For the second straight week, IU baseball won its series 2-1, this time in East Lansing against Michigan State. The Hoosiers won the first two games 8-2 and 10-4 but dropped the series finale Sunday 5-1.
In the first two games, infielder Cole Barr’s hitting led the way. The junior from Yorktown, Indiana, had five hits and five RBIs across the two games. Barr leads IU in batting average at .400.
Freshman infielder Paul Toetz added four combined RBIs in the first two games as well, continuing the strong start to his IU career. Toetz is tied for the team high in RBIs this season with 13.
In Friday’s opening game between the Hoosiers and Spartans, junior left handed pitcher Tommy Sommer captured his third win of the season. Sommer pitched five innings of two-run baseball, which was more than enough considering IU’s hitting output. Sommer is now 3-0 on the season and has a team-best 1.85 ERA.
Sophomore right handed pitcher McCade Brown, who’s been another bright spot in the Hoosier pitching rotation, moved to 3-1 this season after Saturday’s win. Brown whiffed nine batters in five innings of work.
Sunday’s series finale went a different way for the Hoosiers. The Spartans jumped out in front with two runs in the second inning, and by the end of six that lead had more than doubled to 5-0.
IU tried to mount a late-inning comeback, but senior infielder Jeremy Houston’s RBI single in the seventh inning was all the team could produce. The Hoosiers had seven hits in the game, but left eight runners on base.
Now at 11-3 on the season, IU sits a half game above both Michigan and Nebraska atop the Big Ten standings. IU will have to wait until May to play either of those teams.
Next up for IU is a four-game road series April 2-4 in Columbus, Ohio, against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 8-6 this season but have played most of their games on the road.
