Indiana bats stay hot, tacking on 20 hits to grasp series lead over Butler
By Zach Horwitz @HorwitzZach March 30th, 2024
Following up on a near-perfect outing that included seven shutout innings and ten strikeouts, Connor Foley took the mound with confidence yet again. The sophomore continued to rely on his fastball, sitting 94-97 comfortably, and mixing in his 80 mph off-speed pitches to set off the Butler batting order.
Indiana Hoosiers 22, Butler Bulldogs 3:
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
Foley allowed only one hit through the first five innings, and two runs which came off of a Kade Lewis long ball. The Jasper, IN native walked three batters and struck out nine in 5.2 innings pitched. Grant Holderfield completed the other 1.1 IP, striking out three Butler hitters.
Behind a raucous Hoosier faithful of nearly 2000 in attendance, the story of the ballgame came from the spark in the Hoosiers bats.
After plating 11 runs in Friday’s victory, the offense stayed aggressive, pouncing on the Bulldogs pitching early in the ballgame. Butler starter Grant Brooks completed only one inning, in which he allowed six runs on six hits. The Hoosiers brought all nine batters to the plate, most significantly capped off by an Andrew Wiggins 432 ft home run to right field.
Wiggins had a monster day, and behind him in the lineup was fellow freshman Jasen Oliver, acting as a “second leadoff batter”. Oliver smacked his third home run of the week, a three-run shot to centerfield following his triple the last time up. The young duo combined for a 6-8 day with 7 RBIs.
The Hoosiers put up a crooked number in four of the first five innings. Six batters had multi-hit performances, and five Hoosiers hit home runs. Carter Mathison has been productive in the top spot in Jeff Mercer’s lineup, a 3-4 afternoon in which he scored twice.
The biggest impact of the plate has shined in the left-handed batters box, as Nick Mitchell cranked a grand slam in the 2nd inning, en route to a 3-4 ballgame amassing six RBIs.
Tyler Cerny and Devin Taylor both mashed one over the fence. Cerny finished the day 2-4 with 3 RBIs, and now has not allowed an error in eight consecutive contests. The shortstop has really cleaned things up defensively, now looking much more comfortable after permitting 12 errors in the first 20 games.
The Hoosiers solidified the victory in run support, taking game three of the four-game set by a score of 22-3. Indiana and Butler meet again shortly as Jeff Mercer’s bunch looks to take both games of the doubleheader and claim the series.