Indiana Baseball Back On Track After Sweeping Northwestern

After being swept by Maryland at home last weekend, Indiana responded with a series sweep at Northwestern. Coach Jeff Mercer and the Hoosiers are now 34-14 overall and in second place in the Big Ten at 12-6.

Indiana bounced back in a big way over the weekend, sweeping Northwestern on its home diamond. 

The Hoosiers moved to 34-14 on the season, already marking their most wins since 2019 when they won the Big Ten in coach Jeff Mercer's first season. And perhaps more importantly, the series sweep over Northwestern (8-34, 3-15) improved Indiana's conference record to 12-6, one game behind Maryland for first place in the Big Ten.

It was a particularly important series for the Hoosiers because just a week before, they lost three home games to Maryland by a combined score of 43-12. Indiana lost its Big Ten lead as a result, putting its chances of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional in question.

But the Hoosiers spent no time feeling sorry for themselves, instead traveling to Evanston, Ill. with a desire to get back on track. Indiana jumped out to an early lead in game one on Friday after sophomore designated hitter Carter Mathison blasted a three-run home run over the right field wall.

On the mound, freshman Luke Sinnard held Northwestern scoreless across 6.2 innings, allowing six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Mathison added an insurance run with an RBI single in the eighth, and Craig Yoho tossed 2.1 shutout innings to secure Indiana's 4-0 win in the series opener. 

Game two on Saturday followed a different path, as Indiana's bats were quiet in the first seven innings. The Hoosiers fell into an early hole as starter Seti Manase allowed a run in the second inning, and right fielder Devin Taylor's error made way for Northwestern's second run in the fifth. 

Indiana relief pitcher Ryan Kraft kept the Hoosiers in the game, allowing just four hits with seven strikeouts, one walk and zero earned runs in 7.1 innings of work. Meanwhile, Taylor redeemed himself with an RBI double in the eighth to put Indiana on the board, and first baseman Brock Tibbitts tied the game with an RBI single to score Taylor. 

After Indiana freshman Connor Foley pitched two shutout frames in extra innings, center fielder Bobby Whalen gave the Hoosiers their first lead of the game on a fielder's choice RBI. In the next at-bat, Taylor gave Indiana some breathing room with a two-RBI double in the 12th inning. Freshman reliever Brayden Risedorph slammed the door with a perfect inning to give Indiana a 5-2 win.

Sunday afternoon's series finale turned out to be a busy day for both bullpens after Indiana scored five runs in the first inning and Northwestern responded with three. Both teams finished with double-digit hits, and Northwestern walked eight batters while the Hoosiers walked two with four batters hit-by-pitch. 

Taylor, along with Phillip Glasser and Peter Serruto each finished with two hits, and Serruto led the Hoosiers with three RBI, including a crucial sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to give Indiana a five-run lead. Northwestern rallied with a two-run seventh inning and a home run in the ninth, but Risedorph, again, earned the save in Indiana's 11-9 win, which completed the series sweep.

Next up, Indiana plays at Xavier on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a weekend series against Purdue at Bart Kaufman Field beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Friday.