Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers' Bats Explode in 9-4 Rout of Purdue

Indiana had 14 hits and got a lot of production from the bottom of the order in a solid 9-4 win over Purdue to take the weekend series from its arch-rivals.

Tom Brew | Mar 22, 2021

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It's obvious that Indiana doesn't like losing. After seeing its eight-game winning streak end a day earlier, the Hoosiers' bats came alive on Sunday in a 9-4 victory over Purdue to win the weekend series.

What helped even more is that Indiana (9-2) got a lot of production from the bottom of the order, getting a combined five hits and five RBIs from its Nos. 7-9 hitters, freshman designated hitter Kip Fougerousse, catcher Collin Hopkins and shortstop Jeremy Houston. So bouncing right back, especially against Purdue, was nice.

'Yesterday was a tough game. You never like losing to Purdue, but honestly, we never like losing period,'' Houston said. "We had a little meeting before, and we came out and handled our business. We needed to pick it up on offense, and we showed what we could do as a team today.''

Houston, the No. 9 hitter who came into the game hitting just .143, was 2-for-4 Sunday and had a big two-run single in the second inning after Purdue had scored twice in the top of the frame.

No. 7 hitter Fougerousse, a freshman from Tit, was 1-for-2 with a walk and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to cap a three-run third inning. He singled in the eighth inning and then scored on a long two-run homer by Hopkins.

That one was big, because the veteran catcher, who went 2-for-4 Sunday, was hitless in his first 14 at-bats this season.

That's production.

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— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) March 21, 2021

"We can be dangerous,'' Houston said. "It was one through nine today, but we can go one through 15 too. We're a deep team, and we've got guys on the bench who can come in and hit.''

Gabe Bierman, a sophomore from Jeffersonville, Ind., got the win for Indiana. He pitched six innings and had a few rough spots, but he also did a great job of getting out of a few jams to keep Indiana ahead. He gave up two runs in the second, allowing three singles, a walk and throwing two wild pitches, but he also got the last two outs of the inning on a strikeout and groundout with the bases loaded.

In the sixth inning with Indiana leading 5-3, Purdue loaded the bases with no outs with a walk, an Indiana error and a hit batsman, but then Bierman induced a double play and got a groundout, allowing just the one run and keeping Indiana ahead.

Once again, Indiana's bullpen was perfect. Ty Bothwell, who started games during the first two four-game weekends, retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, and closer Matt Litwicki pitched a perfect ninth. And when Indiana added on those extra runs, they were able to cruise to the finish.

"They got to Gabe early. He was trying to establish his fastball, and they were doing a good job against him,'' interim manager Dan Held said of Purdue's hitters. "That team really battles and they're a hard out to get. We had to make adjustments, and Gabe did a good job with that.

"I always tell our starting pitchers, if you can give us a chance to win, that's the ultimate goal when you take the rubber. We got that. And then Ty came in and did a great job and (Litwicki) he just came in and does his job. He doesn't get in trouble and really goes after hitters. He really dominated today.''

Litwicki, the sophomore from Dyer, Ind., has made five appearances thus far, pitching 5 2/3 innings without allowing a hit. He has eight strikeouts as well, and has been a true shut-the-door closer so far for the Hoosiers.

And with the hitters coming alive, that's a good sign in itself, too. Four others – Drew Ashley, Grant Richardson, Cole Barr and Paul Toetz – had two hits each as well.

Held said it was especially gratifying to see Hopkins have a big day after struggling so much to start the season.

"I think as a hitter, just to get success, to feel that success, really can drive you to continued success,'' Held said. "Today's going to help him, We just need to stay the course and keep working. A day like today can leapfrog him forward.

"It's funny because that last ball that Hopkins hit was actually a hit-and-run and the runner didn't go and he turns around and hits a home run. I told him next time you're up to the plate, even if there's nobody on base, you're going to hit-and-run.''

Indiana travels to Michigan State next weekend for a three-game series on Friday through Sunday,

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