Indiana University Athletics
Wednesday, March 13
Bloomington, Ind.
5:00 PM
Indiana University
9-8
6
vs
16
Illinois State
6-8
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2
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4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Illinois State
1
9
4
1
0
0
1
16
15
2
Indiana
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0
5
1
0
6
11
2
Indiana Falls Behind Early in Midweek Defeat
3/13/2024 8:00:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A fifth game in as many days left the bullpen depleted for the Indiana Baseball team (9-8) on Wednesday (March 13) night at Bart Kaufman Field. Sixth-year senior Ty Rybarczyk (L, 0-1) allowed one run in his scheduled inning of work to open the contest but the Hoosiers struggled mightily in the second and third frames, conceding 13 runs, as Illinois State rolled to a 16-6 victory in a seven-inning shortened game.
Freshman pitcher Seth Benes failed to record an out and was pulled after facing three batters. Sophomore reliever Evan Whiteaker threw the next innings and gave up 11 runs (eight earned) on nine runs as the Redbirds took a 14-0 lead after the third inning.
The Hoosiers began a rally in the fifth inning as four-consecutive hitters recorded RBIs but Illinois State's lead proved to be insurmountable. A run for the visitors in the top of the seventh extended the lead back to 10, bringing the 10-run rule into effect after just seven innings of play.
Junior infielder Brock Tibbitts and sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor combined to go 4-8 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs. Eight of nine starters tallied a hit including redshirt junior Jake Stadler who reached base twice with a pair of base knocks.
IU welcomes Belmont to the confines of Bart Kaufman Field this weekend with a scheduled three-game set beginning Friday evening (5:00 PM and continuing Saturday (2:00 PM) and Sunday (1:00 PM) afternoon.
Scoring Recap
Top First
The Redbirds struck early as the five-hole hitter Judah Morris laced a single through the left side, bringing around Luke Lawrence to score. Morris advanced to second on an error in left field but was stranded at the end of the half inning.
Illinois State 1, Indiana 0
Top Second
Indiana fell victim to another massive inning from an opponent as Illinois State hung nine runs on the board in the fourth inning. Auggie Rasmussen drilled a two-run home run over the wall in right field. Shaydon Kubo and Luke Cheng followed that up with an RBI-single and RBI-double respectively. Daniel Pacella, the cleanup hitter, homered to right center off reliever Evan Whiteaker to extend the lead to seven. After going yard earlier in the inning, Rasmussen hit a three-run home run to break the floodgates open for the Redbirds.
Illinois State 10, Indiana 0
Top Third
The Hoosiers couldn't limit the damage as the Redbirds once again struck in the third. Morris cleared the bases with a double into the left-center field gap. After a miscommunication on a wild pitch, he would come all the way around from second to score.
Illinois State 14, Indiana 0
Top Fourth
Illinois State wasn't done yet as J.T. Sokolove hit a solo home run into the left field bullpen to go up 15 runs in the fourth.
Indiana 15, Illinois State 0
Bottom Fifth
IU cracked the scoreboard in the fifth for the first time. Devin Taylor laced a single up the middle, scoring Jake Stadler and advancing Nick Mitchell to second. Brock Tibbitts followed that with an RBI-single of his own before Carter Mathison doubled into the gap to score a pair. IU would add another as a throwing error from the third baseman allowed Mathison to score.
Illinois State 15, Indiana 5
Bottom Sixth
An errant throw by the shortstop to first base, on a ball hit by Taylor, allowed Stadler to score the sixth run of the game for the Hoosiers.
Illinois State 15, Indiana 6
Top Seventh
The 10-run rule came back into effect in the seventh as Pacella drove in his third run of the game to extend the lead for the Redbirds.
Illinois State 16, Indiana 6
Notes to Know
• Junior infielder Brock Tibbitts is riding a six-game hitting streak, recording at least two hits in four of those contests. Over his past six games, he's 12-26 at the plate. He's also got eight multi-hit games on the season.
• Sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor recorded his ninth-multi hit game of the season. He's got 27 hits on the season which is tied for the most in the Big Ten.
• Sixth-year senior Ty Rybarczyk made his first appearance on the mound since Feb. 18, 2023. It was also his career debut for the Hoosiers. He pitched just once last season at Illinois before suffering a season-ending injury.
Top Hoosier Performers
#9 Tibbitts, Brock
2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
#5 Taylor, Devin
2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI
Up Next
IU begins a three-game set with Belmont this weekend at Bart Kaufman Field. All three contests will be streamed on BTN+ or can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.
Freshman pitcher Seth Benes failed to record an out and was pulled after facing three batters. Sophomore reliever Evan Whiteaker threw the next innings and gave up 11 runs (eight earned) on nine runs as the Redbirds took a 14-0 lead after the third inning.
