Indiana baseball looked poised for a breakout offensive night in the opening game of its Big Ten road series against Oregon on Friday at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon.
However, after building an early lead behind a strong outing from graduate student right-hand pitcher Reagan Rivera, the Hoosiers’ bats cooled while late game scoring from Oregon flipped the game into a 3-2 Ducks victory.
Indiana struck first in the opening inning. Redshirt freshman designated hitter Brayden Ricketts lined a two-out double to center field before advancing to third and scoring on consecutive wild pitches, giving the Hoosiers a quick 1-0 lead.
Indiana added another run in the fourth inning after sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley led off with a single. Hanley moved to third after another pair of wild pitches, but the Hoosiers nearly let the opportunity slip away, as sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian and sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie were unable to bring Hanley home. With two outs, freshman second baseman Landen Fry stepped in and delivered an RBI single up the middle, scoring Hanley and extending Indiana’s lead to 2-0.
Indiana’s bats then went cold. Oregon’s pitching staff would only allow two more hits through the rest of the game.
Behind Indiana’s early offense was an elite start from a pitcher who had struggled to start the season. Rivera delivered his best outing as a Hoosier in the series opener, as he worked four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out three. Rivera kept Oregon’s powerful lineup quiet through the early portion of the game and left with a 2-0 lead.
Graduate student left-hand pitcher Connor Linn took over for the Hoosiers in the fifth and allowed Oregon’s first run of the night. After issuing a walk and hitting a batter, Linn surrendered a double that brought the Ducks within one run before escaping the inning with a fly ball to right field.
Oregon tied the game in the sixth against graduate student right-hand pitcher Gavin Seebold, who had not allowed a run in relief this season entering the contest. Seebold struck out the first batter he faced and induced a groundout before junior infielder Maddox Molony launched a 436-foot solo home run, evening the score at two with two outs.
The Ducks grabbed the lead in the seventh. Oregon sophomore catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus opened the inning with a double before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt, while junior infielder Ryan Cooney followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, giving Oregon a 3-2 advantage, all it would need in Friday night’s win.
Oregon’s starting pitcher, sophomore right-hander Will Sanford, worked 6.2 innings, allowing just three hits and two runs while striking out 10 Hoosiers. Sophomore right-hand pitcher Tanner Bradley relieved Sanford with two outs and a runner on in the seventh, and instantly ended the inning, getting Indiana sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny to ground out.
Indiana threatened in the eighth when Ricketts opened the inning with a single, but Bradley regrouped and struck out the next three Hoosiers, to preserve Oregon’s one-run lead.
Senior right-hand pitcher Devin Bell entered in the ninth inning to close the game for the Ducks.
Indiana’s final chance fell to the bottom of its lineup. Fry opened the inning with a single through the left side to put the tying run on base, his second hit of the night. Sophomore outfielder Cole Decker followed with a ground ball to advanced Fry into scoring position while recording the first out.
Another first-pitch swing followed as junior catcher T.J. Schuyler grounded out to the shortstop, leaving Indiana down to its final out.
Sophomore third baseman Will Moore stepped to the plate with a chance to deliver late-game heroics, but also grounded a ball into the middle infield to end the game as Oregon secured the series-opening win.
Indiana and Oregon will take the field again at 5:05 p.m. EDT Saturday. Indiana’s top starter, graduate student left-hander Tony Neubeck, is projected to start as the Hoosiers look to even the series at 1-1.
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.
