The sun shined down on the field inside of VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Florida — a picture-perfect day for baseball in late February. The weather was partly cloudy Friday afternoon reading in the mid-80s.
It was the first game of three the Hoosiers faced over the weekend. Indiana would leave the weekend notching one win and two losses, leaving them 2-5 on the year.
Most of the crowd wore Tiger colors. Audible chants of “Geaux Tigers” rang throughout the stands as No. 2 Louisiana State University sophomore left-handed pitcher Cooper Williams took the mound.
LSU had taken a one-run lead two innings prior. It was currently the bottom of the seventh inning. But that lead would not hold for long for the visiting Tigers.
Indiana put runners on first and third against Williams with one out. Sophomore infielder Will Moore hit a fielder's-choice to tie the game up.
Then sophomore catcher and outfielder Hogan Denny stepped up to the dish with two outs and a runner on second. Indiana needed a hit to take the lead.
Denny was the perfect player to accomplish that task for the Hoosiers. After hitting two home runs against Bradley University on Feb. 17, Denny came into the weekend red-hot.
“It was a big deal to get him going,” Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer said postgame Feb. 17. “Offensively, he’s a good player, but he’s also got a lot better defensively. So, the ability to have that kind of offense from your catcher is a big deal.”
And in this moment, with all the pressure on him, Denny delivered again for the Hoosiers.
The 6-foot-tall Mooresville, Indiana, native roped a single into left-center field. As he rounded first base, Denny rose his fist to the Indiana dugout in celebration before returning to the bag.
Although the clutch hit by Denny gave Indiana the 5-4 lead, the Hoosiers’ bullpen struggles — the same implosions that haunted them in their opening series — continued.
Indiana fell 14-7 Friday after allowing nine runs to LSU in the following inning. However, the Hoosiers bounced back Saturday with a 6-1 win over the University of Central Florida, where Denny collected three hits in four plate appearances with one RBI.
“He’s redone his swing to be able to evaluate the ball better and keep it off the ground on his pull side....” Mercer said postgame Feb. 20. “His ability to go to the outfield, he’s gotten really good in the outfield, and having the chance to bring him in to catch; he’s caught in every game. It’s a unique trait to have.”
The Cream and Crimson wrapped up the Live Like Lou Jacksonville Baseball Classic with a 9-8 loss in 11 innings against the University of Notre Dame. Indiana went 1-2 in the round-robin format.
Denny only had one hit in six opportunities at the plate Sunday but still contributed with important plays in the field.
One of the most notable plays was a deep-flyout that he caught while running into the wall in the bottom of the eighth inning. The play robbed Notre Dame junior catcher Mark Quatrani of a potential extra-base hit with the game tied.
Despite his efforts both offensively and defensively, Indiana fell short.
Ultimately, Denny tallied six total hits in 15 at-bats over the weekend. In the last four games, he has seven RBIs. He is also hitting .385 through seven games.
Indiana’s next game is Tuesday against Xavier University. First pitch will be at 2 p.m. at Hayden Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. The game will be streamed on Xavier+.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana baseball season.
