Tibbitts Leads Offense in Comeback Victory

Saturday, March 2

Frisco, Texas

1:00 PM

Indiana University

#25 Dallas Baptist

3/2/2024 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Press Conference

FRISCO, Texas - Junior catcher Brock Tibbitts provided four RBIs, including a massive bases-clearing triple in the top of seventh, as the Indiana Baseball team (7-3) mounted a five-run comeback to beat No. 25 Dallas Baptist 9-7 on Saturday (March 2) afternoon at Riders Field.

Fellow junior Nick Mitchell had his first three-hit game in an IU uniform as the Hoosiers compiled 15 total hits and nine runs. Down 6-1 through five innings, IU chipped away at the lead in the sixth with a pair of runs to make it 6-3. An RBI single from sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor brought IU within two runs in the seventh before Tibbitts cleared them all on a three bagger.

Sixth-year senior Ty Bothwell (W, 2-0) was fantastic in relief, throwing 72 pitches across 4.2 innings of work while striking out five. Dallas Baptist threatened in the ninth but freshman infielder Hayden Carlson and sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny combined on a 4-6-3 double play to end the ballgame.

The win put to bed a pair of back-to-back losses and handed the Hoosiers their second top-25 win of the season. It also ended the Patriots' perfect start to the season. IU will close out the Frisco Classic tomorrow afternoon (1:00 PM ET/12:00 PM CT against Arizona.

Scoring Recap
Top First
Brock Tibbitts shook off the poor performance from Friday night and added an early tally to the board, doubling to left field to drive in Nick Mitchell.
Indiana 1, Dallas Baptist 0

Bottom Fourth
After holding the Patriots scoreless for the first three innings, starting pitcher Connor Foley left a fast ball over the plate that Chayton Krauss took over the left field wall for a two-run home run.
Dallas Baptist 2, Indiana 1

Bottom Fifth
Dallas Baptist opened up the lead in the fifth with a four spot. Nathan Humphreys, Luke Heefner and Krauss each had RBI singles while Michael Dattalo tallied a sacrifice fly as the Patriots took a five-run lead through five complete innings.
Dallas Baptist 6, Indiana 1

Top Sixth
The Hoosiers started to piece the offense together in the sixth inning. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Carter Mathison scored Devin Taylor while a bloop single from Tyler Cerny scored Tibbitts to bring IU within three.
Dallas Baptist 6, Indiana 3

Top Seventh
Taylor led off the scoring in the seventh with an RBI single through the right side. After that, Tibbitts provided the biggest at-bat of the season to this point. With the bases loaded, Tibbitts took a two-strike fastball off the wall in left field. The ball bounced awkwardly off the wall, allowing all three runners to score and for Tibbitts to slide into third without a throw.
Indiana 7, Dallas Baptist 6

Top Eighth
IU added insurance runs in the eighth. Sam Murrison replaced Austin Bode, who finished the day with two hits, as a pinch runner and came around to score after a single and a wild pitch. Josh Pyne, hitless on the day before the ninth, singled to right field to score Mitchell and the team's ninth run.
Indiana 9, Dallas Baptist 6

Bottom Ninth
Things got tense in the ninth after a solo home run from Miguel Santos. Dallas Baptist followed that with a pair of singles before Ty Bothwell forced a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to preserve the victory.
Indiana 9, Dallas Baptist 7

Notes to Know
• IU tallied 15 hits on the afternoon, the most in a single game since recording 16 in a win over Purdue on May 13th, 2023. The Hoosiers have finished with 10+ hits in seven contests this season.

• Connor Foley and Ty Bothwell have combined to pitch all 27 innings this season on Saturdays. Bothwell recorded victories in the contests against No. 18 Coastal Carolina and No. 25 Dallas Baptist. Foley was awarded the win over Baylor.

• Josh Pyne (164) and Brock Tibbitts (156) continue to inch closer to the 200-hit threshold in their careers. Tibbitts is up to 122 RBIs in his career with Pyne slightly behind at 118.

• The Hoosiers' nine runs were the most scored in a game without hitting a home run since putting 11 on the board in a game at Northwestern (May 7) last season.

• Devin Taylor has a hit in nine of 10 games this season. He's had at least two hits in seven different games this campaign.

• Nick Mitchell, hitting in the leadoff role, scored three runs and recorded three hits. He reached base four times as he continues his return to full health after missing the first six games of the season.

Top Hoosier Performers
#20 Mitchell, Nick
3-4, 3 R, 1 BB

#9 Tibbitts, Brock
3-5, 1 R, 4 RBI

#41 Bothwell, Ty
4.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 K

Quotable
Catcher Brock Tibbitts
On getting back out there and getting the bats going…
"Yeah, I mean baseball is just such an up and down game you. Some days everything's fine and some days you're hitting it right at people. Just being able to grind out a win like this and the fifth inning on be able to string a few hits together to come out on top is awesome.

On caching [Connor] Foley and [Ty] Bothwell….
"I mean, both of them. They just have they got really good stuff. They know how to be able to complement their stuff, kind of what their other pitches and you know just being able to go out there and attack the strike zone and be able to compete every at-bat."

Head coach Jeff Mercer
On the resiliency of the team after the fifth inning…
"Yeah, it was ugly. We were ugly for about five or six innings in the middle especially right at the beginning where we played soccer in the fifth inning. We were trying to play as bad as baseball as we could play. We were successful at that. And then we were able to kind of turn the tide a little bit and so I went out and we brought Bothwell in and told the team we're going for this game, whether you like it or not. We are going for this game. We're going to Bothwell and we're going to go for it so I don't care what the score is and I don't care you know, our feelings essentially at this point, but we're going to go for the win. And so find a way to take your shot right now. Because obviously Bothwell was probably our best arm after Foley. And so we're going to take our shot and those guys responded and credit to those guys for responding, credit to Bothwell for responding and jumping back and making the game.

Up Next
The Hoosiers get a chance for another win in Frisco in the weekend finale against Arizona. The game will be available via ESPN+ and can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.