A pinch hit 3-run shot by freshman Owen ten Oever one of the few bright spots
By Carl James @jovian34 March 28th, 2026
Indiana Hoosiers: 7, no. 24 Nebraska Cornhuskers: 12
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
Hoosier ace lefty Tony Neubeck labored through 3.2 innings, allowing 5 earned runs on five hits, four walks, and two hit batsmen. Neubeck did not look sharp, throwing 38 of his 89 pitches out of the strike zone. He managed the game like a veteran, and it was not out-of-hand when he handed the ball to freshman Ivan Mastalski with two outs in the fourth inning.
Mastalski ended Neubeck’s last inning and pitched a clean fifth.
The Hoosiers got life in the top of the sixth inning. As had been a common refrain of late, talented right-hander Carson Jasa was dominating Hoosier hitters, racking up 10 strikeouts. Brayden Ricketts was already on base from a one-out walk when Cole Decker singled to right field to get two runners on and head coach Jeff Mercer pinch hit freshman Owen ten Oever in place of Mateo Noto. ten Oever crushed a three-run bomb to left center and suddenly the Hoosiers were only down by two runs.
Just when the Hoosiers needed a shut-down inning, Mastalski lost the strike zone, walking the bases loaded in the sixth with no outs. Head coach Jeff Mercer called upon Jackson Yarberry in fireman mode, and he managed to strand all three with two strikeouts and a flyout. Just when it felt like the comeback might be short lived, the Hoosiers still had life.
The Hoosiers cut the lead to just a single run in the 7th when Cooper Malamazian was walked with the bases loaded and two outs, but Cole Decker grounded out and the Hoosiers were still behind by a run at the stretch. Malamazian and Decker were the two Hoosiers with a multi-hit day.
I asked coach Mercer after Tuesday’s home loss to Indiana State about Yarberry’s struggles in his second inning of work. Mercer indicated that, “we really need him to get stretched out. We need him to cover two innings.” It came back to bite them just four days later. They but Yarberry back out and he walked the lead-off man. These late inning, no-out free passes are becoming a pattern that leads to runs in close games. And Yarberry is just not as sharp after sitting in the dugout while his team hits.
To be fair, better defensive play could have saved Yarberry from allowing any runs in the seventh. The one official error only impacted a runner advancing that would have scored anyway, but the kind of plays coach Mercer expects these infielders to make could have ended the inning without any damage. As it turned out Nebraska would score 7 runs in the inning, all with two-outs. After Will Moore was unable to stop a hard-hit ball from getting to left field and Landen Fry didn’t throw to first base where he may have had a play on a ground ball, Yarberry allowed a 3-run homer and then put two more men on base. Pete Haas then came in to eat the rest of the game and allowed both inherited runners to score, putting 7 earned runs on Yarberry’s stat sheet.
The Hoosiers scored three runs on a pair of freshman Husker pitchers who had no feel for the strike zone, but at no point did it feel like the Hoosiers were really a threat to get all the way back into the game. They did force Nebraska to use one more reliable bullpen arm which is potentially a little bit of help going into Sunday.
The loss drops Indiana to 10-16 overall and 3-8 in Big Ten play. Hoosiers are now 14th in the conference standings, on the outside looking in at qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament. It is fair to say that the toughest part of Indiana’s conference schedule is behind them, but no team in this league is a slouch. It will likely be battle in April and May for the Hoosiers to get a chance to return to the state of Nebraska in May.