Hoosiers Set Tone in Weekend Opener

Friday, April 3

Bloomington, Ind.

6 p.m.

Indiana University

11-18, 0

Rutgers

15-14, 0

Rutgers

Indiana

4/3/2026 9:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Baseball team (11-18, 4-9 B1G) put up one of the best performances of the head coach Jeff Mercer era on Friday (April 3) evening. A dominant display from graduate student Tony Neubeck on the mound and a variety of two-out hitting helped spark an 11-0 (F/7) run-rule victory over Rutgers (15-14, 4-6 B1G) to start the month of April.

Neubeck (W, 3-3) was in command from the jump. He forced early contact to collect outs in quick succession while mixing all of his pitches for strikes. He allowed just three hits over six scoreless innings while striking out eight batters. Over his last five starts, he has 39 strikeouts to just seven walks. In all three Big Ten appearances at Bart Kaufman Field, Neubeck has produced a quality start on a Friday.

His offense helped alleviate some stress off his plate with six runs in the first four innings. Home runs from sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley (two-run), sophomore third baseman Will Moore (three-run) and sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny (two-run) was more than enough for the veteran southpaw. All nine players in IU's order produced a hit. Denny finished just a triple short of the cycle after hitting a ball to the warning track in his final at-bat.

Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Vogel needed just 11 pitches to close out the final inning of work. It was his seventh-straight scoreless outing and helped finish off IU's first shutout win of the year. The win was the first shutout of a Big Ten team since blanking Iowa, 5-0, in last year's Big Ten Tournament (May 22, 2025). IU has won all three Friday games at home in conference play this season.

IU will go for the series tomorrow (April 4) evening in Bloomington. First pitch will be moved back to the evening with official word to be released soon. The game will be streamed on B1G+.

Scoring Recap
Bottom Third
Jake Hanley opened the scoring with a two-run home run to right field.
Indiana 2, Rutgers 0

Bottom Fourth
Will Moore broke out in a big way with a three-run blast to left-center field. An RBI single from Jake Hanley extended the lead in the inning.
Indiana 6, Rutgers 0

Bottom Sixth
Hogan Denny launched a no-doubt, two-run home run over the scoreboard. Brayden Ricketts was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the inning to score another run. Cooper Malamazian would score on a wild pitch before an RBI single from Cole Decker put the run-rule into effect.
Indiana 11, Rutgers 0

Top Hoosier Performers
#29 Neubeck, Tony
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 8 K, 0 BB

#2 Denny, Hogan
3-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R

#34 Hanley, Jake
2-3, HR, 3 RBI

Inside the Box Score
• All nine players in the IU order provided at least one hit. Hogan Denny and Jake Hanley each had multiple hits.
• IU's two-man pitching staff didn't walk a single batter and struck out 10 Rutgers' batters.
• Three players went deep in the game, all for multiple runs.

Notes to Know
• Graduate student left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck produced his third quality start in three outings at Bart Kaufman Field this year. In the three Big Ten games at home on the year, Neubeck has worked 18.0 innings while allowing just four runs. He's walked two batters in those games compared to 25 strikeouts.

• For the first time since May 15, 2022 (vs. Minnesota – W, 12-0), IU worked a shutout of a Big Ten opponent while also scoring 10-or-more runs. It was the 15th shutout of the Jeff Mercer era (since 2019) and the first at Bart Kaufman Field since an 8-0 win over Purdue last year (May 9, 2025).

• All three home runs on Friday night came from its deep sophomore class. It's the third time in their careers that three different members of that recruiting class all hit a home run in the same game. The production came from the bats of first baseman Jake Hanley, outfielder Hogan Denny and third baseman Will Moore in the win over Rutgers.

• Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie returned to the lineup on Friday and provided another hit to his season tally. He's now riding a 10-game hitting streak, by far the longest of his young career. Sophomore outfielder Cole Decker pushed his team-best reached base streak to 14-straight games.

Up Next
The middle game of this weekend's series is set for Saturday (April 4) evening in Bloomington. First pitch will be moved back to tomorrow night and will be available on B1G+ and online via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.