WHAT HAPPENED:
With the first home series of the Big Ten season this weekend against Iowa, this was a bad loss for the Hoosiers. After jumping out to a three-run lead behind freshman Collin McEnery's triple down the first baseline that almost took off the Xavier first baseman's head, IU struggled in each aspect of the game: fielding, pitching and hitting.
In the field, the Hoosiers committed five errors that led to two unearned runs, but more importantly more outs for the Musketeers. The back-breaker was pitcher Luke Harrison's throwing error that allowed two runs to score. Harrison attempted to play a swinging bunt off of Xavier's Selby Chidemo's bat that went down the third base line, but Harrison was fading towards the third base dugout when he threw it and it went past Sam Travis at first and into left field to make it 8-3 after six.
On the mound, McEnery wasn't his sharpest (walking three batters), but worked out of the first two innings without allowing any runs or hits. After the game, he would say his wildness set a bad tone for the rest of the pitchers in the game. Brian Korte allowed four runs (three earned), three hits and three walks in his inning and two-thirds. While senior Drew Leininger followed Korte by allowing only one run in an inning and a third, Luke Harrison (two innings) and Ryan Halstead (one inning) both allowed three runs and four hits. Overall, IU coach Tracy Smith said the Hoosiers' staff will need to be more effective against Iowa.
At the plate, the Hoosiers finished with nine hits, but only three runs. At the time, Dustin DeMuth's first inning, two-out strikeout with the bases loaded and IU up 3-0 did not seem like it would be IU's last legitimate chance to score, but it pretty much was. All nine of Indiana's batters went to the plate in the first inning, but after that the Hoosiers didn't do that much. After the game, short stop Michael Basil, who led with three hits, said IU gave away at-bats against Xavier pitchers who did not change the way they were approaching the Hoosiers. On a warm, beautiful day at Sembower Field, three runs is usually not enough to win and especially not when the other aspects of the game struggle as much as they did Tuesday.
WHAT IT MEANS:
I think the outcome of this game can be chalked up to either one of two things. It might just be yet another reminder that this IU team is very young and still needs time to find its way to victory. Or it could be something more than that--something much more alarming. After this game (number 25 on the year), the Hoosiers have committed 57 errors. When you compare that number to the number of errors IU opponents have committed (26), a game like this becomes more alarming for the fact that the errors (especially in late-game situations) are beginning to become a trend. After the game, Tracy Smith said the errors the Hoosiers committed helped to breathe life into Xavier especially when you add them to the seven walks the pitchers gave up. Both categories need to improve because these trends will cause inconsistent results throughout the season.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE HOOSIERS:
The Hoosiers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes in a three game weekend series, starting Friday at Sembower Field. The Hawkeyes are 9-11 entering the Wednesday matchup with Nebraska-Omaha, but will arrive in Bloomington with a 2-1 conference record after winning a series against Northwestern to open Big Ten play.
STAT OF THE GAME:
Starting pitcher/designated hitter Collin McEnery entered Tuesday's game against Xavier batting .083 (1-of-12) on the season. After going 2-for-5 with a triple and RBI against the Musketeers, McEnery's batting average more than doubled finishing at .175 and his slugging percentage rose over 200-points (from .083 to .294).
