iU Athletic Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Offense was hard to find on a day where Washington’s pitching staff attacked the zone from the opening pitch. The Indiana Baseball team (6-8, 1-1 B1G) mustered just two runs on five hits as the visitors evened the weekend series on Saturday (March 7) afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field. The two teams will meet tomorrow to decide the opening Big Ten weekend of the year.
The Huskies (4-10, 1-1 B1G) were given a fantastic start by right-handed pitcher Jackson Thomas. He worked seven innings and didn’t give up an earned run. He struck out three and didn’t walk a single batter. Right-handed pitcher Bryce Johnson came out of the bullpen to get the final six innings. Sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian smashed a ninth-inning home run but Washington closed out a big win in Bloomington.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Brayton Thomas battled to get to the game into the fifth. Some early free passes put him behind the eight ball all afternoon. He finished with four strikeouts before graduate student right-handed pitcher Michael Sarhatt relieved him. Freshman right-handed pitcher Ivan Mastalski hung two scoreless frames but IU could never get back into the contest.
A big March rubber match awaits the two teams on Sunday (March 8) afternoon. IU will look to win its fourth-straight conference series at home – dating back to last year. First pitch from Bloomington is set for Noon ET on B1G+.
Notes to Know
• Freshman right-handed pitcher Ivan Mastalski worked a pair of scoreless innings in relief on Saturday evening. He has now conceded just one run over his past three appearances (5.2 innings pitched). In that span, he has five strikeouts to just one walk. His four punchouts against Washington were a career high.
• Sophomore third baseman Will Moore picked up a pair of base knocks in the victory. He now has 14 career multi-hit efforts. He has three through the first 14 games of his season. Freshman second baseman Landen Fry, who had a hit on Saturday, now has the longest active hitting streak (4) for the Hoosiers.
• The Hoosiers will play a rubber match on Sunday afternoon to close the opening weekend in Big Ten action. Since becoming head coach in 2019, Jeff Mercer is 13-8 (21 occurrences) in rubber matches during conference play. IU beat Purdue 14-4 (May 11, 2025) the last time a Big Ten series was decided on a Sunday.