Indiana (15-21) looked to double down on mid-week revenge victories with their Wednesday matchup against Evansville. Tuesday night, the Hoosiers survived a shootout against Ball State to win 17-12. Indiana got their revenge with an 8-6 win over Evansville.
While the bats had a great showing, the pitching staff was eager to perform better against Evansville. To do so, the pitching staff would have to stay calm throughout the spontaneous rain showers that happened throughout the game.
Conner Linn, who has struggled for much of this season, has a 9.21 ERA in 19 innings so far. Linn was a bright spot in the Indiana victory as he threw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Linn dealt with on-and-off rain throughout the game, but still managed to deal his best stuff.
Indiana continued to hit for power, going after home runs to generate momentum, but also featured some seventh-inning small ball, which was extremely productive and maybe should be a lesson learned for this young team moving forward.
Indiana got things started right away with a Jake Hanley walk, followed by a Caleb Koskie homer to go up 2-0 in the first.
The second inning goes 1-2-3 for both Indiana and Evansville. Top of the third is 1-2-3 for the Hoosiers as well, but the bottom would be a different story. Rain started to pour down on Bart Kaufman Field as Jake Hanley hit a home run and made it 3-0 Hoosiers.
In the top of the fourth, Linn claimed his third straight 1-2-3 inning and grabbed two strikeouts along the way. A pitching change for Evansville is made as they turn to Conner Vander Luitgaren. He delivers a 1-2-3 inning for Evansville.
Linn experienced a bit of trouble in the fifth, as he gave up a walk and a single with one out. A mound visit was called, and Linn was sharp after it, getting the Hoosiers out of any danger. Linn also grabbed his seventh strikeout along the way
The bottom of the inning was generous to Indiana as Brayden Ricketts blasted one to left, making it 4-0. Cooper Malamazian drove in Ayden Crouse, making it 5-0 in favor of the Hoosiers.
Head Coach Jeff Mercer goes to his bullpen with Reagan Rivera. Rivera immediately gave up a four-pitch walk to Charlie Longmeier, followed by a two-run homer for Reid Haire, making it 5-2.
Hoosiers get back in the scoring column in the seventh as Crouse’s sacrifice bunt scored Cal Gates. Crouse also reached on a throwing error. Then, Hanley fouls out to the infield, but Brayden Ricketts scored off of a throwing error. Small ball continued to work for the Hoosiers as Malamazian’s sacrifice bunt sent Crouse home, as the Hoosiers lead 8-2 after seven.
In the eighth, Mercer grabs a successful challenge on a stolen base call, and then goes to the bullpen again with Michael Sarhatt. A ground-rule double by Drew McConnell drove Reagan Reeder home. Indiana left a runner stranded on third and went scoreless in the eighth.
Mercer put in Xavier Carrera to close out the game at the top of the ninth. Harrison Taubert grabbed a leadoff walk for Evansville. Aaron Nehls walked, and a pitching change was made. Mercer now goes to Ivan Mastalski to get the Hoosiers out of a jam. Spike Magill hit a three-run homer in the ninth to make it 8-6, with no outs. Mastalski gets pulled for Gavin Seebold. Reid Haire walked, and the Hoosiers’ struggles continue. Seebold got a much-needed out number one with a strikeout. McConnell’s flyout advances the runners, but put two outs on the board. Ximi Baftiri stood out, swinging to end the game as the Hoosiers escaped.
Mercer made the correct coaching calls in the end, but finally found a player in the bullpen who could get the needed outs. Seebold delivered, and Mercer got his 300th career win in front of the home fans.
Hoosiers grab a gritty, ugly weather win to avenge their slip-up in Evansville earlier this year. The Hoosiers won 8-6 and will look to continue momentum in a three-game series against Abilene Christian this weekend.
Hoosier Notes to Know
• Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie got to work early on Wednesday night. His first inning, two-run home run gave IU the lead and extended his hitting streak to 18-consecutive games. Since 2010, only Alex Dickerson (21 – 2010) has a longer single-season hitting streak than the young outfielder. Koskie can try to match that mark if he can hit safely in all three games against Abilene Christian.
• Head coach Jeff Mercer picked up his 300th career win in the midweek victory over Evansville. He accomplished the feat in under 10 complete seasons as a collegiate manager. This was the 223rd win during his tenure in Bloomington, with the other 77 coming as the Wright State boss (2017-18).
• Sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley has his hitting streak out to 11 games, trailing only the red-hot Koskie for the team lead. In the victory over Evansville, Hanley hit his 25th career home run. Hanley has done damage in a variety of ways with 51 hits, 11 home runs, 10 doubles and 20 walks this season. He’s also scored 34 runs for the Hoosiers this year.
• Graduate student Conner Linn went five scoreless innings to pick up his third midweek win of the year. It was the longest outing by a starter in a midweek game for the Hoosiers since David Platt in 2020 (5.0 IP – vs. Cincinnati). It’s also his fourth appearance of the year of at least three innings of work.