Indiana’s starting pitchers provided steady outings on the mound this weekend, but relief pitching proved uneven at key moments.
Against No. 2 Louisiana State University on Friday, graduate left-hander Tony Neubeck gave the Hoosiers a solid foundation. He allowed five hits and just one earned run across three innings, keeping Indiana within reach against the defending national champions.
For much of the night, the Hoosiers had LSU on the ropes.
Indiana erased an early deficit and carried a 5-4 lead into the late innings, positioning itself for a statement win over the reigning national champions. The offense had done enough, and the starting pitching had contained one of the nation’s most explosive lineups.
The game shifted in the eighth.
After Neubeck exited, Indiana cycled through multiple relievers. Graduate Gavin Seebold provided 2.2 scoreless innings to steady the middle frames, but the eighth inning unraveled.
Junior right-hand pitcher Jackson Yarberry allowed a go-ahead three-run home run before LSU added six more runs in the inning, turning a one-run deficit into a blowout loss 14-7 on Friday afternoon.
Saturday’s 6-1 win over the University of Central Florida showed the other side of Indiana’s pitching staff.
Against UCF, sophomore left-hander Brayton Thomas allowed just one hit and one earned run across five innings, and graduate right-hander Reagan Rivera followed with four shutout innings to close the game. The pair combined to allow only three hits over nine innings, preventing UCF from building any momentum.
But the bullpen inconsistencies resurfaced in Sunday morning’s game against in state rival University of Notre Dame as the Hoosiers surrendered a late lead and allowed the Fighting Irish to rally for an 11th inning walk off win.
In Sunday’s matchup, senior right-hander Jackson Bergman started for the Hoosiers and delivered five steady innings, allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out three batters to keep Indiana ahead. Indiana carried momentum into the late innings, but that stability faded once the bullpen took over.
Yarberry allowed three runs in the seventh inning, including a home run that ignited Notre Dame’s rally. Graduate left-handed pitcher Conner Linn followed and failed to record an out, surrendering two runs on two hits and a walk as the Fighting Irish erased Indiana’s cushion. What had been a comfortable lead quickly became an 8-8 game.
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Vogel restored order with 3.2 scoreless innings and five strikeouts, steadying the game with a strong performance just after Indiana had watched its lead disappear. Indiana’s offense was quiet, failing to add another run in the final innings, sending the 8-8 game into extra innings.
Vogel returned for the 10th inning and recorded two quick outs before Notre Dame reached on a fielding error. After a mound visit, Indiana turned to 6-foot-9 freshman right-hander Kellen English in relief. Notre Dame junior catcher Mark Quatrani singled to put two runners on, but English responded with a swinging strikeout on a high fastball, blowing it past sophomore infielder Parker Brzustewicz to strand both runners and keep the game tied.
Notre Dame capitalized in the bottom half of the eleventh.
As many young pitchers do, English struggled with control as he hit the leadoff batter and allowed a sacrifice bunt to move the runner into scoring position. With the pressure on the freshman, another hit-by-pitch put a second runner aboard.
Indiana then turned to graduate right-hand pitcher Michael Sarhatt in relief. Sarhatt struck out Notre Dame freshman infielder Mason Barth to briefly halt the momentum, but a third hit batter loaded the bases. Fighting Irish graduate outfielder Drew Berkland then delivered a single to right center to drive in the winning run, securing a walk-off victory for Notre Dame in 11 innings.
Across the season’s opening two weekends, Indiana’s starting pitching has provided stability and opportunities to win, but late-inning execution has repeatedly slipped away.
From sixth-inning collapses in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to blown leads in Jacksonville, Florida, the margin for Indiana to beat high-level squads has been slim, and late-inning execution has made the difference.
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.
