LEXINGTON, Ky. – There is a saying about the best-laid plans, and on Friday (June 2) inside Kentucky Proud Park not everything went as planned for the Indiana baseball program, but a 12-6 victory over West Virginia to open the NCAA Lexington Regional made up for the spoiled pitching plans.
As a pitching staff, Indiana struck out 12 batters and the offense put up 12 runs in the first regional-opening win for Indiana since 2015 against Radford. The 12 strikeouts are the third most in IU’s NCAA postseason history, while the 12 runs are No. 2 in Indiana’s NCAA postseason record books.
A solo home run in the first inning for West Virginia (39-19) started the scoring, but Indiana (42-18) got two runs in the second inning and one in the third. The game yo-yoed back and forth with two WVU runs in the third and one in the fourth to take back the lead. IU’s three-run fifth inning grabbed back the lead, before WVU got a run in the sixth to make it a one-run game. After the two teams traded runs in the eighth, IU tacked on five insurance runs in the ninth to seal the win.
Sophomore Luke Sinnard broke an 89-year-old record for single-season strikeouts with his first punchout of the game against the first batter he faced. With No. 110 on the season, Sinnard broke a tie with Vernon Wilshere (109; 1934) and Eric Arnett (109; 2009). His outing ended in the third inning due to an injury as he struck out five batters and allowed two runs on two hits in the no-decision.
Entering the game for Sinnard was freshman Brayden Risedorph (3-1) who allowed three runs over 3 2/3 innings in relief. He allowed four hits, walked three and struck out two to earn the victory. Senior Ty Bothwell worked the final 3 1/3 innings to earn his second career save. He allowed one run on two hits, walked one and fanned five batters.
At the plate, senior Phillip Glasser posted his 30th multi-hit game of the season, while sophomore Brock Tibbitts posted his 20th multi-RBI game of the season. For Glasser, he is the fifth IU hitter since 2005 to produce 30-plus multi-hit games in a single season and his two runs scored pushed his season total to 67 runs and into a tie for the No. 9 spot on the IU single-season charts with Alex Smith (67; 1986).
Tibbitts is the third Hoosier since 2005 to post 20-plus multi-RBI games and his two runs batted in pushed his season total to 68, a total that ranks tied for No. 6 on the career charts.
Sophomore Carter Mathison had a pair of hits and walked once to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games and added three runs scored. He also plated a ninth-inning RBI. Redshirt junior Bobby Whalen chipped in two hits and three runs scored, while senior Hunter Jessee was on base three times via walk to tie the program’s NCAA postseason record with five other Hoosiers, most recently Matt Lloyd versus Illinois State in 2019.
For West Virginia, Landon Wallace hit a solo home run, walked twice, and accounted for two RBIs. Dayne Leonard was 3-for-4 in the game with a pair of runs scored and Logan Suave doubled and drove in two RBIs in the contest. Blaine Traxel (7-6) tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed six runs – three earned – on five hits. He fanned six and walked three in the loss.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Landon Wallace hit a two-out solo home run.
West Virginia 1, Indiana 0
Top Second
After a leadoff walk to Carter Mathison and error on a Josh Pyne ground ball put runners on second and third. A walk to Hunter Jessee loaded the bases with no outs before a pair of strikeouts. Phillip Glasser singled up the middle to plate two runs.
Indiana 2, West Virginia 1
Top Third
Bobby Whalen doubled to start the inning and moved to third on a flyout. A wild pitch allowed him to score.
Indiana 3, West Virginia 1
Bottom Third
The inning started with a single and after two pitches from starting pitcher Luke Sinnard he exited with an injury. Brayden Risedorph entered and hit a pair of batters with a sacrifice bunt mixed in. A bases loaded walk from Wallace was followed by a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Indiana 3, West Virginia 3
Bottom Fourth
A leadoff triple from Braden Barry was followed by two outs. Logan Suave walked and the during the next at-bat he broke for second and, on the throw down to second, Barry stole home.
West Virginia 4, Indiana 3
Top Fifth
Three straight runners reached base to start the inning as Peter Serruto and Glasser singled to start the inning and Whalen’s sacrifice bunt was thrown away down the right field line to score the first run. Devin Taylor plated the next run with a sacrifice fly and a second wild pitch saw Whalen touch home.
Indiana 6, West Virginia 4
Bottom Sixth
With two outs, Dayne Leonard singled and scored on an RBI double from Suave.
Indiana 6, West Virginia 5
Top Eighth
Mathison’s double started the inning and he moved to third on a groundout from Pyne. Jessee’s sacrifice fly brought home the run.
Indiana 7, West Virginia 5
Bottom Eighth
A walk to pinch hitter Ellis Garcia was followed by a Leonard double to put runners on first and second. A groundout to shortstop pushed the run across.
Indiana 7, West Virginia 6
Top Ninth
Glasser and Whalen walked to start the frame and moved up a bag on a ground out from Taylor. Brock Tibbitts tripled down the right field line to drive in two runs and Mathison followed with an RBI single against the shift. Pyne hit his sixth home run of the season to make it a five-run inning.
Indiana 12, West Virginia 6
Up Next
Indiana will take on host and No. 12 national seed Kentucky at 6 p.m. on Saturday (June 3) at Kentucky Proud Park. Television designations will be announced at a later time. The games will be carried on the Indiana Sports Radio Network and available via the ESPN streaming platforms.