Indiana baseball (16-21) sought a perfect week after beating both Indiana State and Evansville earlier this week. The obstacle in Indiana’s way was Abilene Christian (18-18).
Friday: Indiana 13, Abilene Christian 3
Indiana looked to get off to a fast start in the series against the Wildcats of Abilene Christian. The Hoosiers did just that as Hogan Denny sent one deep to left center in the first. Cole Decker’s single scored Cooper Malamazian and the Hoosiers took a 2-0 lead early.
Abilene Christian showed fight early as they scored off of Gavin Brzozowski’s RBI double in the second. JT Thompson then hit an RBI single in the third, and it was 2-2 after the top of the third.
At this point, the Hoosiers scored 10 unanswered runs to take over the game. Highlights of this were Denny’s second homer, Brayden Ricketts solo home run, and the two runs walked in in the fourth.
Diego Cardenas homered in the sixth for Abilene Christian. Caleb Koskie ends the game in the seventh by scoring on a wild pitch.
Tony Neubeck provided 4.1 solid innings for the Hoosiers. Kellen English also provided two innings with an earned run, as the Hoosiers cruised to the win.
Saturday: Abilene Christian 8, Indiana 4
Indiana looked to build on the dominant game one victory, and did just that in the first. Cole Decker gets the Hoosiers started with his RBI single that drove home Jake Hanley. Kanon Sundgren’s second-inning RBI single drove home Brady Ladusau to equalize the game.
Decker claimed his second RBI with a sacrifice fly that Jake Hanley scored on in the third. Sundgren will single again in the fourth to score both Ladusau and Nick Arias. Jt Thompson then scored on a wild pitch, and it is 4-2 after four.
Ladusau gets his third run of the day with his two-run home run in the fourth. Brayden Ricketts kept his hot week going with a solo bomb to right. Ladusau then continues his domination with another solo home run to left.
Ryan Jones walked in the ninth, which scored Ladusau. Hogan Denny hits his third homer of the series, but it’s not enough, and the Hoosiers lose 8-4.
Brayton Thomas struggled from the mound, giving up four runs in 3.1 innings. Jacob Vogel then gave up two earned runs in 2.2 innings, as the Hoosiers struggled in game two.
Sunday: Indiana 5, Abilene Christian 4
Abilene Christian continued where they finished the last game when Nick Arias doubled to right center, scoring Zandt Payne in the first.
Hoosiers scoring starts in the second with Landen Fry reaching on a throwing error to first, which scored Will Moore in the second. The bottom of the third was generous to the Hoosiers as Hogan Denny scored on a wild pitch. Then Jake Hanley scored on a throwing error by Grant Watkins as Indiana took a 3-1 lead.
Brayden Ricketts doubled to right center as Cooper Malamazian scored, putting Indiana up 4-1 after five.
Jackson Yarberry gave Indiana five scoreless innings off the bench, but got pulled after the sixth.
Kanon Sundgren homered to center field as Gavin Brzozowski scored in the seventh. Nick Arias walked in Ryan Jones tied it in the seventh.
In the eighth, Caleb Koskie’s RBI single broke the tie, driving in Landen Fry. The Hoosiers enter the ninth up 5-4. The Hoosiers turn to Reagan Rivera to close out the series.
Rivera allowed runners on first and second, but got out of it as the Hoosiers won the game 5-4.
Indiana improves to 18-22 on the year and claims the series victory over Abilene Christian. They will face Ball State in Muncy, Indiana, on Tuesday, and then Big Ten play continues with a home weekend series against Iowa.