Wednesday, March 6
Bloomington, Ind.
4:00 PM
Indiana University
8-4
11
vs
5
Northern Kentucky
4-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Northern Kentucky
0
1
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
5
9
0
Indiana
5
0
2
0
2
0
0
2
X
11
13
4
Stadler, Wiggins Homer as Hoosiers Return to Winning Ways
3/6/2024 8:00:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Freshman outfielder Andrew Wiggins and redshirt junior catcher Jake Stadler each recorded the first career home runs of their Hoosier careers, launching two-run long balls in the third and fifth innings respectively to help lead the Indiana Baseball team (8-4) to a win on Tuesday (March 6) night against Northern Kentucky.
Junior first baseman Brock Tibbitts totaled four of IU's 13 hits on the night, the seventh four-hit game of his stellar career in Bloomington. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny added a pair of hits and three RBIs as IU's offense found a groove in the early part of the ballgame.
Sophomore pitcher Ethan Phillips (W, 1-0) made his second start in four days, earning the win for 1.2 innings of work as part of a staff day for the IU rotation. Julian Tonghini (SV, 2) bounced back in a big way, earning the save after throwing 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball to see out the Tuesday contest.
The Hoosiers will play their first home series of the season this weekend as Troy makes the trip to Bloomington. First pitch is currently slated for 5:00 PM on Friday but times are subject to change based on weather.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
IU batted around its entire lineup in the first inning, tacking five runs on the board in the opening frame. Brock Tibbitts drove in the opening run on a single through the left side. Tyler Cerny doubled in two more runs into left field before Jake Stadler brought Carter Mathison around to score on a ground ball to the short stop. Morgan Colopy's ground-rule double into the bullpen in left field scored Cerny, the team's fifth run of the inning.
Indiana 5, Northern Kentucky 0
Top Second
An error from second baseman Brandon Burckel allowed Logen Devenport to score from second base and put Northern Kentucky's first run on the board.
Indiana 5, Northern Kentucky 1
Bottom Third
Pinch hitting in the nine hole, Andrew Wiggins took a two-strike pitch into the left-field bullpen for his first career home run.
Indiana 7, Northern Kentucky 1
Top Fourth
Zacarias Salinas singled into left field to drive in Cleary Simpson and Zack Minton. Due to an error earlier in the inning, the runs were charged as unearned for Ryan Kraft.
Indiana 7, Northern Kentucky 3
Bottom Fifth
Stadler earned those two runs back after driving a two-run home run over the wall in right-center field, the first home run of his IU career.
Indiana 9, Northern Kentucky 3
Top Sixth
The Norse got to IU's bullpen in the sixth, tacking on a pair of runs. Liam Ackman-McFadden doubled into the gap to score Treyvin Moss. Later in the inning, John Odom hit a ball to shortstop where Cerny elected to take the out at third base, letting Mitch Wood come home and score.
Indiana 9, Northern Kentucky 5
Bottom Eighth
IU added insurance runs in the eighth for relief pitcher Julian Tonghini. Tibbitts singled through the left side of the infield, his fourth hit of the day, driving in Nick Mitchell. A sacrifice fly from Cerny scored Devin Taylor, IU's 11th run of the contest.
Indiana 11, Northern Kentucky 5
Notes to Know
• Tuesday's win was the 150th for head coach Jeff Mercer at Indiana in just his fourth complete season. 2020 was shortened after 15 games and 2021 was played under a conference-only format. Mercer is now 23 wins away from 250 for his entire career.
• Andrew Wiggins and Jake Stadler both recorded the first home run of their IU careers. The home run off the bat of Wiggins was the first in his entire collegiate career. It also marked the first pinch-hit home run for the Hoosiers since Carter Mathison in 2022 (April 12 at Indiana State).
• Brock Tibbitts had four hits in a game for the seventh time in his career. It was his first four-hit game since May 13 of 2023 against Purdue.
• Julian Tonghini earned the save after 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball. It is the third time this season he's gone three-plus innings without allowing a single run. Excluding his outing against Arizona, he's thrown 10 innings while allowing just three hits with eight strikeouts.
• Ryan Kraft made the 50th appearance on the mound of his collegiate career and the fourth of the young season. Since a shaky outing on opening day, Kraft has allowed just one earned run across his past 6.2 innings pitched.
Top Hoosier Performers
#9 Tibbitts, Brock
4-4, 2 RBI
#8 Cerny, Tyler
2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI
Up Next
Troy makes the return trip to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers in a three-game set this weekend. Contests are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday but are subject to change with potential weather in the area. The games will be available via BTN+ or can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.
Junior first baseman Brock Tibbitts totaled four of IU's 13 hits on the night, the seventh four-hit game of his stellar career in Bloomington. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny added a pair of hits and three RBIs as IU's offense found a groove in the early part of the ballgame.
