IU rushed the mound in jubilation after its first Big Ten win since 1996. Now, it is facing the realities of postseason play.
The Hoosiers' first trip to the NCAA Regional in 13 years began with an 8-2 loss Friday against Louisville. The game was marred by mistakes and placed IU in its current elimination-game jam. The Hoosiers must defeat Vanderbilt at 3p.m. Saturday at Jim Patterson Stadium to extend its postseason.
"We just didn't play good defense tonight," IU coach Tracy Smith said at post game press conference. "We didn't deserve to win this game tonight, and Louisville did. We made mistakes tonight we just don't normally make. Baseball is a game of controlled emotion and we didn't have that tonight."
IU led 2-0 after scores by left fielder Kipp Schutz and third baseman Vince Gonzalez. As second team All-American Eric Arnett hurled from the mound, IU seemed poised for an early-game surge.
The Hoosiers failed to contend despite their early showing before a Jim Patterson Stadium record crowd of 4,605, instead waning in the latter innings. The Cardinals went on to post eight unanswered runs while capitalizing on three IU errors.
