Indiana baseball defeated the University of Louisville 10-6 on Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, and snagged its ninth midweek win of the year. The Cream and Crimson improved to 20-25.
The Hoosiers scored first in the top of the opening frame and never relinquished the lead. Sophomore infielder Jake Hanley drew a four-pitch walk before sophomore infielder Cooper Malamazian hit an RBI double to drive in Hanley with two outs.
Sophomore catcher/outfielder Hogan Denny added another run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly after a fielding error by Louisville put sophomore infielder Will Moore on third base.
Then, Indiana’s offense put up five runs on six hits and sent 10 batters to the plate in the third inning. Hanley, freshman catcher Owen ten Oever and Malamazian hit three consecutive singles to kick off the frame.
With the bases loaded and no outs, the next batter, sophomore outfielder Cole Decker, hit a two-run double down the right field line. Freshman infielder Landen Fry drove in Malamazian and Decker with an RBI single. Two batters later, Fry scored on a wild pitch to cap off the inning.
Louisville starting pitcher junior right-hander Jake Bean pitched two innings. He allowed six hits and six earned runs over 45 pitches.
Indiana added another run in the sixth inning on a home run by ten Oever over the right field fence. It was the Brooklyn, New York, native’s fourth home run of the season. Ten Oever has hit three home runs the last five contests.
Heading into the game, the Cardinals’ offense averaged 8.40 runs. But Indiana’s pitching, led by starting pitcher graduate student left-hander Conner Linn, shut down Louisville’s bats early.
Linn pitched five scoreless innings and allowed four hits, three walks and picked up two strikeouts. The Kokomo, Indiana, native threw 88 pitches and 50 strikes in his 14th appearance of the season.
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Vogel was the first reliever out of Indiana’s bullpen. He surrendered three hits and three earned runs in two innings.
Louisville scored its first run of the affair on a solo home run by junior catcher Jimmy Nugent to left center field in the sixth inning.
In the seventh inning, Indiana junior catcher T.J. Schuyler hit an RBI double to score Fry from second base with two outs. Schuyler entered Tuesday’s game batting .085 in 59 at-bats.
The Cardinals responded by scoring two runs on back-to-back sacrifice flies in the bottom of the inning. However, Hanley hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to push Indiana’s advantage to 10-3.
However, Louisville plated three more runs right after Hanley’s home run. Indiana freshman right-handed pitcher Kellen English and graduate student right-handed pitcher Reagan Rivera allowed a combined four base runners in the frame.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, left-handed pitcher Anthony Gubitosi recorded the final three outs. He struck out two Cardinal hitters in his outing.
Ultimately, the Hoosiers tallied 11 hits compared to Louisville’s 10 in the contest. Indiana tallied four leadoff hits and went 4 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
Indiana looks to build on its midweek success in its next contest at 8 p.m. EST Friday against Northwestern. That matchup kicks off a three-game series and will be played at a neutral sight inside Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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.
