Coming off of a rough series sweep courtesy of UNC, the Indiana Hoosiers looked to get their season back on track on Tuesday against the Bradley Braves. The Hoosiers did so in dominant fashion, beating the Braves 15-2 in a game that took just six and a half innings thanks to the NCAA run rule.
From the very first Hoosier at bat, it was clear that Indiana wanted to make a statement and put the UNC series behind them. After leadoff man Will Moore reached base on an error, Sophomore catcher Hogan Denny blasted a home run deep into left center to give the Hoosiers an early 2-0 lead.
As the second inning got underway, the Hoosiers went to their bullpen, as they would do nearly every inning this game, relieving starting pitcher Reagan Rivera. After a couple quick outs, Bradley was able to split the gap on an RBI double to get on the board.
The third inning was almost a carbon copy of the first for the Hoosiers, as once again Will Moore reached base on an error, and once again Hogan Denny hit a home run to left center to score two runs. This gave the Hoosiers a 4-1 lead heading into the 4th.
Speaking to the media about his home runs after the game, Denny said, “It felt good. I got a couple of hits this weekend. Obviously you don’t want to try to hit home runs, [but] it always feels good to get that first home run out of the way, so it definitely felt really good today.”
After an error on a throw to first allowed the Bradley runner to advance to third, the Braves hit a sacrifice fly to score a run, cutting the Hoosier lead to 4-2.
The bottom of the 4th inning is where the Hoosiers put the game to rest. Indiana’s bats were on fire in the 4th, scoring a whopping 8 runs to give the Hoosiers a 12-2 lead. This included the first career hit of freshman infielder Landen Fry, whose RBI single scored two runs.
Speaking about this after the game, head coach Jeff Mercer said, “I felt like in the beginning of the game, outside of Hogan, it was a little bit [like] ‘let’s play not to lose’…then when [Cal] Gates walked up and scalded that first pitch of the inning, it set the tone. Like, ‘We’re not doing this,’ and you could really see the tone of the game shift.
The Hoosiers continued to pile it on in the 5th and 6th innings, as Cooper Malamazian hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 11, while Jake Hanley got the first home run of his 2026 season after an error by the left fielder allowed him to score an inside-the-park home run.
Up 13 runs, the Hoosiers ended the game on a run rule in the 7th inning when a double play retired the side.
For the Hoosiers, they pick up their first win of the season and gain some much-needed confidence as they get set to take on #2 LSU on Friday.