Winning Streak Snapped in Midweek Tilt

Tuesday, February 27

Bloomington, Ind.

4:00 PM

Indiana University

6-2

Purdue Fort Wayne

2-6

PFW

Indiana

2/27/2024 7:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Baseball team (6-2) saw a six-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night at Bart Kaufman Field, falling to Purdue Fort Wayne 9-6.

Led by a three-run home run from junior outfielder Carter Mathison, IU closed a five-run gap to just two in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny struck out with the bases loaded later in the frame, leaving the tying run on second base and the go-ahead run on first base.

The Hoosiers rattled off six unanswered runs after trailing 8-0 in the sixth inning but a solo home run from outfielder Ben Higgins in the top of the ninth helped the Mastodons see out their first-ever win in the series.

Purdue Fort Wayne hit five home runs on the afternoon while its pitching staff limited a potent IU offense to just six runs and nine hits. Mastodon pitcher Sean Kasper was awarded the win for his 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball. Cooper Katskee (L, 0-1) was tagged with the loss for IU.

Game action resumes for the Hoosiers this weekend in Frisco, Texas with contests against No. 16 Alabama (Friday), No. 25 Dallas Baptist (Saturday) and Arizona (Sunday).

Scoring Recap
Top Fourth
Purdue Fort Wayne struck first with consecutive solo home runs from Justin Osterhouse and Ben Higgins. Jacob Walker later extended the lead to three by driving an RBI-single through the gap on the left side of the infield.
Purdue Fort Wayne 3, Indiana 0

Top Fifth
Higgins continued his outstanding night with an RBI-single to left-center field, driving Nick Sutherlin around to score the fourth run of the game.
Purdue Fort Wayne 4, Indiana 0

Top Sixth
The Mastodons nearly put the game out of the reach in the eighth. Camden Karczewski caught the wind and homered over the bullpen in left field. Later in the inning, Osterhouse hit his second home run of the game; a massive three-run shot.
Purdue Fort Wayne 8, Indiana 0

Bottom Sixth
IU dug into the lead in the sixth, scoring for the first time in the contest. Joey Brenczewski hit a ball off the wall to score both Tyler Cerny and Brock Tibbitts. After Mitchell advanced to third on a wild pitch, Morgan Colopy drove him in with a sacrifice fly to the center fielder.
Purdue Fort Wayne 8, Indiana 3

Bottom Eighth
Carter Mathison closed the gap to just two in the eighth with a three-run home run into the bullpen in left field. Tyler Cerny came up with the bases loaded but struck out to strand the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
Purdue Fort Wayne 8, Indiana 6

Top Ninth
Higgins went yard again in the ninth, recording his third RBI of the ballgame on a solo home run.
Purdue Fort Wayne 9, Indiana 6

Notes to Know
• Carter Mathison hit his 32nd career home run, moving him just four away from cracking the program's all-time top-10 list.

• Josh Pyne and Brock Tibbitts tallied career hits 162 and 153 respectively as the duo inches closer to the 200-career hit plateau for the cream and crimson.

Top Hoosier Performers
#3 Mathison, Carter
2-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R

#23 Brenczewski, Joey
2-4, 2 RBI, 1 R

Up Next
The Hoosiers return to Texas for the Frisco Classic, running from Friday to Sunday. A pair of top-25 matchups against Alabama and Dallas Baptist open the weekend before closing it out with Arizona. The games will be available via subscription on D1Baseball.com or can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.