The scoreboard Friday in Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, read 0-0. The game was entering the bottom of the fifth inning.
For Indiana, tied with the No. 11 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the first game of the season, the score likely felt like a relief. Last season was defined by poor pitching, often prone to mid-game blowups. Although it was only the first five and a half innings of the new season, the pitching looked much improved.
Until it didn’t.
Graduate right-handed pitcher Reagan Rivera took the ball from the graduate starting left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck in the bottom of the fifth inning. The southpaw threw four innings of scoreless ball with two strikeouts before getting pulled.
North Carolina immediately tagged Rivera for three runs as soon as he entered the game. The next inning unraveled further as the home team put up a six-spot.
Most of the damage came after an error from sophomore infielder Cooper Malamazian and a miscue from sophomore outfielder Cole Decker that led to a North Carolina double. Despite the miscues in the field, Rivera was getting hit around by the Tar Heels.
The six runs allowed in the sixth inning buried the Cream and Crimson on Friday night. North Carolina won by a final score of 9-4.
The Hoosiers looked to bounce back in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday. However, Indiana’s bullpen issues resurfaced immediately.
Senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Bergman took the ball to open the game for Indiana. The University of Toledo transfer gave up a run in the first inning before settling in. He was pulled with runners on first and second in the fifth inning.
Graduate left-handed pitcher Conner Linn filled in for Bergman. But his outing went astray quickly, as he gave up a three-run homerun to the first batter he faced. He finished the inning without any further damage but was replaced by freshman right-handed pitcher Xavier Carrera to begin the bottom of the sixth inning.
Carrera faced only three batters, unable to get any of them out. He exited his brief outing by leaving the bases loaded.
Graduate right-handed pitcher Kaden Jacobi came in but could not limit the damage. A walk, hit-by-pitch, wild pitch and a triple down the right-field line made it 9-2 in favor of the Tar Heels. The inning was capped off on an error by Malamazian that allowed another run to score.
Ultimately, Indiana cycled through four relievers in 2.1 innings. North Carolina scored two runs in the seventh inning en route to a 12-2 mercy rule victory over the Cream and Crimson.
In the first two games of the year, the Hoosiers allowed 12 runs in the sixth inning alone. North Carolina scored six runs in the sixth inning in both games.
In the second game of the doubleheader, and the last game of the series, Indiana’s pitching performed well. The Hoosiers were backed by sophomore left-handed pitcher Brayton Thomas and graduate right-handed pitcher Gavin Seebold.
Thomas pitched three innings of one-run ball while Seebold threw 3.2 innings, allowing only one hit and striking out four batters.
Indiana held a 3-1 lead heading into the ninth inning. Junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Yarberry, who also pitched in the eighth inning, was sent back out again to get the save. However, he found himself in a bases loaded jam with two outs.
North Carolina sophomore infielder Lee Sowers hit a soft ground ball to Indiana senior infielder Aiden Stewart. Stewart fielded the ball cleanly, but it slipped out of his hands as he was throwing it. The ball rolled past sophomore infielder Jake Hanley at first base, allowing two Tar Heel runners to score. The game was now tied.
Indiana was able to get out of the jam, but the damage had been done. With the game heading into extra innings, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Vogel came onto the field.
The 6-foot-7 North Vernon, Indiana, native pitched a scoreless 10th inning but gave up the walk-off homerun to North Carolina junior catcher Macon Winslow in the 11th inning, dropping the Hoosiers to 0-3.
Indiana's next game is its first home game of the year Tuesday against Bradley University at Bart Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is at 4 p.m.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana baseball season.
