Freshman outfielder Caleb Koskie stood on second base in scoring position, looking to cut into Indiana’s deficit in the ninth inning. Redshirt senior catcher Jake Stadler hit a promising ball into the night sky, but it died in center field as Indiana State University secured the final out of the game.
That was the story of the night. Indiana could not produce consistent offense throughout the game as it lost to the Sycamores on Tuesday at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington.
Consistency wasn’t an issue in the opening stages of the game, as sophomore infielder Jasen Oliver blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to give the Hoosiers an early 2-0 lead.
However, that was as good as it got for Indiana for an extended stretch of the game. There was a lull in scoring until the fifth inning, when Indiana State’s offense put up six runs over the next two innings. Indiana’s pitching staff gave up six hits during that stretch alone.
Sophomore starter Jackson Yarberry went two innings without giving up a run, but after he left, the Hoosiers’ pitching staff’s performance began to go downhill. Sophomore left-hander Ryan Rushing gave up five hits and four runs to the Indiana State offense while freshman right-hander Henry Brummel gave up two more runs.
The Sycamores eventually went up 6-2 before Indiana’s offense finally woke up again, as junior outfielder Devin Taylor launched a solo home run over the wall to decrease Indiana State’s lead and make the score 6-3.
Indiana attempted to rally in the ninth inning, as junior infielder Tyler Cerny hit a home run to cut the deficit to three runs. Graduate student outfielder Tyler DeMartino smacked an RBI double to right field to trim the Sycamores’ lead to two.
However, Indiana State retook control from there, as it recorded the final two outs and stranded freshman outfielder Caleb Koskie on second base to end the game and reach the final score of 7-5.
“Sometimes the game just works that way,” Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer said postgame. “You don’t necessarily get hit hard, but it works against you. You know, offensively it would have been nice for us to be able to be more offensive, in general.”
Taylor had what was likely the best performance of the night for the Hoosiers, as he went 1 for 4 with a home run, an RBI and a run. No Hoosier in the starting lineup had more than one hit. Oliver brought home two RBIs with his home run in the second inning, but it was a mediocre night for Indiana from an offensive perspective.
Mercer acknowledged the loss was frustrating, but he urged his players to work to improve in every aspect.
“I mean, it’s hard,” Mercer said. “It’s frustrating. Last week, at this time we were playing great baseball, and that’s what I told them afterwards, I said, the only way is just to go back to work.”
Indiana dug itself a hole early and could not climb out of it. The Hoosiers registered seven hits but put up only five runs. They could not put the pieces together when it mattered most: they hit just .212 in the game, .143 with runners in scoring position and just .182 with two outs.
“It’s frustrating and it’s hard, like everything else in life,” Mercer said. “It’s frustrating and hard, so we just got to show back up and go back to work.”
It was an inconsistent performance from Indiana’s batting order, and the pitching staff didn’t do their part to help out. Indiana now sits at 20-17 on the season while Indiana State improved to 19-17 on the year.
Indiana will be back in action at 6 p.m. Friday when it begins a three-game series with Maryland at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington. All three games will be streamed on Big Ten+.
