Indiana tied it up in the top half of the sixth and put Vieaux in a jam. Junior left fielder Craig Dedelo started the rally when he led the inning off after being hit by a pitch. The next batter, Logan Sowers, walked on four straight pitches and then freshman catcher Ryan Fineman drove a single into left field to tie the game 1-1. Later in the inning, an RBI sacrifice fly from junior first baseman Austin Congelos and an RBI single from sophomore DH Isaiah Pasteur made it a 3-1 game.

The Spartans earned a run back in the bottom half of the sixth to cut IU’s lead 3-2. Sophomore outfielder Brandon Hughes led the inning off with a double, advanced to third on a bunt by junior second baseman Dan Durkin and scored on an RBI groundout by junior DH Taylor Grace.

MSU's last hope came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth with freshman outfielder Marty Bechina up.  Bechina belted a ball to deep left center, but it was caught at the warning track for the final out of the game.

The final line for Spartan ace Cam Vieaux was nice, but not enough get the win for the Spartans. Vieaux finished the day with 7.0 innings of work and gave up a season-high three earned on five hits while walking two and striking out eight.  Junior pitcher Walter Borkovich made his first appearance out of the bullpen this season, he pitched 2.0 scoreless innings while striking out three.

The Spartans and the Hoosiers will square off for game two of the series on Saturday. Sophomore right-hander Ethan Landon (4-1 record, 2.65 ERA) will take the mound for MSU while IU will counter with senior southpaw Caleb Baragar (3-1 record, 1.48 ERA). First pitch for Saturday’s matchup is slated for 1 p.m.