On a day where IU’s bats were rather silent, its pitchers picked up the slack.
The 17-13-2 Hoosiers defeated 15-14 Indiana State, 2-0, in a pitcher’s duel in Terre Haute on Tuesday night. Each team has now defeated the other while on the road this season.
Sophomore pitcher Tim Herrin put in another quality weekday start by tossing three scoreless innings while giving up three hits and striking out two Sycamores along the way.
Freshman pitcher Cameron Beauchamp got the call to take the mound in the fourth inning and was able to keep IU’s shutout intact in his two innings pitched. He earned the win after he allowed two hits and two walks, struck out one batter and escaped a bases-loaded-no-outs jam unscathed.
To open the top of the fifth inning, sophomore third baseman Luke Miller singled to right field then advanced to second on a groundout from senior center fielder Craig Dedelow.
Junior right fielder Logan Sowers then stepped up and delivered with a double to left center to score Miller and put IU on the board. The next batter, freshman catcher Jake Matheny, hit a single that advanced Sowers to third and gave the Hoosiers runners on the corners with just one out.
Then senior second baseman Tony Butler got hit by the pitch for the 12th time this season to load the bases and freshman shortstop Jeremy Houston hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Sowers and give IU a 2-0 lead. That lead would stick.
IU Coach Chris Lemonis called upon freshman pitcher Andrew Saalfrank, a weekend starter at the beginning of the season, to open the sixth inning on the bump. Saalfrank responded with two perfect innings in which he only threw 19 pitches, faced the minimum six batters and struck out three Sycamores.
Junior relief pitcher Austin Foote entered for IU to begin the eighth inning and was able to keep Indiana State off the board in that frame and in the ninth to earn the six-out save.
Although Indiana State outhit IU 6-5, the Hoosier pitchers were able to strand the Sycamores’ eight base runners.
IU will be host to Minnesota this weekend.
