Rivera tosses a quality start, but Hoosiers can’t get the win
By Zach Horwitz @HorwitzZach April 4th, 2026, photos by Carl James
“Tonight, we just didn’t competitively end the game when we had chances.”
— Head Coach Jeff Mercer
Indiana Hoosiers 6, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 9
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
Rolling the momentum from Friday’s mercy rule victory, the Hoosiers came out of the gate rolling. The home side built a midgame lead, then watched it unravel as Rutgers scored eight unanswered runs from the fifth through the ninth innings, evening the series with a 9-6 win on Saturday.
“We didn’t extend the game offensively the way that we should have,” head coach Jeff Mercer said.
Indiana’s offense showed early life, highlighted by a two-run homer from Caleb Koskie in the first inning — extending his hitting streak to 11 games — and a two-run double in the fifth that helped build a 6-1 lead. Koskie finished the day 4-4 at the dish.
But the turning point came in the missed chances that followed.
After Koskie’s double in the fifth, Indiana failed to tack on more. The same pattern repeated an inning later, with a leadoff double and no runs to show for it.
“You get a leadoff double… and we don’t score,” Mercer said. “You’ve got to push it there, and we didn’t.”
That opened the door for Rutgers, and Yomar Carreras slammed it wide open.
Carreras delivered one of the most dominant individual performances of the season, launching two home runs and driving in seven runs to fuel the comeback. The Rutgers’ shortstop had only hit one long ball this season before Saturday.
While the bullpen faltered late, Indiana starter Reagan Rivera turned in one of his strongest outings of the year. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs while navigating hitter-friendly conditions.
“Regan was incredible… that’s a marvelous outing,” Mercer said. He alluded to the strong winds blowing outward, and only one mistake biting Rivera through a full six innings. The Coppin State transfer threw 59 strikes for his 74 pitches.
Still, the Hoosiers couldn’t close it.
Rutgers chipped away in the sixth before breaking through in the eighth and ninth, capitalizing on defensive miscues and missed execution. Indiana reliever Gavin Seebold, coming off a heavy workload last week, wasn’t as sharp in a pivotal late-game spot.
Indiana finished with 12 hits but stranded key opportunities throughout the middle innings. Cole Decker was one that failed to reach base, which is just his first time in the last 15 games.
“Last night we opened it up and ran away with it,” Mercer said. “Tonight, we just didn’t competitively end the game when we had chances.”
Against a team gaining confidence with every swing, that was the difference.
Brayton Thomas gets the ball on Easter Sunday for the rubber match with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.