Let's take a quick look at the Indiana Hoosiers' 6-5 15-inning victory over in-state rival Ball State. (Note: this recap will be the only quick thing about this game. In actual time, the game took four hours and thirty minutes and was played after a thirty minute rain delay.)
WHAT HAPPENED:
In the bottom of the 15th, Justin Cureton came up with the bases loaded and lined a RBI single to right to drive in Chad Clark. Because there were two outs in the inning and the sun was about to be completely set, Cureton's at-bat decided if the game would end in a tie or a win. The junior center fielder
HOW IT HAPPENED:
WHAT IT MEANS:
On paper, a win for the Hoosiers seemed probable against Ball State Wednesday. Ball State entered the game with a 5-19 record and the Hoosiers were coming off a strong weekend, winning 2-of-3 at home against Iowa. In a mid-week matchup against an in-state foe, those things get thrown out when the first pitch is thrown.
Heading into this game, a win for the Hoosiers did not seem like it would mean as much as it felt like it meant after the game. In actual time, the game took five hours--not including how long the players were out before the game warming up. Truly, this game was a maranthon win and, in the end, an important win for the Hoosiers because they gutted it out. When the Hoosiers were down to two outs in the bottom of the 15th--what was going to be the last inning win, lose or tie--freshman Chad Clark started a rally. And then, Dustin DeMuth and Chris Sujka followed with back-to-back walks, all to set up Cureton's heroics. The point is the Hoosiers pulled out a victory in a hard-fought, challenging contest. It wasn't the prettiest game, but every 'W' looks the same in the record book and this was a big one after it all.
What's Next for the Hoosiers: This weekend, the Hoosiers travel to Champaign, Il. for a three-game weekend series with the Fighting Illini. The Illini enter the series with a 15-11 record, but are only 1-2 in conference. IU hopes to win its third straight series to open Big Ten play.
STAT OF THE GAME:
Six IU pitchers combined to strike out 19 Ball State batters during the 15-inning contest--the most the Hoosiers have struck out in a single-game since 2007. Ball State struck out swinging 11 times and 8 times looking and two of the strikeouts did not actually record outs. Chad Martin and Walker Stadler struck batters out swinging, but the batters reached base on wild pitches. Needless to say, the Hoosiers' pitchers were nasty on Wednesday.
STAT OF THE GAME 2:
Both Indiana's catcher Kyle Schwarber and Ball State's catcher Kevin Franchetti caught the entire four-hour and thirty-minute game. In all, 107 batters came to the plate in that time and 33 batters struck out.
Stat of the Game 3:
Ball State's lead-off hitter Wes Winkle went 0-for-7 in the game with five strikeouts. Entering the game, Winkle was batting .342 on the season, but after his rough day, his batting average dropped 29-points to .313.
