Iowa's ace had to sit. Indiana State pounced, Sycamores are one win shy of Super Regional.
TERRE HAUTE – The Indiana State baseball team is one victory away from reaching the furthest it has been in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship since its lone College World Series appearance in 1986.
For the second straight game as the regional host, the top-seeded Sycamores rallied with a big eighth inning, followed by some stellar defensive plays in the ninth, for a come-from-behind 7-4 win Saturday over Iowa.
The Hawkeyes had been in command for most of the game behind a dominant performance from sophomore pitcher Brody Brecht, a projected first round pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft. Brecht left after allowing just two hits through seven innings and the Hawkeyes in front 4-2. He was pulled after nearing the maximum 110 pitches allowed by a player in a game, with 108. The Sycamores took advantage of his absence, with a five-run eighth inning that broke the game open.
“I certainly felt better when Brecht left the field,” said Indiana State coach Mitch Hannahs. “He was phenomenal — as good as we have seen by a large margin.”
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Indiana State (44-15) now controls its own destiny, with a chance to wrap up the championship Sunday against either Iowa (43-15) or North Carolina (36-23) at 6 p.m. at Bob Warn Field. The Tar Heels eliminated Wright State 5-0 in Saturday’s early game of the double-elimination tournament and will face Iowa at noon. If Indiana State wins the nightcap, they move on to next weekend's Super Regional at a location to be determined. A Sycamores loss Sunday night would force a decisive winner-take-all game on Monday.
“They didn’t quit,” said Iowa coach Rick Heller, who coached at Indiana State from 2010-2013 before taking the Hawkeyes job. “They kept fighting and when they got an opportunity… in the eighth, they took advantage of it.”
Iowa jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first, but Indiana State junior Adam Pottinger tied it in the second on a solo home run. The Sycamores took a 2-1 lead in the third on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Randal Diaz that scored catcher Grant Magill. Iowa returned the favor in the top of the fourth with a run to tie the score. The Hawkeyes broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to take a 4-2 lead.
The Sycamores loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, with Diaz getting hit by a pitch, designated hitter Luis Hernandez reaching on an infield single, and Pottinger dropping a single into shallow left. Mike Sears walked to score Diaz, and senior first baseman Miguel Rivera broke through with his only hit of the game — a double to deep right field that gave Indiana State a 5-4 lead. Magill, Friday’s hero with a pair of RBIs in the eighth, came through again with a two-run double to follow Rivera.
“This team is phenomenal,” Rivera said. “We just always just kept our heads down, always had faith in ourselves. We had each other’s backs no matter the situation, no matter the outcome.”
Connor Fenlong (11-2) got the start for Indiana State, going eight innings and surrendering seven hits with eight strikeouts. It was somewhat of a full-circle game for Fenlong, who gave up a grand slam in the 11th inning of a 6-2 season-opening loss to the Hawkeyes back in February.
“I knew that as long as I came out here and kept my stuff how I wanted and limit my mistakes, they were not going to hit the ball hard all over the place,” Fenlong said.
Jared Spencer picked up his team-best seventh save in a ninth inning in which his defense — ranked tops in the nation — shined. It started with Pottinger robbing Brayden Frazier of a two-run homer with a leaping catch over the top of the left field fence, and ended with second baseman Josue Urdaneta snagging a hot shot, tossing to Diaz for the force at second, who completed the double play with a throw to first that was upheld after official review.
“I think one thing that we take a lot of pride in is not just making the play right at us, but making plays that change the game,” Hannahs said. “When you change an inning, that’s a bullet to an offense.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NCAA baseball regional: Indiana State tops Iowa when Brody Brecht sits
