Indiana
junior left-hander Joey DeNato (2-1) allowed one run over 7.1 innings, redshirt
sophomore Scott Donley (2-for-5) drove in two runs and sophomore Kyle Schwarber
went 4-for-4 to lead the Hoosiers (7-2) to a series-opening 4-1 win over
Florida (7-8) on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. IU claimed the first meeting
between the programs on the diamond since 1956 to increase their winning streak
to five games and also ended the Gators’ streak of four victories.
“The
starting pitcher for Indiana [Joey DeNato] did a really nice job; he kept us
off-balance,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We had a nice
opportunity there in the [third inning] with the bases loaded and with one out,
and at that time it was a 1-1 ballgame, and we struck out; we need to put the
ball in play. That’s been a thing that’s been hurting us all year long; we have
to do a better job.”
“He
[DeNato] made some big pitches, he pitched with a fastball; after that at-bat
to [Justin] Shafer, he went to his fastball and located it and did a nice job
and it probably saved them an inning or two. He did a really nice job; we knew
going in that Indiana had a really good team; we knew their two and three-hole
hitters were really good; obviously tonight you saw that, they got over half of
their hits. They earned it tonight; they played really well.”
Indiana
grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning against junior Jonathon Crawford
(Okeechobee, Fla.) (0-2) on an RBI single by Donley. Schwarber and sophomore Sam
Travis (3-for-5) had consecutive one-out singles and Donley followed with a base-hit
into left field to open the scoring.
After
Crawford retired the Hoosiers in order in the second and had a pair of
strikeouts, senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) (2-for-4) tied the game with
a leadoff homer to left field just inside of the foul pole. It was his second
round-tripper of the year, first since Feb. 19 at UCF, and extended his hitting
streak to six games.
"He
(Indiana’s Joey DeNato) pitched well,” Ramjit said. “He threw everything for
strikes. We swung at some pitches that we probably shouldn't have. We attacked,
but didn't execute like we needed to.”
The
Gators loaded the bases in the third on back-to-back singles by senior Cody
Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor,
Fla.) (2-for-4) and a walk on a 12-pitch at bat to sophomore Justin Shafer
(Lake Wales, Fla.). DeNato kept the contest deadlocked by striking out Ramjit
and having sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) fly out to right
field.
IU
used four-straight singles in the fifth to build a 3-1 advantage. Redshirt
sophomore Will Nolden (2-for-4) had a one-out single into left center, senior
Justin Cureton (1-for-3, two runs) singled into left field and Schwarber moved
the Hoosiers back in front with a base-knock up the middle that scored Nolden
and advanced Cureton to third base on a bobble by freshman Harrison Bader
(Bronxville, N.Y.). Soon after, a bouncing single to third by Travis drove in
Cureton. Crawford worked out of further trouble by having Donley and senior
Michael Basil ground out.
Cureton
drew a one-out walk in the seventh, ending the night for Crawford. Over a
season-high 6.1 innings, the righty yielded nine hits and four runs, with a
season-best six strikeouts. Schwarber greeted sophomore reliever Corey Stump
(Lakeland, Fla.) with his fourth hit of the game, a single through the right
side, and redshirt freshman Aaron Rhodes (Venice, Fla.) was summoned
from the bullpen. Travis stroked a single into right field to load the bases
and Donley provided the Hoosiers with a 4-1 lead with an RBI single that
brought across Cureton. Rhodes had Basil hit into an inning-ending 6-3 double
play.
After
a one-out single by Ramjit in the eighth, freshman Scott Effross replaced
DeNato, who scattered eight hits over 7.1 innings and totaled five strikeouts.
The righty had a fielder’s choice by Gushue erase Ramjit at second base and
struck out freshman pinch hitter Christian Dicks (Jacksonville, Fla.). Effross
pitched a perfect ninth to collect his first collegiate save. The Hoosiers had
a 13-8 advantage in hits and each squad committed one error.
