Trusted relief pitchers give up 15 runs in the final six innings as Indiana falls in Terre Haute
By Zach Horwitz @HorwitzZach March 19th, 2024
A 6-0 Indiana lead was erased quickly after Jeff Mercer elected to go to the bullpen to begin the third inning. Ty Rybarczyk toed the rubber for his second consecutive midweek start, after tossing an inning in last week’s contest against Illinois State.
Indiana Hoosiers 7, Indiana State 15:
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
Rybarczyk, the Illinois transfer, was nearly perfect today. A 25-pitch first inning where he escaped two baserunners, and then a clean second inning aided him to become the lone Hoosiers pitcher to not allow a run out of those who notched a full inning of work.
The Hoosiers tallied seven hits in the first three innings which brought in six runs, most significantly from the likes of Nick Mitchell, Josh Pyne, and Devin Taylor, who all brought in base runners with two outs. Taylor got back on track, slashing 3-for-5 on the evening and upgrading his batting average to .398. Nick Mitchell and Jake Stadler were the other two Indiana hitters who had multiple hits, with Stadler also driving in two RBIs.
Although, the story of the ballgame was in the hands of trusted arms who couldn’t get the job done.
Aydan Decker-Petty and Ryan Rushing pitched the early innings out of the bullpen as the Hoosiers were grasping to a 6-0 lead in the third. The two conceded five combined runs before Mercer went to a trusty right-hander in Brayden Risedorph. Opening the year as the Friday night starter, the Hoosiers needed length and success from their bullpen, placing Risedorph into the front end of pitching coach Dustin Glant’s options.
Risedorph trotted to the mound with a 6-5 lead and runners at the corners. From then on, mayhem ensued. He left a 2-1 fastball down the plate to the Sycamores’ home run leader, Mike Sears, who took it for a ride. That was the beginning of a 1.1 IP outing, where Risedorph let up six runs on four hits in his ten batters faced.
Jack Moffitt, who held a team-leading 2.38 ERA in Indiana’s bullpen, was thrown into the fire, where he suffered an RBI single and home run in his first two batters.
Risedorph and Moffitt’s efforts were the conclusion of a seven-run frame, which put the Hoosiers down 13-7.
The Indiana bats couldn’t claw back. As a team, they created ten hits, all of them singles, while leaving six runners on base.
The trip to Terre Haute was unsuccessful for the second straight try, as the Hoosiers fell 4-0 last season at Bob Warn Field.
Indiana holds a 6-5 record away from home, and 5-5 at Bart Kaufman Field, where they will play host to Illinois this upcoming weekend.
The three-game set begins Friday at 6 p.m. as a new season begins. Big Ten play opens up as the Hoosiers look to reign atop the conference for the first time since 2019.