It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Indiana had no problem doing just that on Monday. They never let the Blackhawk Cougars onto the board and left with a 5-0 win. The victory was familiar territory for Indiana who now have three in a row.
Ben Ryan made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Ryan has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances. Ryan was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Greg Minnick tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out seven over 4.2 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Tim Birch, who went 2-for-3 with a triple, a stolen base, and an RBI. Trevor Smith was another key contributor, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Indiana is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 12-8 record this season. As for Blackhawk, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-11.
As of now, neither Indiana nor Blackhawk have any future games scheduled.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
