With a chance to earn its first series win of the season on the line, Indiana battled Washington in a rubber match at Bart Kaufman Field on Sunday. Needing a win for momentum and confidence, the Hoosiers couldn’t take the series, losing 13-4 in the finale.
The first four innings displayed some offensive improvement after Saturday’s struggles. Shortstop Cooper Malamazian, who struggled in the first two games of the season (1-for-8 with four strikeouts), delivered a 2-RBI single to give Indiana an early lead in the first inning. With the sophomore seeming to have broken out of a slump, the offense found a groove early on.
Jake Hanley launched a solo shot for his third home run of the season in the third inning with Caleb Koskie plating a fourth run an inning later on a throwing error.
But that momentum proved short-lived. From the fifth inning on, the bats managed just four hits.
As the bats went quiet, the pitching staff was ambushed by Washington’s lineup, giving up 17 hits and 11 unanswered runs.
With Sunday’s intended starter Jackson Bergman unable to play as he deals with an illness, Indiana pivoted to Reagan Rivera to get things going on the bump.
Rivera had an efficient first couple of frames, allowing two runs through four innings. Head coach Jeff Mercer’s decision to send the Coppin State transfer out for the fifth inning proved costly.
“We still felt like he had command and his velocity was good,” Mercer said of the decision to give Rivera another inning. “Retroactively, you look back and 8-9 (in the lineup) really hammered us today.”
Rivera was knocked out of the game by back-to-back Husky home runs from the No. 8 and 9 hitters to tie the game at four.
Washington catcher Colton Bower, batting in the eight hole, finished the afternoon with three long balls to his name. Overall, eight of the visitors’ 17 hits went for extra bases.
Still, in a tie game, the Hoosiers felt Rivera left them in a good spot.
“Reagan always gives you a chance to win,” Mercer said. “I thought (he) did a fine job.”
Mercer pivoted to Kaden Jacobi out of the bullpen, who lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed two more runs. Still, Indiana had plenty of chances to get back into the game, but nobody could deliver the big hit.
“We just got beat by fastballs,” Mercer said after the game. “This weekend, we just didn’t do a good job of (hitting fastballs).”
Double plays in the first and eighth innings also proved to be big momentum stoppers for an offense which has struggled to get the big hit. Indiana finished a woeful 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-20 with runners on base at all.
The majority of the Washington damage done on the scoreboard came in the top half of the ninth inning off Connor Linn, who became responsible for all five Husky runs in the frame.
Indiana falls to 6-9 on the season and 1-2 in the Big Ten. It’s not the start to conference play Mercer would’ve hoped for, but his teams have been here before. It’s the third straight year in which the Hoosiers have dropped the opening series of their Big Ten schedule.
But before getting to that segment of the schedule, the Hoosiers still have non-conference contests to take care of, starting on Tuesday at home against Wright State.
Mercer says the key to getting back on track is simple.
“We’re going to have to go play baseball.”
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
