Gilley’s quality start, Dickerson’s three-run blast the highlights
By Carl James @jovian34 May 12th, 2025
“…the most ready to play that I’ve seen us maybe all year”
— Head Coach Jeff Mercer
Indiana Hoosiers 14, Purdue Boilermakers 4
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score | Postgame Media
The Indiana Hoosiers defeated their rival Purdue Boilermakers in a run-rule walk-off victory with a final score of 14-4 in seven innings. The game, played on Mother’s Day, was the rubber match of the series and Indiana’s final home game of the 2025 season in front of an official crowd of 2264 fans.
Indiana established an early lead in the bottom of the second inning, scoring five runs to take a 6-0 advantage. The scoring in the second included a three-run moonshot by Korbyn Dickerson hit way over the Indiana bullpen. Dickerson reflected on the at-bat, stating, “I knew he was going to come inside. He’s an sidearm guy, so I was trying to get me in… he hung a slider, and I got my ace swing on it”. The early runs also scored via a walk, a sacrifice fly by Devin Taylor, and two wild pitches, despite Indiana only having one hit at that point.
Purdue responded in the top of the fourth inning with a three-run homer of their own, cutting Indiana’s lead to 6-3.
Indiana added single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to extend their lead to 8-3. In the fifth, Dickerson singled, stole second, and scored on a double by Cooper Malamazian. In the sixth, after loading the bases, Jake Hanley walked to drive in a run.
Purdue scored a run in the top of the seventh, narrowing the deficit to 8-4. However, the Hoosiers exploded for six runs in the bottom of the seventh to seal the run-rule victory. The inning began with a solo home run by Andrew Wiggins. Tyler Cerny doubled, Joey Brenczewski was hit by a pitch, and Taylor walked to plate a run. Dickerson followed with a single. The game-ending walk-off hit was setup by a two-RBI single by Jake Hanley, bringing the score to 13-4. A Malamazian single drove in the run-rule clinching run.
On the mound for Indiana, Cole Gilley started and delivered a quality start, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 unearned runs, with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. Gilley commented on his performance, saying, “everything felt good… honestly it was just making sure I command it all. Really the cutter… And obviously just using the defense”. He also mentioned bouncing back after throwing an inning on Friday.
Head coach Jeff Mercer praised Gilley and the pitching staff’s recent performance, stating, “we’ve the last two weeks we’ve pitched it really well. I’ve been really really proud of him. I’m pleased with him”. He added that Gilley “comes out and gives you a six today and he’s fighting for the ball in the seventh”. Brayton Thomas pitched 0.1 innings in the seventh, allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run. Aydan Decker-Petty finished the game, pitching 0.2 scoreless innings to earn the save. Mercer highlighted Decker-Petty’s “transformation… to be his best uh when his team needed him” in a “huge situation”.
Offensively, the Hoosiers totaled 14 runs on 10 hits, capitalized on 9 walks and 4 hit-by-pitches, and left 8 runners on base. Dickerson led Indiana with 3 hits, including the early home run, and 4 RBIs. Hanley contributed 3 RBIs with his walk and the game-ending single. Wiggins’ solo homer added to the late scoring. The team’s approach at the plate was noted by Mercer: “we had a really good plan today… we knew they were going to throw a lot of fast balls… and I think we did a better job of hitting those pitches hard in the zone early”. Mercer also described the team’s internal focus and readiness before the game, saying it was “the most ready to play that I’ve seen us maybe all year”.
Purdue finished the game with 4 runs on 7 hits and committed no errors. Eli Anderson and Aaron Manias each had 2 hits for the Boilermakers. Starting pitcher Easton Storey took the loss for Purdue.
Jake Hanley’s ability to adjust was highlighted by Coach Mercer, who noted that after striking out in a similar situation the day before and earlier in this game, Hanley was coachable and could “adjust right away”.
Looking ahead, Indiana was scheduled to travel to Cincinnati for their final midweek game on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m..