After its bats went quiet in a 4-1 series-opening loss, Indiana baseball looked to bounce back against Western Kentucky in its second Saturday doubleheader of the season. The Hoosiers did so in game two with a 3-1 victory, but failed to complete the doubleheader sweep as they fell 14-12 to finish the day.
Indiana dominated game two in arguably its best pitching performance of the season thus far. LHP Brayton Thomas made the start for the Hoosiers, striking out four and allowing the only earned run of the game on just two hits over 4.2 innings. Meanwhile, RHPs Gavin Seebold and Jackson Yarberry combined to finish the final 4.1 innings while striking out four and allowing zero runs on two hits, with Seebold earning the win, his first of 2026.
On the offensive side, Indiana wasn’t overly impressive, but it did enough to come away with a win behind the performance it got from its pitching staff. The Hoosiers opened the scoring in the top of the second as Cooper Malamazian reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Hogan Denny. An Ayden Crouse sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead and eventual winning run in the top of the eighth, and Brayden Ricketts added another with an RBI single to provide Yarberry with some much-needed insurance.
Game two was a low-scoring affair, which is something Indiana hasn’t been too familiar as of late. However, game three was something it has been familiar with: a high-scoring, back-and-forth offensive battle. Indiana and Western Kentucky exploded for a combined 26 runs on 28 hits, and each team trotted out five different pitchers over the course of the game.
For the Hoosiers, Caleb Koskie (four RBIs) and Jake Hanley (four RBIs) led the way offensively, while Crouse, Ricketts and Denny added an RBI each. It was the second-highest run total of the season for Indiana, and each starter 1-9 reached base at least once. However, the Herculean effort offensively was not enough for the Hoosiers to earn their second win of the day.
They, too, had to pitch nine innings. And as bad as allowing 12 runs is, allowing 14 is worse.
RHP Reagan Rivera took the bump for game two and lasted just one inning as the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 5-0 lead on six hits and three walks. RHPs Pete Haas, Kellen English and Kaden Jacobi combined to pitch the next five innings, allowing nine additional runs on seven hits while walking six and striking out six. RHP Ivan Mastalski pitched the final two innings for Indiana and was the lone Hoosier to put up a scoreless outing in the contest. It was an all too familiar pitching performance, and one that head coach Jeff Mercer was aiming to avoid in 2026.
In 2025, Indiana lost three games despite scoring 10+ runs by scores of 13-12, 13-11 and 13-12. Pitching was a major factor in the Hoosiers failing to reach the postseason, and following the departure of pitching coach Dustin Glant, Mercer brought in Matt Myers to turn things around. After an impressive pitching performance to open the day, Indiana returned to its struggles of the recent past, losing game three for its first loss of 2026 while scoring 10+ runs.
Through 11 games, the Hoosiers are 4-7 and have struggled to find all-around consistency in the midst of a challenging non-conference schedule. They will look to leave Bowling Green with a series split in the finale against the Hilltoppers, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.
