Following a second straight one-run loss Friday night, Indiana (10-16, 3-8 Big Ten) was looking to catch a break as they played No. 24 Nebraska (21-6, 7-1 Big Ten) in the middle game of a three-game set in Lincoln on Saturday.
Despite scoring seven runs in the final four innings of the game, the Hoosiers were unable to overcome the early 5-0 deficit they faced, ultimately falling to the Cornhuskers, 12-7. Indiana has now lost four consecutive games, and falls to six games under .500 for the season.
The Nebraska offense wasted no time jumping on Indiana starter Tony Neubeck. The first four batters in the bottom of the first all reached safely, and they would accrue three runs in the inning.
The Cornhuskers weren’t finished with their routing of Neubeck, tagging the southpaw with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a single and another bases loaded hit by pitch. Neubeck exited after just 3.2 innings, giving up five runs on the day.
The Indiana bats were held quiet early on, only recording two hits through the first five innings. In the sixth inning, head coach Jeff Mercer decided to go to his bench, and it paid off in a big way.
Freshman Owen ten Oever was called to pinch hit for Mateo Noto (his high school teammate at Poly Prep in New York). He responded to the call by cranking a three-run homer, his first as a collegiate baseball player.
Indiana would make it a one-run game in the seventh inning, as Cooper Malamazian walked with the bases loaded to cut the Nebraska lead to 5-4.
Jackson Yarberry, who recorded three big outs entering in the bottom of the sixth, returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Similar to his last outing against Indiana State last Tuesday, Yarberry struggled immensely beyond his first inning of work.
After walking two of the first three Cornhuskers, Yarberry surrendered three consecutive RBI hits, the third of those being a back-breaking three-run home run off the bat of Dylan Carey. By the end of the inning, Nebraska had scored seven runs, all charged to Yarberry, and put the game out of reach for Indiana with a 12-4 advantage.
Indiana’s three-run eighth inning came far too late for any hope of a comeback, as the Hoosiers fell 12-7. Indiana has now lost three of its first four conference series, and is still looking for its first road win in the Big Ten.
The Hoosiers will look to avoid the sweep Sunday, as they face Nebraska in the series finale with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern.
