Favorite Games, No. 8: A Walk-Off Winner for Indiana's Collin Hopkins

Indiana catcher Collin Hopkins was in a horrible hitting slump, right up until he hit a game-winning walk-off home run to beat Illinois and end a long losing streak.

Editor's Note: This is the third installment in our 10-part series on HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew's 10 favorite Indiana games during the 2020-21 school year.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The most important job a catcher has is managing his pitching staff, and any offense that comes from the position is often a bonus.

That was certainly true at Indiana this spring, when catcher Collin Hopkins was a big reason why Indiana was No. 3 in the country in earned run average this season, behind only Texas and Fairfield. All of the Indiana pitchers – and his coaches – raved at the job Hopkins did behind the plate.

It was different with a bat in his hand, though, when he started the season in a brutal slump, getting just two hits in his first 30 at bats, for a miniscule .067 average. But on Friday night, April 9, 2021, with the Hoosiers trying to break a five-game losing streak, Hopkins came to the rescue.

And in a huge way.

The Friday game with Illinois at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington started at 5 p.m. ET, and Illinois tied it at 4-4 in the top of the eighth. But then lightning was sighted in the area, and the game was delayed for nearly two hours. 

With the score still tied in the bottom of the ninth, freshman first baseman Kip Fougerousse singled, and then Hopkins bombed a home run far over the left field fence for the game-winner.

B9 | Game over. 😏@collin_hopkins7 | #IUBase pic.twitter.com/VfakQJsQXR

— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) April 10, 2021

"It's really indescribable, to be honest with you, especially after my struggles in the beginning of the year,'' Hopkins said of the home run. "It just really means that my swing is getting to where I want it to be.

"I'm happy that it was a walk-off home run, but I'm really more happy with the outcome. We're blessed to be with a great group of guys. I was definitely taking until I got a strike. I was just trying to stay simple, like (Coach Jeff Mercer) always tell me. It was a 3-1 count and it was a hitter's pitch, and I got it.''

Indiana coach Jeff Mercer was thrilled that Hopkins had a moment, as were his teammates, who mobbed him at home plate.

"His teammates love him, and he's truly one of the best kids I've ever coached, ever been around,'' Mercer said. "People rave about his makeup, and that means a lot for us in this program. You trust a kid who keeps working, and he can change a game in a lot of ways.

"I'm very proud to wear the same jersey as him.'' 

Hopkins was a great locker room presence all year during the Hoosiers' 26-18 season.

"He's very supportive of his teammates,'' Mercer said. "He's like a chamelion, he can go into every group and he can relate to everybody. That's an incredible trait to have. He cares tremendously about those around him because he's been in all those positions. He cares more about group success than individual success. There are only a couple guys you'll ever coach who cares more about the group, and that's what Collin is.''

Previous 'Favorite Games' stories

• NUMBER 10: Indiana's football team has struggled at Wisconsin for decades, so it was very sweet to go up there and steal a 14-6 win on Dec. 5, 2020 in quarterback Jack Tuttle's first-ever college start. CLICK HERE
• NUMBER 9: Armaan Franklin was having a brutal shooting night against Iowa in Assembly Hall on Feb. 7, 2021, right up until he hit the game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds left to go. CLICK HERE

Related Indiana baseball stories

• HISTORIC WEEKEND: Collin Hopkins hit a walk-off home run on Friday and then caught a no-hitter on Saturday, and you might be surprised as to which one meant more to him. CLICK HERE