The Indiana baseball program picked up a big win to avoid the sweep in the season opening series over the weekend.
College baseball is back and the Indiana baseball program is looking to improve on a 2019 season in which the Big Ten regular season championship trophy returned to Bloomington. Despite an abrupt end to their season last year, the start of this year brought hope again that they could make a run to Omaha.
Picked fourth in the Big Ten in the preseason, the Hoosiers would find out where they stacked up right away with a road trip to No. 11 LSU. Always a powerhouse program, the Tigers finished 40-26 last season and brought in a top-10 recruiting class combined with names like Preseason All-American outfielder Daniel Cabrera, and catcher Saul Garza who opted to return to LSU instead of going to the draft.
So what did IU fans learn about the team? It’s early but expectations should be high for the season.
After losing the first two games by a combined score of 15-5, the Hoosiers came back with a great performance and stole the third game from the Tigers, 7-2.
After seeing returning starters Tommy Sommer and Gabe Bierman give up a combined 12 hits and eight earned runs, it was sophomore Braydon Tucker who lit up the Tigers in the third game. Tucker went 6.0 innings giving up four hits and just one earned run. Tucker, who made just five relief appearances as a freshman, showed great composure in his first ever start, especially against such a talented team on the road.
At the plate, there wasn’t much to write home about as the team struck out a combined 27 times in the series. Cole Barr, one of the leading returning players for IU, struggled all series, going just 1-for-10 with six strikeouts. The name that stood out was Grant Richardson. The Freshman All-American last year got his season off to a great start as he went 6-for-12 with five RBIs and four runs.
The Hoosiers return to action this weekend in the South Alabama Tournament with matchups against UT Martin, No. 23 South Alabama and Siena.