Late Inning Woes Hurt Hoosiers

Tuesday, March 31

Evansville, Ind.

7 p.m.

Indiana University

10-18

Evansville

8-18

Indiana

Evansville

3/31/2026 11:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Once again, late inning troubles hurt the Indiana Baseball team (10-18, 3-9 B1G) in a tight loss to Evansville (8-18, 2-1 MVC) on Tuesday (March 31) evening. The Hoosiers were walked off for a fourth time this season in a 5-4 (F/11) defeat at Charles H. Braun Stadium. On the year, IU is now 0-7 in one-run ballgames.

It looked as though IU may have broken some offensive woes when sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley hit a massive first-inning home run to dead center. His 444-foot blast gave IU an early 2-0 lead. A single from freshman second baseman Landen Fry and an RBI double from freshman pinch hitter Owen ten Oever extended the lead to four in the fourth inning.

But from there, IU's offense fell completely silent as Evansville worked a mix of pitchers into the game. IU had a golden chance to strike again in the tenth inning but Fry grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and just one out. The Hoosiers left 10 runners on base and finished just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. They failed to score again after the fourth inning.

IU ran nine pitchers into the game and held Evansville to just five runs across 11 innings. Freshman right-handed pitcher Ivan Mastalski started and worked a pair of scoreless innings. As a staff, IU racked up 21 strikeouts, tied for the most in a game (21 – vs. Xavier; Feb. 15, 2025) in the head coach Jeff Mercer era. Junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Yarberry (L, 0-4) was tagged with the loss despite a strong outing at the end of the game.

The Hoosiers will be back in action as Rutgers comes to town this weekend (April 3-5) for a three-game set at Bart Kaufman Field.

Scoring Recap
Top First
Jake Hanley homered to dead center field in the first inning to score a pair of runs.
Indiana 2, Evansville 0

Top Fourth
The Hoosiers added a pair of runs on an RBI single from Landen Fry and an RBI double from Owen ten Oever.
Indiana 4, Evansville 0

Bottom Fifth
Spike Magill put the hosts on the board with an RBI single to left field.
Indiana 4, Evansville 1

Bottom Seventh
Evansville came all the way back to tie the game in the seventh. Drew McConnell doubled to left-center field to drive home two runs. Ryan Seddon battled against Jacob Vogel in a 12-pitch at-bat with a single off the end of the bat to tie the game.
Indiana 4, Evansville 4

Bottom Eleventh
After three-straight scoreless frames, Evansville got a walk-off single from Tate Deal.
Evansville 5, Indiana 4

Top Hoosier Performers
#34 Hanley, Jake
1-4, HR, 2 RBI

#19 Decker, Cole
2-3, 2 BB, R

#38 Yarberry, Jackson
2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 6 K

Inside the Box Score
• IU's offense recorded at least 10 hits for the ninth time this season.
• The pitching staff worked a season-best 21 strikeouts against Evansville.
• Three different players had multi-hit efforts for the Hoosiers.
• IU used 14 position players and nine pitchers to get through the 11 innings.

Notes to Know
• In the defeat to Evansville, IU racked up 21 strikeouts on the mound. That effort matched the most by an IU pitching staff in the Jeff Mercer era. The Hoosiers last worked 21 strikeouts in a 10-inning defeat to Xavier on February 15th, 2025 in Arizona.

• Sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley hit his third career home run in two games at Charles H. Braun Stadium. The two-run home run was the 20th of his young career and the sixth of the campaign. On the season, IU is outscoring opponents 27-15 in the first inning of games.

• Freshman catcher Owen ten Oever has pinch hit in five-consecutive games. In four of those games, he has produced a hit when he comes to the plate. Three of those appearances have resulted in an RBI single, a three-run home run and an RBI double.

• Sophomore outfielder Cole Decker continues to play at a high level. That continued on Tuesday evening in his hometown of Evansville. He had a pair of hits and a pair of walks as he extended his team-best reach based streak to 13-consecutive games. Decker was the only player to walk multiple times in the game.

Up Next
The beginning of April brings a fresh chapter for the IU program. Rutgers makes its way to Bart Kaufman Field for a weekend series (April 3-5). All three games will be streamed on B1G+ and will be carried on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.