In Friday’s series opener against Purdue, Indiana baseball led 9-2 entering the bottom of the seventh but lost 11-9 after allowing nine unanswered runs over the final two innings of the game. It was yet another clear-cut example of the Hoosier bullpen simply not being good enough down the stretch, regardless of the lead Indiana had built itself up to that point.
Saturday, nearly the exact same script unfolded once again, as the Boilermakers erased a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off the Hoosiers 5-4 at Alexander Field in West Lafayette.
Indiana (21-29, 7-19 Big Ten) got a tremendous start from sophomore LHP Brayton Thomas, who spanned 5.1 innings while allowing zero earned runs on just four hits. It was the second scoreless outing for Thomas this season, who blanked Rutgers in his 4.2 innings pitched back on April 5.
Between Thomas’ outing and the six innings of two-run ball graduate student LHP Tony Neubeck provided Friday, starting pitching has not been the issue for the Hoosiers this weekend. The bullpen has been the culprit of not only the last two losses, but also the majority of Indiana’s late-game collapses in 2026.
The Hoosiers first found the scoreboard in the top of the third as sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie scored sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny on a sacrifice fly to right. An inning later, sophomore infielder Will Moore scored on an infield single by freshman infielder Landen Fry, who bunted and reached first base safely.
Indiana added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to double its lead, as Denny scored on a sacrifice fly from Moore and sophomore infielder Cooper Malamazian drove in sophomore infielder Jake Hanley with an RBI single to left. Through eight innings, the Hoosiers looked to be setting themselves up for a Sunday rubber match.
However, Purdue (34-15, 17-9) had other plans in its final at-bat. Against graduate student RHP Reagan Rivera, the Boilermakers loaded the bases with just one out, and freshman infielder Westin Boyle drew a walk to cut the deficit to three. Rivera was then pulled from the game as Indiana turned to senior LHP Anthony Gubitosi to escape a bases-loaded jam in a save situation.
Gubitosi did not do that.
Junior infielder Zach Zychowski made it 4-2 on a sacrifice fly to right center, and after Gubitosi issued a walk to load the bases, senior outfielder Brandon Rogers won the game for Purdue with a bases-clearing double down the right field line. In the final three innings Friday and the final inning Saturday, the Boilermakers outscored the Hoosiers 14-0, stealing two games in as many days en route to clinching the series.
With four games remaining in the regular season, any path Indiana had to a Big Ten Tournament berth is likely gone. The Hoosiers must win out in order to participate in postseason play, but even that might not be enough depending on how the tiebreakers shake out.
Indiana will look to salvage the series against Purdue and avoid elimination from Big Ten Tournament contention Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at Alexander Field.
