Rutgers defeated Indiana baseball 9-6 on Saturday at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington after a four-run lead turned into eight unanswered runs. The Cream and Crimson fell to an overall record of 12-19 and 4-10 in Big Ten play.
First pitch was delayed five hours to 7 p.m. due to rain. The Hoosiers trailed after the top of the first inning but scored two runs to answer back in the bottom of the inning.
But three runs scored by the Scarlet Knights in the top of the eighth inning gave them the lead for good. Rutgers hit a solo home run and a two-run double before Indiana escaped the jam.
Indiana cleanup hitter, sophomore outfielder/left-handed pitcher, Caleb Koskie went 4 for 5 with four RBIs, tying a season high. The Excelsior, Minnesota, native tallied only nine runs driven in on 45 at-bats last year.
Graduate student right-handed pitcher Reagan Rivera started for the Hoosiers. He pitched six innings, allowing three earned runs after entering the contest with a 9.41 ERA in 22 innings pitched.
Rutgers senior right-hander Vincent Borghese entered the game with a 4.44 ERA in 24.1 innings but struggled in his eighth start, allowing three runs on five hits in 2.2 innings pitched.
Most of the damage came from a two-run home run by Koskie with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. It was his second home run this year.
Sophomore infielder Cooper Malamazian extended Indiana’s lead with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning, forcing Borghese to leave the contest.
Rutgers graduate student Joe Mazza relieved Borghese but also struggled. He surrendered two earned runs on five hits in three innings pitched and was pulled from the contest after Koskie roped a two-run double down the line in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Scarlet Knights trailed 5-1 but got both runs back in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore infielder Yomar Carreras hit his second home run of the season over the right field wall.
Indiana graduate student Gavin Seebold came out of the bullpen to replace Rivera in the top of the seventh inning. He struck out three batters in a 1-2-3 seventh inning but struggled in the eighth, finishing the night allowing three hits, three walks and three earned runs.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Ivan Mastalski worked the top of the ninth inning but gave up a walk and a hit by pitch with two outs before Carreras hit a three-run home run that blew the game open, his second of the night and third of the year. Carreras finished the night batting 3 for 5 with seven RBIs for Rutgers.
Sophomore infielder Jake Hanley hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Indiana was unable to mount a comeback in the final innings.
Ultimately, Indiana allowed eight runs over the final four innings. Rutgers scored three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings.
The Hoosiers will look to win the weekend series in their next contest Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 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.
