Indiana took an early lead and easily defeated Northern Kentucky 11-5 Wednesday at Bart Kaufman Field as Andrew Wiggins and Jake Stadler hit their first home runs of the season. It was the first-career home run for Wiggins.
Wiggins, a freshman, homered in the bottom of the third when he pinch-hit for starting second basemen Brandon Burckel, who is now hitting less than .100 and committed a second-inning error that led to a Northern Kentucky run.
I just wanted the pinch-hit option,” Mercer said. “I was gonna take our shot offensively to make that move. He made me look pretty smart there with the two-run homer. We have a lot of good offensive players on the bench … there wasn’t as much behind it from a defensive standpoint … [Burckel’s] gonna have to continue to get better defensively and manage his at-bats offensively.
On Sunday, Phillips started versus Arizona and only allowed one run in 2⅓ innings but the Hoosiers eventually lost, 12-1. Right-handed reliever Julian Tonghini only got one out while giving up four runs that game. On Wednesday, Tonghini picked up his second save of the season and threw 3⅓ scoreless innings — the most by any Hoosier pitcher — striking out four….
