Indiana baseball’s (10-14, 3-6 Big Ten) perfect record in midweek contests was put on the line on Tuesday, as they hosted in-state foe Indiana State (11-13, 2-1 MVC), at Bart Kaufman Field.
Despite taking leads into both the sixth and eighth innings, the Hoosiers could not put away a resilient Sycamore team. Indiana State took the lead in the eighth inning, and hung on to win 5-4. It’s the second straight year Indiana State has knocked off Indiana in Bloomington.
For head coach Jeff Mercer and company, once again, it was a series of mental mistakes that cost them a prime opportunity. This has been a problem throughout 2026, whether you look at Indiana’s five blown leads in the seventh inning or later, the costly defensive errors or the untimely hitting that have prevented this team from reaching their ceilings.
For Indiana, it was a combination of those three negatives that contributed to the loss Tuesday night, their second consecutive loss, and fifth defeat of the season by one run.
“When you give them freebies like that…you’re rolling the dice,” Mercer said after the game. “We had opportunities…and we didn’t adjust.”
The first four innings went relatively smoothly for Indiana, as Conner Linn was excellent in his second straight midweek start, and RBI knocks from Caleb Koskie and Landen Fry put Indiana up 2-0 early on.
The fifth inning is where the mishaps commenced. With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the fifth, Will Moore received a ground ball on the left side of the infield, and, with a clean throw to first, would have gotten Indiana out of the inning unscathed. Moore bounced the throw across the diamond, and Jake Hanley was unable to corral it at first base.
That error was committed on Indiana State’s No. 9 nine hitter in the order, allowing the Sycamores to flip the lineup card with the tying run on base. Indiana State proceeded to record back-to-back base hits to tie the game at two.
After just one error in the previous seven games, Tuesday was a reminder that the Indiana defense is still young and prone to mistakes, and this one by Moore was costly.
Indiana regained the lead in the seventh inning, as Jake Hanley’s RBI double put the cream and crimson back up, 3-2. The Hoosiers were not able to add any insurance runs, as with the bases loaded, Cooper Malamazian struck out on three pitches.
Jackson Yarberry returned to the mound for his second inning of work in the top of the eighth, after working a scoreless seventh inning.
Indiana’s lead would not last for very long, as the Sycamores sent Yarberry packing after just recording one out in the eighth. After a pair of walks, a Jorge Cartagena double evened up the score at three.
Those walks Yarberry gave up are exactly the “freebies” that Mercer has talked about all season long. Tuesday represented another step back for the veteran right-hander, who Indiana was hoping to stretch out this season.
“It leaves me frustrated, because Jackson is certainly capable, and needs to be a guy for us,” Mercer said postgame. “He is fully capable…but he has to be able to go out and execute.”
Kaden Jacobi came in with two runners in scoring position and one out. Indiana State wouldn’t even need to put a ball in play to take the lead. A wild pitch from Jacobi scored Mason Roell to give the Sycamores their first lead of the game. They would bring in another run on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to two.
The two teams then traded 1-2-3 innings before the bottom of the ninth commenced. Indiana began the inning with a base hit from pinch hitter Owen ten Oever.
Freshman Mateo Noto then stepped to the plate as the tying run. After working the count to 2-2, Noto was called out for not being engaged with Sycamore pitcher Hunter Small in time, much to the chagrin of Mercer.
After a Hogan Denny single, Hanley’s sacrifice fly made it 5-4, but it also put Indiana down to its final out. Koskie grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game, as Indiana left the tying run on base.
Every mistake the Hoosiers made had an impact in their defeat Tuesday night. In addition to the ones listed above, Moore got picked off of first base and Mercer lost a challenge, something he’s struggled with this season.
Indiana certainly has the potential and the talent to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten, but if they cannot correct the mental errors they consistently make, it’s going to be a long final two months in Bloomington.
Things won’t get any easier for the Hoosiers, as they head back on the road to face No. 24 Nebraska for a three-game series in Lincoln. First pitch Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central).
