Joel Booker was 5-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored and Tyler Peyton was 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored to lead the eighth-seeded Hawkeyes, who will face either No. 4 Ohio State or No. 5 Michigan Thursday night at 9 p.m.in the second round. But an error on Jake Placzek, who made a spectacular play to start a double play in the inning, led to a run-scoring single by Indiana’s Brian Willhite.
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A pair of runs in the top of the fourth gave in a lead that the Cornhuskers erased two innings later.
Jake Bivens hit a one-out RBI single to tie the game, a hit batter loaded the bases and a wild pitch two batters later gave MI a 3-2 lead. That includes during the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, which is why MSU players say they were happy to see the Cornhuskers as their first round opponent.
The Huskers must wait until Monday to find out if their 37-20 record and second place finish in the Big Ten regular season race is good enough to earn them an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Jake Bivens finished 1-for-3 with an RBI while Carmen Benedetti drove in a run to lead MI at the plate. Blake Hickman was Iowa’s only first-team selection a year ago, while Eric Toole, Calvin Mathews, and Nick Hibbing earned second-team honors and Tyler Peyton and Roscetti earned third-team honors.
The team did manage what the home state Omaha crowd hoped was going to be a rally when Vieaux walked a batter with two out and then allowed the runner to reach second on a wild pitch.
The Hawkeyes widened the gap in the fifth, pushing their lead to 8-2.
Then, in the seventh inning against Nebraska on Thursday, the Hoosiers strung together four consecutive two-out hits to take a lead they would not surrender. “We came here to win this tournament and we stayed in that upper bracket tonight”.
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No. 5 MI advances to Friday’s 7:30 p.m. elimination game against the loser of tonight’s Iowa-Ohio State matchup. It was a grind it out type of day for us offensively, but when you’ve got a Friday night guy and he’s rolling, it makes everything easier. “We’ve won two series – at Michigan State and we beat IN twice – without him”, Erstad said. “We looked at this as a fresh start; the guys answered the bell tonight”. “We’re treating the game vs. Ohio State like it’s the only game we’re playing all week, and we’re going to do whatever we have to do to come out on top in that game”. The game will be televised on BTN.
