Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers Let Late Lead Slip Away, Fall to Ohio State Again, 4-3

Indiana grabbed a two-run lead in the eight inning, but then Ohio State came roaring back against reliever John Modugno and won 4-3, sweeping the four-game series.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Indiana's struggles continued at Ohio State on Sunday, wasting a terrific outing by starter Gabe Bierman and letting a late lead slip away in a 4-3 loss to the Buckeyes.

It was the fifth straight loss for Indiana (11-7,) with four of those coming this weekend at Ohio State. Sunday's may have hurt the most though, because Indiana took a two-run lead in the eighth inning but then couldn't hold it.

Starter Gabe Bierman gave them a great chance to win, pitching seven terrific innings and allowing just three hits and one unearned run. 

"Gabe was tremendous,'' Indiana coach Jeff Mercer said. "He really executed the fastball and his changeup and slider were really good. That's the guy we've seen for three years at Indiana.

"We were fortunate to get a great start from him, and I could not be more proud of him. He was awesome.''

His teammates put him ahead in the eighth on doubles by Morgan Colopy and Drew Ashley sandwiched around and error to put the Hoosiers up at 3-1. Bierman was at 95 pitches, so Mercer felt like it was time to go to the bullpen

John Modugno relieved Bierman in the eighth and Ohio State got to him with a walk and three straight singles to tie the game at 3-3. A couple of the ground-ball singles were just out of reach of Indiana defenders in the infield, and a defensive play or two could have ended the rally before it started.

"He did a good job. They hit balls hard, low and we had opportunities there in the eighth to turn a double play and we didn't do it,'' Mercer said. "He's a sinker-ball pitcher and I thought a few of those, we could have gotten a glove on and maybe turned two. 

"John's been a good pitcher for us, and he'll be a good pitcher for us for a long time to come.''

Modugno came back out for the ninth, but gave up a walk and a single, and then Zach Dezenzo won the game with a hard single deep to left in the ninth to end it. That was  his fourth hit of the day,

Dezenzo, who was recruiting by Mercer when he was coaching at Wright State before coming to Indiana in 2019, was scuffling a bit coming into the series, hitting just .250. He had a huge weekend for Ohio State, going 8-for-15 with big hits in every win. By the end of the weekend, his average was up to .310

"I think I've started putting the pieces together, and I felt like we were slowly on the rise,'' he said. "After this series with Indiana, I definitely feel like I got a monkey off my back. That was my first walk-off and I've never experienced anything like that (Gatorade bath). To celebrate that with my brothers was an amazing feeling.'' 

Bierman came into the game with a 1-2 record at 4.05 earned run average, the highest among Indiana's four starters. He had been struggling with control issues, walking 14 batters in just 20 innings thus far, but he was sharp on Sunday, with just two walks.

Indiana wasted run-scoring opportunities all day long, often shooting themselves in the foot. In the first, Drew Ashley was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, but then got picked off of first with one out.

In the second, catcher Collin Hopkins, who's really been struggling at the plate this year with an .080 batting average, struck out to end the inning with runners stranded on second and third. 

In the fourth, the Hoosiers scored with the bases loaded on an error by Dezenzo, but strikeouts by Hopkins and Ashley ended what could have been a big inning. 

Ohio State finally got on the board in the sixth, thanks to some shoddy defensive work by the Hoosiers. Mitchell Okuley led off the inning with a squib in front of the plate, but Hopkins' throw to first was low and Jordan Fucci couldn't handle it. A single and walk loaded the bases with no out. 

Bierman induced a pop-up in foul territory behind first base that Fucci caught, but he collided with second baseman Pau Toetz and went to the ground. Okuley scored from third. Bierman ended the threat by getting a double play ball off the bat of Colton Bauer to leave the score tied at 1-1.

In the seventh, Indiana was its own worst enemy again. Cole Barr led off with a double, and then Toetz hit a ball out in front of the plate. The throw to first was wild and Barr scored, but home plate umpire Jon Saphire called Toetz out for running several feet inside the base line and sent Barr back to second. Pinch-hitter Tyler Van Pelt was hit by a pitch – the fifth of the game for Indiana – but then Fucci hit into a double play.

Indiana got on the board in the eighth in eerily similar fashion. Colopy opened the inning with a double in the left-center gap, and Hopkins bunted. Ohio State pitcher Bayden Root then sailed his throw over the first baseman's head, but no interference was called this time and Colopy came around to score to give Indiana the lead at 2-1. Ashley then followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Hopkins..

Indiana was 0-for-17 with men on base through seven innings and finished just 2-for-21 in that category, with both hits coming in their run-scoring eighth-inning. They left 13 men on base overall.

"Yeah, it was certainly frustrating. They're good, hard-working kids and they want to contribute and help the team win, but we weren't able to do that,'' Mercer said. "I have to go back and do a better job of helping them in those situations. We got guys on, but we have to give ourselves a chance (to score).''

The Hoosiers dropped from first to fourth in the Big Ten standings after the sweep, and are now two games behind Nebraska for the lead. Michigan and Ohio State, who play each other next weekend, are ahead of them as well.

The Hoosiers return home next weekend for a three-game series with Illinois. Games will start at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. No fans are allowed per Monroe County Health Department and university COVID-19 protocols.

Related stories on Indiana baseball

• SATURDAY: Hoosiers swept in doubleheader at Ohio State, losing 6-0 and 5-2 and striking out a whopping 28 times in the two games. CLICK HERE 
• FRIDAY: Indiana wastes a good start from Tommy Sommer and only gets three hits in a 3-2 loss to Ohio State in the series opener. CLICK HERE
• HOOSIERS IN THE PROS: There are four former Indiana baseball players on Opening Day rosters in the major leagues. CLICK HERE

Big Ten baseball standings

Team	Won	Lost	Pct.	GB	Streak
Nebraska	13	5	.722	---	W-1
Michigan	12	5	.706	0.5	L-1
Ohio State	12	7	.632	1.5	W-4
Indiana	11	7	.611	2	L-5
Northwestern	10	7	.588	2.5	W-1
Rutgers	9	8	.529	3.5	W-1
Iowa	9	9	.500	4	W-1
Michigan State	8	8	.400	4	W-2
Illinois	8	10	.444	5	L-1
Maryland	7	9	.438	5	W-2
Penn State	6	11	.353	6.5	L-1
Purdue	4	13	.235	8.5	L-1
Minnesota	3	13	.188	9	L-5

Big Ten weekend results

Friday's results

• Ohio State 3, Indiana 2 
• Penn State 1, Rutgers 0
• Maryland 4, Northwestern 3
• Iowa 4, Purdue 2 (10 innings)
• Michigan State 7, Minnesota 6
• Nebraska 8, Illinois 6

Saturday's results

• Ohio State 6, Indiana 0
• Ohio State 5, Indiana 2
• Maryland 8, Northwestern 4 
• Penn State 5, Rutgers 1
• Purdue 10, Iowa 8
• Illinois 10, Nebraska 8
• Michigan 5, Northwestern 2 

Sunday's results

• Ohio State 4, Indiana 3
• Northwestern 4, Michigan 1
• Iowa 8, Purdue 5
• Nebraska 12, Illinois 7
• Rutgers 6, Penn State 4
• Michigan at Maryland, late

Monday's game

• Michigan at Maryland, 3 p.m. ET