Credit to: iuhoosiers.com
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Down to its final two outs, on a day where every ball seemed to be caught by Purdue, the Indiana Baseball team (27-19-1, 12-6 B1G) produced a comeback for the ages to grab the series out of the grasps of its biggest rival. The Hoosiers’ 5-4 win in West Lafayette is the first series win away from home against the Boilermakers since 2002.
A wild ninth inning, that featured three singles, three walks and a fielding error, saw the Hoosiers plate four and take a 5-4 lead. Redshirt freshman Jacob Vogel (W, 1-0) was flawless on the mound, closing out his four-inning day with a quick trip through the heart of the Purdue order in the bottom of the inning.
Vogel, who had never pitched more than two innings in his career, piggybacked an incredible effort from sophomore Aydan Decker-Petty to hand the Hoosiers a combined 7.2 innings with just three hits and two runs allowed. Vogel earned the first win of his young career and finished off a fantastic weekend on the mound from IU’s staff.
Three times in the last month, IU has overcome a multi-run deficit in the ninth to either win or tie. IU was down two to Penn State (W, 10-9), three in the ninth at Ball State (T, 7-7) and three in the ninth at Purdue (W, 5-4) but flipped the switch in each ballgame. IU has won five-straight Big Ten series for the first time since 2019 and has won 11 of its last 14 conference contests.
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All 15 position players that traveled to West Lafayette were called upon in Sunday’s victory. Freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Cal Sefcik were asked to pinch hit while Hayden Carlson and TJ Schuyler entered to play as defensive replacements. Redshirt senior Morgan Colopy scored the game-winning run as a pinch runner and Brandon Burckel closed out the ninth at second base.
A magical comeback keeps IU’s chances at a Big Ten title in play. IU finishes the weekend in a three-way tie for second with Purdue and Nebraska. Illinois holds a one-game lead with six contests to play. The Hoosiers head to Nebraska next weekend while Purdue goes to Michigan and Illinois hosts Iowa.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Connor Caskenette singled up the middle past the diving reach of Tyler Cerny to score the game’s first run.
Purdue 1, Indiana 0
Bottom Second
Thomas Green put down a single in between the pitcher and catcher, allowing Keenan Taylor to score from third.
Purdue 2, Indiana 0
Bottom Sixth
Aydan Decker-Petty struggled in his fourth inning of work. He walked two and hit one before hitting a batter with the bases loaded. Jacob Vogel entered with the bases loaded and no outs. He struck out the first batter before Green got a sacrifice fly to open a four-run lead.
Purdue 4, Indiana 0
Top Seventh
The Hoosiers got a run back in the seventh. Cal Sefcik, the pinch hitter, hit a ball to the left side that was gloved by the shortstop and flipped to third. Joey Brenczewski scored the first run of the day for IU.
Purdue 4, Indiana 1
Top Ninth
Things got hectic in the ninth as IU made a furious comeback to win the game. Brock Tibbitts and Carter Mathison had back-to-back one-out singles to put runners on the corner. Jake Stadler walked to load the bases. Andrew Wiggins, the pinch hitter, walked to score a run. Devin Taylor laced a single that ricocheted off the pitcher for another run. With the bases juiced, Nick Mitchell worked a walk to tie the game. Tyler Cerny dribbled a ball to the pitcher that was kicked away, allowing Morgan Colopy to score the go-ahead run.
Indiana 5, Purdue 4
Top Hoosier Performers
#5 Taylor, Devin
2-5, 1 RBI
#21 Vogel, Jacob
4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K
Notes to Know
• Indiana won a fifth-straight Big Ten series, three of those on the road, for the first time since winning the conference in 2019. IU is 11-3 in its past 14 conference games, scoring double-digits in eight of those contests.
• IU’s pitching staff was outstanding the entire weekend. The Hoosiers used eight pitchers and allowed just nine earned runs across 26 innings on the bump. Four pitchers went at least four innings without allowing multiple runs. Drew Buhr (Friday), Connor Foley (Saturday), Ty Bothwell (Saturday) and Jacob Vogel (Sunday) went a combined 17 innings while allowing just two runs.
• Josh Pyne doubled in the second inning to give himself 56 for his career. He passes Sam Travis (2012-14) for sole possession of sixth all-time in program history. Next on the list is Jerrud Sabourin (2008-11) with 57 doubles.
• Brock Tibbitts recorded a multi-hit game, including the single to spark the massive ninth inning, to give himself 186 careers. He’s closing in on becoming the 25th member of the 200-hit club with 10 guaranteed games remaining this season.
• IU won the series in West Lafayette for the first time since 2002. While the rotating series has only become permanent in recent years, the road team hadn’t won the series on opposition home turf since Purdue won at Sembower Field in 2010. Jeff Mercer moves to 10-4 against the Boilermakers since arriving to Bloomington.
Up Next
A midweek game against Cincinnati awaits the Hoosiers at home at Bart Kaufman Field. Next weekend, the Hoosiers head to Lincoln to face Nebraska. Tuesday’s game, with a first pitch of 6:00 PM, will be streamed on BTN+ and can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.