Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers go 2-1 in Coastal Carolina Tournament

Indiana baseball goes 2-1 in a loaded field at the Coastal Carolina Tournament, getting some much needed quality non-conference wins.

After back-to-back mid week victories, Indiana baseball continued their good play over the weekend at the Coastal Carolina Tournament.

Going 2-1, the Hoosiers beat Northeastern and No. 21 UCONN, losing to No. 11 Coastal Carolina.

Pitching, which was at a premium in every matchup coming into the tournament, was on show for most of the games for Indiana.

Matt Gorski led the Hoosiers with a .455 (5-for-11) batting average including five RBI’s and three walks.

Let’s take a look at each matchup and how they faired.

Game 1 vs Northeastern (W, 6-4)

In game one against Northeastern, senior workhorse, Pauly Milto got his second win on the season (2-1) going eight strong innings striking out seven. His only blemish was a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning.

A lackluster start to the season from the plate for Indiana, the Hoosiers found their way in South Carolina with 29 hits, including a then season-high 10 in their opener.

Leading the attack against the Huskies was Logan Kaletha who finished 2-for-4 with three RBI’s and a solo home-run (1) in the first inning to get things going. Right behind him was preseason All-American Matt Gorski. In the leadoff spot, Gorski got on base twice, as well as knocking in one run.

Despite giving up another run in the ninth inning, Connor Manous got his first save of the season.

Game 2 vs No. 21 UCONN (W, 9-6)

In the second matchup of Saturday, the Hoosiers were able to get their first ranked win of the season by knocking off their second Huskies team of the weekend.

In what was the starting pitching that led Indiana in game one, it was their bullpen that solidified the win against UCONN.

Pitching five innings, they gave up three runs, while none being earned, giving up just four hits. Grant Sloan (1-1) was given credit with the win after going two strong innings in relief.

After a season-high 10 hits against Northeastern, Indiana came right back with a new season-high 11 hits against UCONN.

Since returning to the lineup after missing the Tennessee series, Matt Gorski has been on a tear and continued that against the Huskies. He went 2-for-5 with four RBI’s and contributed two runs.

Every Hoosier who had a plate appearance, got on base either by a hit or walk.

Game 3 vs No. 11 Coastal Carolina (L, 5-4)

In one of the marquee matchups of the weekend, the Hoosiers fell to Coastal Carolina despite playing seven nearly perfect innings.

Tommy Sommer gave up just one earned run, three total, in 3.2 innings pitched. Up 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, it was a walk-off single by pinch hitter Jared Johnson of Coastal Carolina to give them the win.

Grant Sloan was handed the loss while facing just one batter, Johnson.

Drew Ashley drove in two runners, going 1-for-4, while Jeremy Houston went 2-for-4 on the day with two runs. Matt Gorski was shown a lot of respect, getting walked three times, going 1-for-2 on the afternoon.

Whats next?

The Hoosiers come back home and face Indiana State in Bloomington on March 5 before heading out west to another loaded field at the Safeco Field Tournament, in Washington.