Members of the IU Columbus baseball team gather for an NAIA baseball game against West Virginia Tech at the new baseball stadium at Sellaland on Friday, March 1, 2024 in Columbus, Indiana.
Mike Wolanin | Republic
On the day IU Columbus named its new baseball stadium, Matthew Gaynor and West Virginia Tech spoiled the celebration.
Gainer had a one-hit shutout win against the Crimson Pride on Friday afternoon, leading WVU Tech to a 7-0 victory.
“Our bats were cold,” IUC coach Scott Bickel said. “Our approach and mindset wasn't right today. Props to those guys. He's been in the River States Conference for a while, and he pitched a great game.”
Defensively, the Crimson Pride (4-12) played a clean game with no errors. Drew Bradley also pitched well, starting with three shutout innings, allowing two runs in the fourth and three runs in the sixth.
“I'm so proud of Drew,” Bickel said. “He's one of the leaders on our staff. He hasn't been as sharp as he could have been.”
For WVU Tech, relief pitcher Carson Smith scored one run in the seventh inning and one run in the eighth inning. Lane Zorrout, a freshman from Jennings County, entered the game with one out in the ninth inning and retired both batters he faced.
“We have to play defense, and we did a good job of that,” Bickel said. “You've got to pitch well, and we pitched well. But we didn't have any bad intentions. I mean, we're trying to win ballgames, and in two of the three phases we pitched well. We lost. That's why the score says what it says.”
Lucas Slager's single to left-center field in the top of the seventh inning was the Crimson Pride's only hit. IUC gave up a walk in the fifth inning, but two baserunners were taken and another was erased on a double play.
“West Virginia Tech is one of the top teams in the division,” Bickel said. “Their coach has been around for a very long time, so there was nothing really unexpected, apart from us not performing to our full potential today. Thankfully, It’s baseball today, so (today) we can get up and play a doubleheader and try again.”
IUC, which hosts WVU Tech in a doubleheader starting at noon today, is one win away from matching last year's inaugural season win total.
“We're going to get there,” Bickel said. “I'm trying to remember all the lessons from last year, but this is a new group. We're better than our record and if we can all get healthy and fire on all cylinders, it'll show. We're not all fully healthy yet, which is common in baseball, but we're still young and we're looking forward to having everyone back.”
