Chad Clark committed a costly error in the top of the 9th, and things looked bleak for the IU baseball team.
He more than atoned for his mistake in the bottom half.
Clark ripped an 0-1 pitch off Karch Kowalcyzk into the left-field bullen for a walk-off two-runner homer that propelled the Hoosiers to a 5-4 win over Valparaiso, completing a miraculous four-run ninth inning comeback.
Michael Basil started the rally with a one-out infield single to and scored on a Dustin DeMuth double. Casey Smith followed with an RBI double down the left field line, setting up Clark's heroics.
Perhaps most remarkable is that the walk-off was Clark's first home run of the year, and it came off Kowalkcyzk (1-1), who had allowed one run in 25 innings coming into tonight's game.
Coming off a Big Ten tournament and regular season championship, the heavily favored IU baseball team was expected to cruise past Valparaiso in the NCAA Bloomington Regional opener.
The top-seeded Hoosiers had anything but an easy time with the No. 4-seeded Crusaders, managing just five hits against Valpo starter Cole Webb in a 2-1 loss Friday at Bart Kaufman Field.
The Hoosiers (43-15) did not get a runner to third until the third when Scott Donley sacrificed Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis to scoring position. But Michael Basil fouled out to third and Dustin DeMuth struck out looking to end the threat.
IU cut the lead in half in the seventh. With one out, Casey Smith rocked a double that one-hopped the wall in right center and was knocked home on a Chad Clark single to left that made it 2-1 Valparaiso.
