Indiana falls 13-11 to Northern Kentucky for its second consecutive midweek loss
By Zach Horwitz @HorwitzZach March 5th, 2025 – photos by Carl James
Indiana took to the diamond for another midweek contest at Bart Kaufman Field. Usually, when you score double-digit runs on a Tuesday afternoon, you come out on top. In disappointing fashion, the pitching staff faltered, allowing 13 runs on 16 hits, and issuing 11 free passes.
Indiana Hoosiers 11, Northern Kentucky Norse 13
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
The game plan fell apart from the initial pitch of the ballgame. Head coach Jeff Mercer alluded to the decision behind slotting Henry Brummel in for his first career start: “There’s not a ton of holes and stuff doesn’t necessarily beat them (NKU). We wanted to use the changeup and get guys in between, and we thought he gave us the best chance with his three-pitch mix.” The freshman right-hander walked two and plunked one of his four batters faced, before exiting the ballgame having not generated an out.
The first inning was one of three frames in which Northern Kentucky tallied three or more runs. In the fourth, the game blew open in an instant. What was once a 4-2 ballgame ballooned into a 9-2 advantage for the Norse, thanks to a perfectly placed 2-RBI double down the right field line and a 3-run homer that carried by way of the howling Bloomington winds.
Mercer spoke on pitching woes and the bats going hand-in-hand, preaching that they simply did not execute at a high-enough level.
The Hoosiers offense clawed back in the fifth inning, putting up a 6-spot capped off by a towering 107 mph blast off the bat of Andrew Wiggins. “Accentuate the strengths and diminish the weaknesses,” Wiggins credited his disciplined approach at the dish. The sophomore now stands with a .375 batting average and 17 walks in 40 at-bats, following his 2-for-5 outing against Northern Kentucky.
In the batter’s box, eight of nine Indiana starters tacked on a hit to their name, which excluded Indiana’s most consistent bat in Korbyn Dickerson.
Northern Kentucky, who was picked to finish second in the Horizon League in the preseason, continued its aggression in the top half of the seventh, adding three runs off of a triple and a home run. It became enough to come out victorious as Indiana scored three more in the eighth and left the tying run on base in the ninth.
The Hoosiers utilized eight arms with its best proceeding the damage done. Pete Haas, a transfer from Stonehill, twirled 2.1 innings of one-hit baseball, one that Coach Mercer praised for inducing “weak, consistent contact the other way”. Though, as a staff, Indiana’s lower leverage midweek arms failed its task.
They now sit at 6-7 overall, while 0-2 in midweek matchups, but the important slate of the season begins this upcoming weekend. Indiana travels to State College, PA for a weekend conference set with Penn State. The Big Ten opener will transpire at 5:30pm on Friday, 1:00pm on Saturday, and 1:00pm on Sunday. All three games will be televised on B1G+.