Second Seed Secured

Saturday, May 20

East Lansing, Mich.

3 P.M.

Indiana University

Michigan State

BLOOMINGTON, IN - March 28, 2023 - outfielder Devin Taylor #5 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the game between the Kent State Golden Flashes and the Indiana Hoosiers at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Gracie Farrall\Indiana Athletics

5/20/2023 7:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The eight one-run victory of the season for the Indiana baseball program locked up a second place finish in the Big Ten as the Hoosiers claimed a 6-5 victory over Michigan State on Saturday (May 20) inside McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.

Indiana posted its first 40-win regular season since the 2013 team won 40 regular season games. The Hoosiers won 40 overall games in 2018, with 37 coming in the regular season. It is the ninth time an Indiana team won 40-plus games in a single season.

Michigan State (32-20, 12-12 B1G) opened the scoring for the first time on the weekend with a single run in the first inning. Indiana (40-16, 16-8 B1G) pulled even with a run in the third inning. The Hoosiers scored twice in the fifth, once in the sixth and twice more in the eighth inning. The Spartans added single runs in the fifth and sixth, before a two-run ninth made it a one-run victory.

Freshman Devin Taylor posted his fourth multi-home run game of the season – third in Big Ten play – and moved into No. 3 on the all-time Big Ten freshman home run charts with his 15th and 16th of the season in the finale. He also reached the 10-home run mark in B1G play, just the sixth Hoosier to reach double figures in conference play. His three RBIs moved his season total 56, which ranks No. 6 on the rookie charts at IU.

In all, Taylor was 3-for-4 with one walk, three RBIs and two runs scored. Sophomore Carter Mathison had two hits, two runs scored and one RBI. He hit his ninth home run of the season and added one walk. Freshman Tyler Cerny doubled, scored one run, and plated one RBI. Seniors Phillip Glasser and Peter Serruto also collected RBIs in the contest.

Senior Ty Bothwell allowed two runs over 4 1/3 innings in the start. He scattered five hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts. Sophomore Luke Hayden (2-0) picked up the win in relief with 1 2/3 innings of one-run work. He struck out one and scattered three hits and one walk. Freshman Connor Foley (3) earned the save with eight strikeouts in three innings of work. He allowed two runs on three hits with three walks.

Jack Frank and Mitch Jebb each posted three-hit games on the afternoon as Frank scored two runs and Jebb drove in a pair of RBIs. Brock Vradenburg drove in a pair of RBIs with a double. Ryan Szczepaniak (1-3) took the loss with two runs allowed on three hits in one inning.

Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Jack Frank singled to start the inning and moved to second on a balk. A groundout moved the runner to third and Mitch Jebb singled up the middle to plate the first run.
at Michigan State 1, Indiana 0

Top Third
Devin Taylor hit a solo home run to right-center field.
Indiana 1, at Michigan State 1

Top Fifth
A leadoff home run from Taylor was followed by a double from Tyler Cerny and a base hit from Peter Serruto to put runners on the corners. Phillip Galsser's sacrifice fly plated the second run of the frame.
Indiana 3, at Michigan State 1

Bottom Fifth
Casey Mayes singled and stole second base to start the inning and came in to score on a Frank base hit. With the bases loaded, Jebb singled to score one and Hunter Jessee threw out the second runner at the plate.
Indiana 3, at Michigan State 2

Top Sixth
Carter Mathison hit a solo home run.
Indiana 4, at Michigan State 2

Bottom Sixth
A pair of singles started the frame and Dillon Kark grounded into a double play to push the run across.
Indiana 4, at Michigan State 3

Top Eighth
Singles from Brock Tibbitts and Mathison started the inning and Taylor singled to collect the first RBI of the frame. Cerny then reached on a fielder's choice to collect an RBI.
Indiana 6, at Michigan State 3

Bottom Ninth
Singles from Greg Ziegler and Frank put runners on the corners with no outs. Brock Vradenburg doubled with one out to plate two runs. After an intentional walk put two runners on base, Connor Foley punched out the final two hitters.
Indiana 6, at Michigan State 5

Up Next
The Big Ten Tournament will begin on Tuesday May (23) at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, where No. 2-seed Indiana will begin play at 2 p.m. Each game of the Tournament will be carried on the Big Ten Network and Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.