After gaining momentum with a walk-off win Friday to kick off Big Ten season, the Hoosiers went backwards Saturday, dropping both games of a doubleheader against Michigan State.
"Michigan State was much more competitive in the box today," IU coach Tracy Smith said. "I thought they were much more into the baseball game and coming out here today with something to prove."
In Saturday's first game, freshman starter Matt Bashore threw three innings before allowing a rocket of a home run to Spartan second baseman Steve Gerstenberger. Michigan State would tally two more runs in the fifth.
For IU, senior shortstop Keith Haas had an RBI single in the fifth. Junior third baseman Tyler Cox scored on an error in the sixth.
Down by just a run, Bashore pitched himself into trouble in the seventh, putting two runners on. Center fielder Dennis Jones hit a three-run bomb to extend Michigan State's lead to 6-2.
The Hoosiers went down quietly in the bottom half of their inning, giving MSU the win. IU's loss snapped a seven-game winning streak.
The situation didn't get much better for IU in the second half of the doubleheader. Freshman starter Eric Arnett did not record an out in the first inning as he gave up seven runs, six earned, in the first inning on four hits while also hitting two batters.
Freshman reliever Danny Rosenbaum came into the game and slowed down the Spartans, pitching five innings out of the bullpen. IU slowly climbed back into the game with senior first baseman Ben Greenspan hitting a sac fly that brought in Haas from third in the first inning.
In the third, the Hoosiers notched five runs of their own, highlighted by a RBI double from junior left fielder Jon Fixler and an RBI single from sophomore center fielder Andrew Means.
But as soon as the Hoosiers caught up, the Spartans exploded for five runs in the sixth. Michigan State would go on to win the game by the final score of 12-6.
"With a 32-game conference schedule, if you sit and dwell on (the losses), it'll eat you alive," Smith said. "Even winning (Friday), yesterday's over, and it's the same thing. We've got to focus on getting no less than a split tomorrow."
Saturday's two losses dropped IU's record to 11-10 and 1-2 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers will wrap up the four-game set with the Spartans Sunday at 1 p.m.
