Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers go 3-0 at South Alabama Invitational

The Indiana baseball team headed to Alabama to play three games over the weekend and came away with three wins.

The Hoosiers played great baseball over the weekend picking up three wins, including a big win over number 30th ranked and host South Alabama Jaguars. After opening the season 1-2 after a three-game set at LSU, the Hoosiers bounced back to pick up wins against UT Martin, South Alabama, and Siena to push their record to 4-2 on the season.

In the first game, Junior outfielder Elijah Dunham led the way going 3-5 from the plate including a double and a run scored. Cole Barr got the scoring started with a solo home run in the first inning, but the Hoosiers still found themselves down 2-1 entering the 5th inning, but three singles and a sac fly would put Indiana ahead for good at 3-2.

Tommy Sommer would pick up his first win of the year with a solid five innings of work. He gave up just four hits and two runs before his day was done. Braden Scott and Connor Manous would combine to throw four shutout innings to finish off UT Martin and give the Hoosiers their second win of the year.

Saturday the Hoosiers would take on host South Alabama and would get all the scoring they would need in the first inning when they plated three runs before the Jaguars even came to bat. Dunham continued his hot weekend going 3-3 with another double and run scored. Barr would go 2-4 with a double of his own and a run scored to help pace the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers would score again in the fifth to go up 4-0 before giving up a pair in the 7th inning,  but that would be it for the Jaguars as Indiana would win 4-2. Gabe Beirman would get his first win on the mound this year as he went 6.2 innings giving up six hits and those two runs. Grant Sloan, Cal Krueger, and McCade Brown would shut out the Jaguars over the last 2.1 innings to secure the win for the Hoosiers.

In the final game of the weekend, the Hoosiers would take on Siena. Indiana would have little problem with the Saints as they easily won 12-3. After a slow start, the Hoosiers would score five runs in the third and four in the fourth to put the game away. Dunham only had one hit in the last game but he made it count as it was a three-run home run in the fourth to put the Hoosiers up 8-0. The Hoosiers leadoff batter Drew Ashley would go 2-5 on the game with two runs batted in.

The win against the Saints was a welcome sight after two close games on Friday and Saturday. After the big third inning, the Hoosiers had the game in hand. Braydon Tucker pitched five shutout innings to pick up his second win of the year and lead the Hoosiers to their fourth win overall.

The Hoosiers will play their first home game of the year Wednesday when they host in-state rival Butler before they head back out on the road this weekend. Indiana will travel to North Carolina for the Keith Leclair Classic where they will face ranked opponents in East Carolina and Ole Miss. They will also play High Point in another tough weekend on the diamond.

The Hoosiers have shown they can play with the tougher competition and this early schedule will only help them in hopes of defending their Big Ten title.