Brenczewski Provides Career Day, Series Victory

Sunday, April 14

Bloomington, Ind.

1:00 PM

Indiana University

20-16, 0

Penn State

18-14, 0

Penn State

Indiana

Brenczewski Provides Career Day, Series Victory

4/14/2024 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - After taking back the momentum of the series on Saturday, the Indiana Baseball team (20-16, 5-4 B1G) rode the big bat of redshirt freshman Joey Brenczewski to a 12-3 win on Sunday (April 14) afternoon and a weekend victory at Bart Kaufman Field.

The Fishers, Ind. came into the game without a home run in his first season of college baseball but left with two long balls including a massive, second-inning grand slam to hand the Hoosiers an early lead. He finished the game with seven RBIs, joint most by an IU player in the last 20 years. He went 4-5 on the day, the second four-hit game in the past six games for the young infielder.

IU's 12-3 victory was the 200th win in the history of Bart Kaufman Field (opened in 2013) and gave IU the 20th win of a season filled with twists and turns. The Hoosiers finished the weekend in fifth place in the conference. Illinois leads the way at 7-2 with Nebraska behind at 6-3. Purdue and Michigan, who have yet to take their non-conference weekend, are 8-4 with three more games played. IU has a big chance to get into the title race with series at Minnesota and vs. Rutgers to close the month of April.

The Hoosiers received a brilliant effort from graduate student Ty Rybarczyk and sophomore Aydan Decker-Petty on the mound. The pair combined for 8.1 innings of work, allowing just five hits and three runs while tallying 11 strikeouts. Decker-Petty's outing was the longest of his career while his six punchies were also a career best.

Since the top of the second inning of Saturday's game (IU down 8-0), the Hoosiers outscored Penn State a combined 22-4 while using just six pitchers in that period. Today's 12-run effort was the 15th time this year that IU has scored 10+ runs in a game.

Over the Hoosiers' past 10 games (7-3 record), they've put up 114 runs (11.4 per game) with 18 home runs and 116 hits. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny is hitting .413 (19-46) in his past 10 games with three home runs, 15 RBIs and 19 runs scored.

Scoring Recap
Top First
For the second time this weekend, Joe Jaconski led off the game with a solo home run.
Penn State 1, Indiana 0

Bottom Second
The Hoosiers wouldn't trail for very long. The first three hitters of the inning all reached on free passes (one hit-by-pitch and two walks), setting the scene for Joey Brenczewski. After a mound visit, the redshirt freshman crushed the first pitch he saw to dead center for his first career home run and grand slam. Carter Mathison extended the lead, hitting a solo home run as IU hung five in the inning.
Indiana 5, Penn State 1

Top Fourth
Adam Cecere caught the right part of the jet stream, sending a solo home run over the wall in left field.
Indiana 5, Penn State 2

Bottom Fourth
Brenczewski led off the fourth and took the first pitch he saw over the wall for a solo home run.
Indiana 6, Penn State 2

Bottom Fifth
Brenczewski's big day continued with some insurance runs in the fifth inning. Batting from the right side, he singled through the right side to score Nick Mitchell. Jake Stadler followed that with an RBI-single of his own after a nine-pitch at-bat.
Indiana 8, Penn State 2

Bottom Sixth
The Hoosiers kept taking what was given to them on Sunday. Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins added RBI-singles to extend the lead to eight in the sixth inning.
Indiana 10, Penn State 2

Top Eighth
Grant Norris was able to grab a run back with a single up the middle to score J.T. Marr.
Indiana 10, Penn State 3

Bottom Eighth
Brenczewski added his seventh RBI of the day with a single through the left side to score Tyler Cerny. Stadler added another RBI with a shot through the left side to bring home Wiggins.
Indiana 12, Penn State 3

Top Hoosier Performers
#23 Brenczewski, Joey
4-5, 3 R, 7 RBI, 2 HR

#44 Stadler, Jake
2-5, 2 RBI

#55 Decker-Petty, Aydan
4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 6 K, SV

Notes to Know
• Tonight's game was the 15th time this year that IU has scored 10+ runs in a game. IU's 14-1 this year when scoring 10+ runs, losing only a 15-11 contest against Troy in March.

• Joey Brenczewski became the third Hoosier in the past 20 years (Matt Lloyd – 2019, Matthew Ellis – 2022) with a seven-RBI day at the plate. He's the first freshman in that time period to drive in seven runs in a game. Brenczewski is the first player with seven-plus RBIs in a contest between two Big Ten teams this year.

• Over the final full 16 innings of game action, IU outscored Penn State 22-4. During that time, IU's pitchers had 21 strikeouts and conceded just 11 hits. Sophomore Aydan Decker-Petty and graduate students Ty Rybarczyk and Drew Buhr combined for 12.2 of those innings on the mound.

• In the past 10 games, IU has a 7-3 record. The Hoosiers' offense is averaging 11.4 runs per game in that period with seven games of 10+ runs. In that same time frame, IU's pitching staff has allowed just 55 earned runs (5.5 per game) while striking out 109 opposing batters (10.9 per game).

• Carter Mathison moves into a tie for seventh in program history (Matt Lloyd, Logan Sowers and Mickey Morandini) with his 37th home run on Sunday.

Up Next
The next scheduled contest is a visit from Evansville on Tuesday. Next weekend will take IU to Minneapolis with a chance to make ground in the Big Ten race. The games will all be streamed on BTN+ or can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.