Offense Rolls to Run-Rule Victory

Friday, April 17

Bloomington, Ind.

6 p.m.

Indiana University

17-21

Abilene Christian

18-19

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Abilene Christian	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	3	6	0
Indiana	2	0	6	3	1	0	1	13	13	0

4/17/2026 10:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When the calendar flipped to April, Indiana's bats picked up at a big rate. A trio of home runs, two from sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny, helped spark a 13-3 (F/7) win in the series opener (April 17) against Abilene Christian at Bart Kaufman Field. The Hoosiers are hitting .347 this month and have won seven of the last 10 games.

For the second-straight Friday outing, IU spotted its pitching staff plenty of room to work with. A six spot in the third inning chased the Abilene Christian starter and allowed veteran southpaw Tony Neubeck (W, 5-3) to settle back into the contest. Neubeck provided six strikeouts and gave up just two runs on a night where he didn't have his best stuff. Freshman right-handed Kellen English pitched the final two innings.

Denny returned to the lineup in big fashion, homering in his first at-bat since last Saturday. Eight of IU's nine starters recorded at least one hit. Sophomore outfielder Cole Decker is hitting .400 in the month of April and provided his first career four-hit effort in the win. Sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian had a single in the seventh inning for his 100th career base knock.

The biggest thing that IU did on Friday night was save its best bullpen arms. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Brayton Thomas will get the ball in tomorrow's middle game with a chance to win the series. He will have plenty of arms behind him as the Hoosiers go for their fourth-straight win.

Scoring Recap
Top First
Hogan Denny hit a leadoff home run for the second time in the six games. Cole Decker provided an RBI single later in the frame to extend the lead.
Indiana 2, Abilene Christian 0

Top Second
The visitors scored their first run of the game on an RBI double from Gavin Brzozowski.
Indiana 2, Abilene Christian 1

Top Third
JT Thompson put the game level with his RBI single to center field.
Indiana 2, Abilene Christian 2

Bottom Third
The Hoosiers broke it open in the home half of the third inning. Brayden Ricketts hit a back side solo home run over the wall in left field. Denny immediately followed that up with his second solo home run. Jake Hanley came around after a walk to score on a wild pitch. RBI singles from Decker, Will Moore and Landen Fry put a massive, crooked number on the scoreboard.
Indiana 8, Abilene Christian 2

Bottom Fourth
Ayden Crouse provided an RBI on a groundout to the first baseman. Free passes to Fry and Ricketts with the bases juiced allowed two more runs to come across.
Indiana 11, Abilene Christian 2

Bottom Fifth
Decker singled through the left side to score Koskie.
Indiana 12, Abilene Christian 2

Top Sixth
Diego Cardenas homered to left field.
Indiana 12, Abilene Christian 3

Bottom Seventh
Koskie scored on a wild pitch to end the game in run-rule fashion.
Indiana 13, Abilene Christian 3

Top Hoosier Performers
#19 Decker, Cole
4-4, 2 R, 3 RBI

#2 Denny, Hogan
2-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI

#42 Ricketts, Brayden
2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB

Inside the Box Score
• Eight of nine starters for the Hoosiers had at least one hit. Three players had multi-hit games.
• On a day where the wind was blowing out, IU's pitching staff gave up just two extra-base hits.
• All of IU's 11 RBIs came without anyone in the 2-4 holes recording one.
• This was IU's third run-rule victory of the season.

Notes to Know
• Stop us if you've heard this before. Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie extended his hitting streak to 19-consecutive games after a single up the middle in the third inning. His hitting streak has now spanned over a full calendar month and has the chance to reach 20. It would be the first 20-game hitting streak in a single season since 2010 (Alex Dickerson – 21).

• Sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian joined his classmate, Jake Hanley, in the 100-hit club for the Hoosiers. He got on the board on Friday night with a single in the seventh inning. Malamazian has been a staple of the IU lineup over the last two years and now starts the chase for 200 in the cream and crimson.

• Sophomore outfielder Cole Decker is the sixth player from his recruiting class to record a four-hit day for the Hoosiers. He joins his classmates (Koskie, Hanley, Denny, Moore and Malamazian) in that club after putting together a masterful performance of hitting on Friday night against Abilene Christian.

Up Next
The middle game of this weekend's series is set for Saturday (April 18) in Bloomington. First pitch is currently set for 2 p.m. but could change because of weather. It will be available on B1G+ and online via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.