Indiana Baseball: Pitchers Dominate Again in Sweep of Penn State

Indiana is tied for the Big Ten lead at 7-1 after a four-game sweep of Penn State that was dominated by more outstanding pitching, from both the starters and the bullpen.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- McCade Brown might have the nastiest stuff of any of the Indiana pitchers, but even he can use a bit of advice now and then.

After walking two batters in the first inning against Penn State on Saturday, he got a visit from pitching coach Justin Parker. They talked about a few mechanical things, but mostly the message was to just relax and pitch.

Message received.

Brown then retired 15 batters in a row, 13 by strikeout. He pitched seven innings in total, striking out 16 hitters to tie a school record and didn't allow a hit. Braydon Tucker and Reese Sharp each pitched a scoreless inning to preserve the one-hit shutout. It was the highlight of a perfect weekend for the Hoosiers, who swept the four-game series with Penn State. It was their first Big Ten four-game sweep since 2008.

"His timing was a little off. I thought he was a little stalled out and stagnant and I tried to get him in a better rhythm,'' Indiana pitching coach Justin Parker said of the early mound visit. "I knew if he did that, everything would synch up, and away he went.''

Brown (2-0) had 12 strikeouts in his first outing against Rutgers and now has 28 strikeouts in just 14 innings. That's dominance. He's allowed only one run and three hits, and has a 0.64 earned run average. Brown’s 16 strikeouts are the most since Brad Edwards set the Indiana school record with 16 against Quinnipiac on Mar. 17, 2000. He broke Indiana's record (13) for a Big Ten game.

"He's incredibly physically gifted, very detail oriented and he's got some big-time weapons,'' Parker said. "It's a tough mix, and he's tough on guys. It's been awesome to see his growth.''

Brown, a sophomore from Normal, Ill., was showed plenty of promise a year ago before the spring season was shut down because of COVID-19. Indiana's coaches marveled at his offseason work, and figured he'd have a big season. Brown thought so, too. He's in a good place right now, physically and mentally, and he's ready to dominate hitters in the Big Ten.

"I definitely feel confident and ready, and able to control a game and work through situations,'' he said. "I feel really strong. Being able to throw the zone has been helpful. In the past, that's been a weakness of mine, and it's been much better. Coach Parker calls a great game, too.

"You just focus on executing that pitch, and then moving on to the next one. There's not a lot of thought that goes into it.''

The Hoosiers are now 7-1 on the season after the series sweep and are tied for the Big Ten lead with Michigan. The Hoosiers have another home series this weekend, taking on Purdue Friday through Sunday.

Indiana played the series without head coach Jeff Mercer, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. 

Game 1 (Saturday): Indiana 7, Penn State 2

Tommy Sommer picked up his second win of the season and Nathan Stahl pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen as the Hoosiers opened their weekend series with a 7-2 win over Penn State.

The Hoosiers had nine hits, with right fielder Sam Murrison and shortstop Jeremy Houston each going 2-for-3. 

Game 2 (Saturday): Indiana 8, Penn State 0

McCade Brown tied a 21-year-old school record with 16 strikeouts in just seven innings to lead the Hoosiers to their first shutout of the season. That set a school record in Big Ten games, breaking the mark of 13 set by Andrew Saalfrank against Penn State in 2019.

First baseman Jordan Fucci was the hitting star for the Hoosiers, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Cole Barr had a two-run triple as well.  

Game 3 (Sunday): Indiana 6, Penn State 5

Indiana outfielder Grant Richardson hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give Indiana a dramatic 6-5 walk-off victory in the first game of a doubleheader with Penn State.

Indiana trailed early 5-1, but Grant Macciocchi cut into the lead with a solo homer in the fifth inning. Later in the inning, Richardson doubled and scored on a single by Cole Barr to cut the lead to 5-3.

In the seventh, Macciocchi walked and Drew Ashley singled before Richardson's game-winner, the first walk-off homer for Indiana since 2018.  Connor Manous (1-0) got the win for the Hoosiers, getting the final seven outs in order. 

Game 4 (Sunday): Indiana 2, Penn State 1

Gabe Bierman pitched six innings of one-hit ball and the Hoosiers won the game on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh to get a 2-1 win over Penn State and a four-game series sweep.

Bierman allowed just one run and struck out six. John Modugno got the win after 1 2/3 scoreless innings and Matt Litwicki remained perfect on the season, getting the final four outs for his second save of the season. 

NOTABLES

• The four-game sweep is the first for Indiana in a Big Ten series since taking all four from Michigan State on May 15-17, 2008.

• The sweep is the first of a Big Ten opponent for IU since a three-game series against Rutgers on May 16-18, 2019.

• OF Drew Ashley extended his on-base streak to 33-games dating back to the 2019 season with a single in the bottom of the third inning.

• INF Brennan Rowe made his collegiate debut and recorded his first hit in his first at-bat, a single to center in the bottom of the third.