Indiana baseball defeated Illinois 10-4 Thursday night at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington to snap a five-game losing streak. The Cream and Crimson moved to 22-30 overall and 8-20 in the Big Ten with the victory.
Indiana struck first for the seventh time in the past eight games. Sophomore catcher/outfielder Hogan Denny hit a leadoff single and stole second in the opening frame. Then sophomore left-handed pitcher/outfielder Caleb Koskie hit an RBI double to score Denny.
The Hoosiers added to their lead in the next frame by scoring four more runs on four hits. By the end of the second inning, Indiana held a 5-0 advantage.
Illinois junior left-handed pitcher Regan Hall struggled in his 14th start of the season. He pitched two innings, surrendering six hits and five earned runs in 46 pitches. Hall came into the contest with a 5.30 ERA in 71.7 innings.
In the third inning, the Fighting Illini responded with one run. However, senior infielder/outfielder Jack Zebig grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end their rally in the top half of the frame.
After a 17-pitch walk by sophomore infielder Will Moore in the bottom of the third, the Hoosiers scored one more run on a fielder’s choice to extend their lead to 6-1.
Indiana further increased its lead with a two-out rally in the sixth inning. A pair of walks led to a three-run home run by freshman catcher Owen ten Oever, his sixth longball of the season.
Illinois senior outfielder Nick Groves hit a two-RBI ground-rule double in the seventh with the bases loaded to cut into the Hoosiers’ lead, but the Fighting Illini were unable to tack on any additional runs.
Indiana’s starting pitcher, graduate student left-hander Tony Neubeck, pitched 6.1 innings and struck out five batters, shutting down the Fighting Illini’s bats. Illinois recorded eight hits and three runs against Neubeck.
Ten Oever continued his dominant night with a sacrifice fly to push Indiana into double digits. Ultimately, ten Oever went 2 for 3 with four RBIs, which tied a season high.
The Hoosier bullpen allowed one earned run in the eighth inning but ultimately snagged the final eight outs to secure the victory. Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Vogel went 0.2 innings, while junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Yarberry pitched the final two.
Indiana outhit Illinois 12-9 in the contest. The Hoosiers went 6 for 14 with runners in scoring position.
Indiana will look to carry its success into the second game of the series Friday. First pitch will be at 6 p.m. and streamed on Big Ten+.
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.
