Indiana sophomore infielder Brock Tibbitts ripped the ball down the left-field line, trotted into second base, and gestured toward teammates in the dugout.
The two-out double had brought in two go-ahead runs. After easily scoring from third base, junior outfielder Bobby Whalen signaled for sophomore outfielder Carter Mathison to follow — who narrowly tumbled across home plate before the tag.
Tibbitt's extra-base hit was only Indiana's second throughout the entire three-game weekend series at the University of Texas. And yet, the clutch hit gave the Hoosiers their first lead of Sunday’s game, 4-2, in the sixth inning. That score held for the victory, as Indiana avoided the three-game sweep. Texas had already won 4-2 on Friday, and 5-2 on Saturday.
Indiana left-handed senior Ben Seiler started Friday's contest and hurled five scoreless innings — on just 62 pitches — scattering four hits. Seiler only struck out two, but induced 11 flyouts and groundouts combined. Junior left-handed Texas starter Lucas Gordon struck out seven Hoosiers in five and two-thirds innings, and allowed one run — throwing 102 pitches.
Despite the 40-pitch difference, coaches pulled both starters at roughly the same time. Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer may have wanted to swap Seiler before his third time facing the Texas lineup. Whether it was due to that reason or Seiler not overthrowing just his second start of the spring, Indiana's bullpen was tasked to throw four relief innings.
Indiana clung to a 2-1 lead. Graduate right-hander Gabe Levy, who retired the side in the seventh inning, remained on the mound for the eighth. After the first two Longhorns reached base, Indiana's corner infielders anticipated junior outfielder Porter Brown might bunt to move both runners in scoring position, losing by just one run with no outs.
Instead, Brown drifted back, and launched a three-run home run to right field. That late in the game, the homer sealed Texas' series-opening victory, 4-2. The Longhorns merely out-hit Indiana 8-7, yet three were for extra bases.
Indiana right-hander junior Seti Manase, who had thrown two scoreless one-inning outings earlier this season, made his first start in an Indiana uniform on Saturday. Manase went four innings, didn't allow an earned run, and exited the game with Indiana down just 1-0.
Texas soon would extend the lead. Saturday's fifth inning badly stung Indiana in both the top and bottom frames. At bat, senior infielder Phillip Glasser grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded — after Indiana's tying run just scored via five-pitch walk.
Texas scored four runs in the bottom half without hitting the ball out of the infield: two walks, three infield hits, and two errors, to regain a 5-1 lead. Indiana sophomore reliever Ryan Kraft was only charged with allowing two of the four runs.
Indiana scored one run in the next inning, but the Hoosiers batted 2-for-27 at the plate. Texas didn't fare much better at four hits, yet clinched the series with the 5-2 Saturday victory.
During Sunday's finale, Indiana right-hander Luke Sinnard took the mound, similar to last Sunday at Auburn University. The right-hander pitched five innings, shaking off an early solo home run by Brown again, and letting up just one run in the third inning despite back-to-back leadoff doubles. Sinnard was just shy of tossing a six-inning, three or fewer-run quality start. Yet, the five-inning, two-run outing pushed Sinnard's win-loss record to 2-0.
Indiana tallied five hits in the sixth, including Mathison's game-tying single, and Tibbitts' double, to take a 4-2 lead. Despite allowing two earned runs on Saturday, Kraft protected the two-run lead across three scoreless innings — the reliever's first save this season.
In 27 innings, Texas and Indiana only scored three multi-run frames. Texas twice — one for each victory — and Indiana once during that four-run top of the sixth inning. That perfectly corresponds with the Longhorns’ 2-1 series victory. Yet, Indiana's Sunday performances deserve credit, avoiding two potential three-game sweeps in back-to-back weekends.
The Longhorns are currently unranked by D1Baseball, but the Hoosiers add one blue-blood victory to their resume. Texas is a six-time national champion.
Indiana's season continues Tuesday at home against Butler University. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
