Carl, Zach, and Chris discuss a weekend of lost leads to Indiana’s rival
By Carl James @jovian34 May 12th, 2026
Indiana had only a sliver of hope of making the Big Ten Tournament going into the weekend series at Alexander Field in West Lafayette. The Hoosiers left mathematically eliminated ending the league’s leading streak of 12 straight tournament appearances. It also means that Indiana’s season will end this coming Saturday at the Bart against Illinois, and that the Hoosier will have their first losing season since 2022 and the second in head coach Jeff Mercer’s 8-year tenure at the helm of Indiana University Baseball.
Despite it being a sweep on the road, Indiana had a late lead in all three games. Riding a quality start from Tony Neubeck and huge returns from injury at the plate by Caleb Koskie and Brayden Ricketts, the Hoosiers took a 9-2 lead into the 7th inning stretch. Mercer and pitching coach Matt Myers went all in with Jackson Yarberry and Gavin Seebold, but the pair allowed 9 runs between the 7th and 8th innings. Purdue did not even need to bat in the 9th to secure an 11-9 Friday night win.
Purdue would need to bat in the 9th on Saturday. Brayton Thomas was electric through 5.1 scoreless frames. Reagan Rivera held the Boilers scoreless through the 8th. Indiana lead 4-0, but Purdue stormed back with 5 runs to walk off the Hoosiers and take the series.
Purdue got off to a better start on Sunday, but Indiana played the comeback card and took a brief lead in the 6th scoring five runs with a two-run homer by right fielder Owen ten Oever and then a three-run homer by second baseman Landen Fry. The lead was short lived, however, and Purdue cruised to an 11-8 win to sweep the series.
It was a weekend where Indiana looked like the better team most of the time, but when it went bad, it went very bad.
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