded.
The Hoosiers executed twice with two outs in the game to score runs off RBI singles and was tied entering into the final frame. With the Wildcats spoiling an opportunity in the top of the ninth having runners on the corners with two outs, the Hoosiers came through in the bottom half.
Junior first baseman Austin Cangelosi lined a lead off double that one hopped the left field wall to get the ninth started for the Hoosiers. Following a ground out from freshman designated hitter Luke Miller moving Cangelosi to third, sophomore left-handed hitter Laren Eustace pinch hit.
The Wildcats brought in left fielder Zach Reks to put five Kentucky players on the infield, but it didn’t matter. Eustace sent the 1-0 fastball up the middle to where the centerfielder should have been, walking the Hoosiers off against Kentucky 3-2.
“I actually thought he could have bunted in the Miller spot,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “He had his helmet on and everything, but he was thinking he was bunting. But then we flipped it on him, which I’m glad I didn’t bunt him.”
IU was able to piece together a strong performance on the mound with freshman Jonathan Stiever getting the start. He lasted just 2.1 innings getting yanked immediately when things started to turn south following a RBI single to put the Hoosiers in a 1-0 deficit.
Junior right-handed pitcher Luke Stephenson entered the game shutting down all eight Wildcat batters he faced.
“That was the best we had Stephenson all year, so that was exciting,” Lemonis said.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher BJ Sabol took over in the sixth and was greeted instantly with a solo home run off the bat of Reks to give Kentucky a 2-1 lead. He quickly regrouped tossing two strong innings in relief.
IU turned around in the bottom of the sixth for its first big hit off the bench of the night. Freshman infielder Scotty Bradley shot a two-out single to left scoring Cangelosi from second, but Bradley was thrown out at second base trying to stretch his single into a double.
Junior right-handed pitcher Thomas Belcher entered in the eighth and shutout the Wildcats in the final two innings of the game. Belcher’s performance on the mound set up Eustace for the Hoosier walk-off victory.
The win for IU marks its 17th throughout the past 21 games, as IU hopes to finish the year strong with its final home series coming up this weekend against Illinois.
“That’s the kind of team we’ve been lately, every time someone punches us we come right back and score runs,” Eustace said. “Beginning of the season if we would get punched we wouldn’t come back, but now we’re just a new team.”
