Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers Gets Great Start From McCade Brown, Beat Rutgers 4-2

Starter McCade Brown set a career high with 12 strikeouts and Indiana got its second straight win with a 4-2 victory over Rutgers on Saturday night.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Indiana got seven strong innings from starter McCade Brown on Saturday night and got its second win in a row with a convincing 4-2 victory over Rutgers at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Brown, a sophomore from Normal, Ill., struck out 12 and allowed just one run and three hits, holding down a potent Rutgers offense that had scored 16 runs earlier in the day in a win over Minnesota. His 12 strikeouts and seven innings pitched were both career-highs. 

Brown's 12 strikeouts were the most for an Indiana pitcher since Andrew Saalfrank struck out 14 against Evansville on Apr. 13, 2019. It was the second great start for Indiana. Tommy Sommer got the win Friday night over Minnesota, striking out 10 in that game.

Matt Litwicki, a sophomore from Dyer, Ind., retired four batters in order to close out the game for the Hoosiers (2-1), getting his first save of the year and second of his career. Rutgers had beaten Indiana 2-1 in Friday in the season-opener for both teams.

Indiana got to Rutgers early. scoring in the first inning when outfielder Hunter Jessee walked with the bases loaded., Outfielder Grant Richardson added a long solo home run over the center field fence in the third inning. He was 2-for-4 on the day.

Indiana scored again in the fourth when Grant Macciocchi scored on a wild pitch. The Hoosiers got their fourth run on a homer from outfielder Morgan Colopy in the sixth inning. made it memorable with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Designated hitter Drew Ashley had a single and a walk to extend his on-base streak to 28 games dating back to the 2019 season.

Indiana wraps up its opening weekend on Sunday night when  they take on Minnesota again. First pitch is at 7 p.m. ET. Indiana beat Minnesota 5-2 on Friday night.