The Hoosiers began a rally in the fifth inning as four-consecutive hitters recorded RBIs but Illinois State's lead proved to be insurmountable. A run for the visitors in the top of the seventh extended the lead back to 10, bringing the 10-run rule into effect after just seven innings of play.
Junior infielder Brock Tibbitts and sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor combined to go 4-8 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs. Eight of nine starters tallied a hit including redshirt junior Jake Stadler who reached base twice with a pair of base knocks.
IU welcomes Belmont to the confines of Bart Kaufman Field this weekend with a scheduled three-game set beginning Friday evening (5:00 PM and continuing Saturday (2:00 PM) and Sunday (1:00 PM) afternoon.
Scoring Recap
Top First
The Redbirds struck early as the five-hole hitter Judah Morris laced a single through the left side, bringing around Luke Lawrence to score. Morris advanced to second on an error in left field but was stranded at the end of the half inning.
Illinois State 1, Indiana 0
Top Second
Indiana fell victim to another massive inning from an opponent as Illinois State hung nine runs on the board in the fourth inning. Auggie Rasmussen drilled a two-run home run over the wall in right field. Shaydon Kubo and Luke Cheng followed that up with an RBI-single and RBI-double respectively. Daniel Pacella, the cleanup hitter, homered to right center off reliever Evan Whiteaker to extend the lead to seven. After going yard earlier in the inning, Rasmussen hit a three-run home run to break the floodgates open for the Redbirds.
Illinois State 10, Indiana 0
Top Third
The Hoosiers couldn't limit the damage as the Redbirds once again struck in the third. Morris cleared the bases with a double into the left-center field gap. After a miscommunication on a wild pitch, he would come all the way around from second to score.
Illinois State 14, Indiana 0
Top Fourth
Illinois State wasn't done yet as J.T. Sokolove hit a solo home run into the left field bullpen to go up 15 runs in the fourth.
Indiana 15, Illinois State 0
Bottom Fifth
IU cracked the scoreboard in the fifth for the first time. Devin Taylor laced a single up the middle, scoring Jake Stadler and advancing Nick Mitchell to second. Brock Tibbitts followed that with an RBI-single of his own before Carter Mathison doubled into the gap to score a pair. IU would add another as a throwing error from the third baseman allowed Mathison to score.
Illinois State 15, Indiana 5
Bottom Sixth
An errant throw by the shortstop to first base, on a ball hit by Taylor, allowed Stadler to score the sixth run of the game for the Hoosiers.
Illinois State 15, Indiana 6
Top Seventh
The 10-run rule came back into effect in the seventh as Pacella drove in his third run of the game to extend the lead for the Redbirds.
Illinois State 16, Indiana 6
Notes to Know
• Junior infielder Brock Tibbitts is riding a six-game hitting streak, recording at least two hits in four of those contests. Over his past six games, he's 12-26 at the plate. He's also got eight multi-hit games on the season.
• Sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor recorded his ninth-multi hit game of the season. He's got 27 hits on the season which is tied for the most in the Big Ten.
• Sixth-year senior Ty Rybarczyk made his first appearance on the mound since Feb. 18, 2023. It was also his career debut for the Hoosiers. He pitched just once last season at Illinois before suffering a season-ending injury.
Top Hoosier Performers
#9 Tibbitts, Brock
2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
#5 Taylor, Devin
2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI
Up Next
IU begins a three-game set with Belmont this weekend at Bart Kaufman Field. All three contests will be streamed on BTN+ or can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harper, Thomas (1-0)
L: Rybarczyk, Ty (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Morris, Judah 1 ; Kubo, Shaydon 1
HR: Pacella, Daniel 1 ; Rasmussen, Auggie 2 ; Sokolove, J.T. 1
RBI: Cheng, Luke 1 ; Pacella, Daniel 3 ; Morris, Judah 4 ; Rasmussen, Auggie 5 ; Sokolove, J.T. 1 ; Kubo, Shaydon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lawrence, Luke 3 ; Cheng, Luke 2 ; Pacella, Daniel 2 ; Morris, Judah 2 ; Contreras, Daniel 2 ; Rasmussen, Auggie 2 ; Sokolove, J.T. 2 ; Kubo, Shaydon 1
HBP: Nichols, Greg 1 ; Pacella, Daniel 1
Batting:
2B: Taylor, Devin 1 ; Mathison, Carter 1
RBI: Taylor, Devin 2 ; Tibbitts, Brock 1 ; Mathison, Carter 2 ; Pyne, Josh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell, Nick 1 ; Taylor, Devin 1 ; Tibbitts, Brock 1 ; Mathison, Carter 1 ; Stadler, Jake 2
HBP: Mathison, Carter 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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