Sophomore pitcher Ethan Phillips (W, 1-0) made his second start in four days, earning the win for 1.2 innings of work as part of a staff day for the IU rotation. Julian Tonghini (SV, 2) bounced back in a big way, earning the save after throwing 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball to see out the Tuesday contest.
The Hoosiers will play their first home series of the season this weekend as Troy makes the trip to Bloomington. First pitch is currently slated for 5:00 PM on Friday but times are subject to change based on weather.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
IU batted around its entire lineup in the first inning, tacking five runs on the board in the opening frame. Brock Tibbitts drove in the opening run on a single through the left side. Tyler Cerny doubled in two more runs into left field before Jake Stadler brought Carter Mathison around to score on a ground ball to the short stop. Morgan Colopy's ground-rule double into the bullpen in left field scored Cerny, the team's fifth run of the inning.
Indiana 5, Northern Kentucky 0
Top Second
An error from second baseman Brandon Burckel allowed Logen Devenport to score from second base and put Northern Kentucky's first run on the board.
Indiana 5, Northern Kentucky 1
Bottom Third
Pinch hitting in the nine hole, Andrew Wiggins took a two-strike pitch into the left-field bullpen for his first career home run.
Indiana 7, Northern Kentucky 1
Top Fourth
Zacarias Salinas singled into left field to drive in Cleary Simpson and Zack Minton. Due to an error earlier in the inning, the runs were charged as unearned for Ryan Kraft.
Indiana 7, Northern Kentucky 3
Bottom Fifth
Stadler earned those two runs back after driving a two-run home run over the wall in right-center field, the first home run of his IU career.
Indiana 9, Northern Kentucky 3
Top Sixth
The Norse got to IU's bullpen in the sixth, tacking on a pair of runs. Liam Ackman-McFadden doubled into the gap to score Treyvin Moss. Later in the inning, John Odom hit a ball to shortstop where Cerny elected to take the out at third base, letting Mitch Wood come home and score.
Indiana 9, Northern Kentucky 5
Bottom Eighth
IU added insurance runs in the eighth for relief pitcher Julian Tonghini. Tibbitts singled through the left side of the infield, his fourth hit of the day, driving in Nick Mitchell. A sacrifice fly from Cerny scored Devin Taylor, IU's 11th run of the contest.
Indiana 11, Northern Kentucky 5
Notes to Know
• Tuesday's win was the 150th for head coach Jeff Mercer at Indiana in just his fourth complete season. 2020 was shortened after 15 games and 2021 was played under a conference-only format. Mercer is now 23 wins away from 250 for his entire career.
• Andrew Wiggins and Jake Stadler both recorded the first home run of their IU careers. The home run off the bat of Wiggins was the first in his entire collegiate career. It also marked the first pinch-hit home run for the Hoosiers since Carter Mathison in 2022 (April 12 at Indiana State).
• Brock Tibbitts had four hits in a game for the seventh time in his career. It was his first four-hit game since May 13 of 2023 against Purdue.
• Julian Tonghini earned the save after 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball. It is the third time this season he's gone three-plus innings without allowing a single run. Excluding his outing against Arizona, he's thrown 10 innings while allowing just three hits with eight strikeouts.
• Ryan Kraft made the 50th appearance on the mound of his collegiate career and the fourth of the young season. Since a shaky outing on opening day, Kraft has allowed just one earned run across his past 6.2 innings pitched.
Top Hoosier Performers
#9 Tibbitts, Brock
4-4, 2 RBI
#8 Cerny, Tyler
2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI
Up Next
Troy makes the return trip to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers in a three-game set this weekend. Contests are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday but are subject to change with potential weather in the area. The games will be available via BTN+ or can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Phillips, Ethan (1-0)
L: CASTANEDA, MJ (1-1)
S: Tonghini, Julian (2)
Batting:
2B: McFADDEN-ACKMAN, Lia 1 ; DEVENPORT, Logen 2
RBI: McFADDEN-ACKMAN, Lia 1 ; SALINAS, Zacarias 2 ; ODOM, John 1 ; ALTMAN, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SIMPSON, Cleary 1 ; WOOD, Mitch 1 ; DEVENPORT, Logen 1 ; MINTON, Zack 1 ; MOSS, Treyvin 1
SB: MOSS, Treyvin 1
Batting:
2B: Mitchell, Nick 1 ; Mathison, Carter 1 ; Cerny, Tyler 2 ; Colopy, Morgan 1
HR: Stadler, Jake 1 ; Wiggins, Andrew 1
RBI: Tibbitts, Brock 2 ; Cerny, Tyler 3 ; Stadler, Jake 3 ; Colopy, Morgan 1 ; Wiggins, Andrew 2
SF: Cerny, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell, Nick 2 ; Taylor, Devin 2 ; Tibbitts, Brock 1 ; Mathison, Carter 1 ; Cerny, Tyler 2 ; Stadler, Jake 1 ; Colopy, Morgan 1 ; Wiggins, Andrew 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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RBI
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4
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2
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2
RBI
3
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3
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2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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