A tough loss against Maryland in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday put Indiana in a possible elimination situation for their second-round matchup, but senior pitcher Bradley Brehmer’s complete game boosted the Hoosiers to an 8-1 win against Illinois on Friday after a quick turnaround.
Brehmer was in control all night, allowing only four hits and striking out six batters. He held Illinois to just one run, something that the Fighting Illini have only done three other times this season. It’s also just the second time Illinois has been held to five or fewer hits this season.
The Hoosiers scored one run in the third inning and then another in the sixth, but erupted with six runs in the eighth inning alone.
Indiana loaded up the bases in the eighth inning, bringing up 11 batters and recording four hits: half of their total hits during the game. Freshman Carter Mathison highlighted the inning with an RBI double down the right field line for his 11th double of the year.
Senior Phillip Glasser continued his productive year in the batter's box as he went 2-5 with two RBIs on the day, including his RBI single in the eighth. After Friday's game against Illinois, Glasser's batting average rose to .350 for the year.
The fourth matchup between the two teams this season went in favor of Indiana, and the Hoosiers now await the loser of the Maryland-Michigan matchup in their third tournament game. Indiana’s next contest will be 50 minutes after the conclusion of the first game of the day between Penn State and Iowa, which will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. CT.
