A pair of four-run innings, six scoreless frames from Tony Neubeck, and eight hits from the top third of the order bolster Indiana to a series-opening victory
By Zach Horwitz @HorwitzZach May 2nd, 2026
“We wanted to offensively really try to push the tempo, push the pace, and stay out of the air”
— Head Coach Jeff Mercer
Indiana Hoosiers 9, Northwestern Wildcats 2
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
CHICAGO, IL – Since the construction of the Wrigley Field scoreboard in 1937, the white flag crowned with a blue “W” has let neighbors and train riders know the outcome of that day’s Chicago Cubs game. While the Friendly Confines prevents Friday night Cubs games due to a city ordinance, the series opener between Indiana and Northwestern was played under the lights in Wrigleyville, with the Hoosiers coming out on top 9-2.
With the Cubs’ win over the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier in the day, the “W” flag stayed waving above the manual scoreboard in center field for Indiana, backed by a gem from southpaw Tony Neubeck.
The lefty twirled six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while striking out seven. He found his way out of some trouble, walking four batters, but still tossed 100 pitches and threw 62 of them for strikes.
“Today, it was just all about attacking,” Neubeck said. “I knew that the field was a big field, so I let my defense play behind me, and it worked out to my benefit. That was a huge thing, trusting TJ behind the plate, trusting everyone behind me.”
Behind Neubeck was an offense that got into an early groove, scoring one in the first on Owen ten Oever’s sacrifice fly. The dutiful offense pushed Hogan Denny home after he stretched a single into a double to open the ballgame.
The Hoosiers plated four more runs in the fourth off Northwestern starter Ryan Weaver. Eight batters came to the plate, with Jake Hanley and ten Oever doing the bulk of the damage. Hanley smashed a 107 mph single to the pull side, while the freshman ten Oever lined a 111 mph double off the ivy-covered wall in the gap.
Landen Fry brought ten Oever home on an RBI single after a Cole Decker sacrifice bunt.
Ten Oever was part of the top third of the IU lineup that all produced multi-hit days. The three hitters, Denny, Hanley and ten Oever, combined to reach base nine times.
Denny said the approach was about keeping the moment from getting too big.
“Just trying to stay simple,” Denny said. “A lot of times you get blessed with these opportunities, and you try to make it bigger than what it is. Not trying to do too much, just letting the game happen.”
A batter’s interference call on Will Moore in the sixth inning stifled what could have been a big inning for Indiana, and head coach Jeff Mercer was ejected from the game. It was deemed that Moore failed in an attempt to move out of the way of the pitch.
“It’s a judgment call by the umpire,” Mercer said. “I teach guys to turn in. I thought it was his regular load, and he turned and rotated in. It’s a judgment call. I wanted to have the guys’ back in a pivotal moment in the game.” Mercer continued to joke, “it’s my first career ejection, so I figured Wrigley Field is the place to do it.”
After the Hoosiers left the bases loaded in the visitor’s half of the seventh, it was time for a Wrigley Field tradition.
Harry Caray made the seventh-inning stretch a staple in the game of baseball. Northwestern women’s basketball coach Carla Berube’s rendition, with “Wildcats” replacing “Cubbies,” was drowned out by the Hoosier contingent. The paid attendance on the night was announced at 2,541.
Despite the crowd advantage, the Wildcats brought the “let’s get some runs” closing of the song to life with a two-run inning behind three hits and an error.
Two runs were charged to Jacob Vogel, who was first out of the Hoosier bullpen. The righty, who has an extremely high fly ball rate, would seem to fit well in a major league ballpark, but it didn’t play out the way pitching coach and temporary head coach Matt Myers had wanted.
Reagan Rivera aided Vogel out of some trouble with a strikeout on his first batter faced. The right-hander would get six of his seven outs by way of the strikeout.
“Reagan was phenomenal,” Mercer said. “The slider was really good for him today. Just enough fastballs to mix in there as a secondary pitch. For Reagan to come in and give us two and a third when they were threatening in that big, pivotal inning was huge.”
IU boasted its second four-run frame of the night in the eighth, behind a hit-by-pitch, sacrifice fly and a bases-clearing triple by Cole Decker.
Rivera continued to nail down the victory.
Mercer appreciated the way Indiana played to fit the environment, especially with the wind blowing in and Wrigley playing like a bigger ballpark.
“We wanted to offensively really try to push the tempo, push the pace, and stay out of the air,” Mercer said. “And we did a really good job of that.”
For Indiana, the setting added to the moment. Denny called it “an amazing opportunity,” while Neubeck said it was “awesome” to pitch at Wrigley Field.
“It’s not an opportunity you get every year,” Neubeck said. “It’s really cool to get that experience, just something a little different. And it kind of is a little taste of what we might experience at the next level.”
Indiana will fly the “W” flag, taking the series opener at Wrigley Field in Northwestern’s lone home night game. The Hoosiers will look to claim the series in Evanston on Saturday.
