By The Dirtbags could not have played a closer weekend series against No. 28 Indiana. All three of the games were tied headed into the ninth inning, and the Dirtbags won two of those games in walk-off fashion.
“This series could have gone either way,” head coach Troy Buckley said. “We could have swept, they could have swept. It’s that tight.”
The Dirtbags (10-8) pulled off a late 4-3 win Friday night with a walk-off passed ball in the ninth inning.
The game was tied at two in the sixth, when Dirtbag right fielder Richard Prigatano hit the first pitch he saw over the left field wall for his third career home run. The Hoosiers (9-8) struck back in the seventh when a hit by pitch, sacrifice bunt, and a Dirtbag error tied the game at three.
The Dirtbags broke the tie in the bottom of the ninth, which started with a leadoff pinch-hit single by Colby Brenner. Brenner moved to third, and a passed ball got by All-American catcher Kyle Schwarber, which allowed Brenner to score to give the Dirtbags a 4-3 victory.
“We talk about giving blows and taking blows,” Buckley said. “We took a few, they got some two-out hits. It was good man, it was a good game.”
The Hoosiers needed 11 innings to win on Saturday, despite a stellar effort from Dirtbags starter Andrew Rohrbach. Rohrbach went nine innings, only allowing an unearned run and five hits.
“I felt really comfortable,” Rohrbach said of his second nine-inning outing of the season. “I feel like I get stronger towards the end of the game.”
The Dirtbags came into the series ranked sixth in the nation in fielding percentage but committed four errors in Saturdays game, one of which gave the Hoosiers the first run of the ballgame. The game was tied at one through 10 innings, but the Hoosiers got a sacrifice fly off closer Kyle Friedrichs to give them the 2-1 lead. Patron led off the bottom of the inning with a double, but was stranded on third to end the game.
Sunday’s contest was another close one, as the Dirtbags rode the right arm of pitcher Jason Alexander. Alexander entered the contest with a 5.06 ERA but threw seven shutout innings before finding himself in some trouble in the eighth.
Alexander gave up back-to-back singles- one which hit off his shoulder- before being pulled for Ty Provencher. Hoosiers pinch hitter Scott Donley hit a ground ball right back up the middle, scoring Will Nolden from second to tie the game at one.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth, when three pinch-hitters were called on. Each of them got hits, including Cameron Pongs, who delivered a walk off single with two outs to give the Dirtbags the 2-1 victory.
“I was sitting out in the bullpen actually getting ready to pitch,” Pongs said. “I got up there and take a first pitch breaker. I know they don’t want to throw something straight, so I sat on another breaker and he hung it”.
The Dirtbags hit the road for a midweek game against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday before a weekend series at Fullerton.
