Midweek Mania in Bloomington as Purdue Fort Wayne topples No. 20 Indiana
By Zach Horwitz @HorwitzZach February 27th, 2024 – photos by Zach Greene
Purdue Fort Wayne had four hits in their latest meeting against Western Kentucky, but today, they tripled that number. The Mastodons scored nine runs on twelve hits, and even blasted five long balls.
The Hoosier pitching staff began with three scoreless innings. Two of those from freshman Seth Benes, who was making his second career start. Comparing it to his last start, Jeff Mercer mentioned “I thought he was a little more comfortable.. He did a good job mixing in counts and was able to get ahead and put guys away.” Benes faced seven batters and did not allow a hit.
Jeff Mercer then went to Ryan Rushing, a rookie southpaw who was a tad wild in his debut. Cooper Katskee came out of the bullpen in a tough spot, inheriting the bases loaded with one out. The sophomore punched out two PFW batters, followed up with a strikeout strut, and the Hoosier faithful came alive.
Katskee came back out for the fourth inning, and things became troublesome for Indiana. Justin Osterhouse, who came into the meeting hitting .182, belted a homerun to left field, and Ben Higgins followed up with a solo shot of his own. Jordan Walker, brother of former Indiana infielder Justin, singled to give the Mastodons a 3-0 lead in the fourth. This was the start of three consecutive innings in which Purdue Fort Wayne put a number on the scoreboard.
PFW’s Camden Karczewski mashed a home run over the left field wall off of Evan Whiteaker, which was the first of four runs surrendered in that frame. Justin Osterhouse, who finished 3-5 on the evening, launched his second deep shot of the ballgame, extending the Mastodon lead to eight.
The Hoosier bats started to come alive in the sixth, with Brock Tibbitts driving a ball to the right field gap, for their first hit since the second inning. Joey Brenczewski, one of the few bright spots in the Indiana lineup, finished 2-4, most significantly pounding a loud single to the wall, bringing home two runners. Morgan Colopy followed up with a sacrifice fly, and the Hoosiers brought in all three baserunners.
Colopy started today’s contest in center field, with Carter Mathison in the designated hitter role. “Morgan had a really good weekend, he’s a really good defender.” He owns the team-lead in home runs, with four, as he launched three homers this past weekend in the series sweep of Baylor. The senior made his second career start in center field, as Mathison had a thumb injury this past weekend. Mercer mentioned “it’s pretty beat up and swollen… I don’t want to overexpose it”.
The eighth inning was Indiana’s opportunity to pounce on the lead. They got a three-RBI bomb from Carter Mathison to the opposite field, which brought the game within two. Pyne, Taylor, and Tibbitts all reached base, but a strikeout of Tyler Cerny ended the threat.
The Hoosiers dropped the tilt by a score of 9-6. Succeeding last year’s 15-1 result, this contest became the Mastodons first victory over Indiana. The two have been in opposing dugouts seven times before.
Jeff Mercer and Co. travel to Frisco, TX and face a slew of opponents with rich college baseball backgrounds. IU opens up on Friday night with No. 16 Alabama and turns things around Saturday afternoon with No. 25 Dallas Baptist. DBU, a storied program, has amassed 33 consecutive winning seasons and three straight regional appearances. The squad finishes up on Sunday against an Arizona team who already has two ranked wins on the young season.
Mercer looks to depend on his weekend pitching staff, a group that has been successful in putting a 6-2 record to their name. “We have to continue to attack, but one thing that we could do a little bit better is getting ahead into 0-2 and 1-2 counts.” Keep an eye on the Indiana arms that look to compete with some of the nation’s best this upcoming weekend.
All three games will be a pay-per-view subscription through D1Baseball.com.