Neubeck Deals in Big Ten Opener

Friday, March 6

Bloomington, Ind.

5 p.m.

Indiana University

6-7, 0

Washington

3-10, 0

Washington

Indiana

3/6/2026 8:45:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Graduate student southpaw Tony Neubeck (W, 1-1) did what a Friday pitcher should do. He gave his team a chance to win the ballgame. The veteran lefty spun six innings of two-run baseball on Friday (March 6) evening at Bart Kaufman Field. He matched a career high with nine strikeouts and walked zero batters enroute to picking up his first win of the year. The Indiana Baseball team (6-7, 1-0 B1G) closed out a 4-2 victory with three spotless innings from the bullpen.

After Washington designated hitter Jackson Hotchkiss homered to center field in the fourth inning, Neubeck proceeded to retire the next seven batters in order. Hotchkiss came back around in a tie game in the sixth inning but this time IU's southpaw struck him out looking. RBIs from freshman second baseman Landen Fry and sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie gave IU a lead in the bottom of the inning that it would never relinquish.

IU's pitching staff was pristine in the Big Ten opener, striking out 13 total batters without giving up a walk. It's the first time the Hoosiers haven't walked a batter on the mound since last year's Big Ten Tournament contest against Rutgers (May 20, 2025). It's the first time since March 29, 2024 against Butler that an IU staff has allowed zero walks while striking out more than 10 batters.

Graduate student Gavin Seebold put up two scoreless frames with four strikeouts. He touched 95 out of the bullpen and struck out the side in his first inning of work. Junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Yarberry (SV, 2) picked up the save after working around a pair of hits in the ninth.

All of IU's offense was produced by underclassmen on Friday evening. In addition to hits from Fry and Koskie, sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny and redshirt freshman designated hitter Brayden Ricketts provided RBI doubles to keep the Hoosiers in the game. Ricketts extended his hitting streak to nine games in the win.

The Hoosiers will look to take the series tomorrow (March 7) afternoon as they send sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas to the mound. IU is looking for its first series win to begin conference play since sweeping Ohio State at Bart Kaufman Field in 2023.

Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Hogan Denny got IU on the board early with an RBI double to left field to score Ayden Crouse.
Indiana 1, Washington 0

Top Second
Washington answered right back as Jackson Hotchkiss doubled in the gap to bring home Casen Taggart.
Indiana 1, Washington 1

Top Fourth
Hotchkiss tagged a solo home run to center field.
Washington 2, Indiana 1

Bottom Fifth
Brayden Ricketts lined a ball into left-center field to tie the game on an RBI double.
Indiana 2, Washington 2

Bottom Sixth
Landen Fry stayed patient on a breaking ball over the plate and slapped a double just inside the left field line to score Jake Hanley from first base. Caleb Koskie followed that up by dribbling a single down the right field line for an important insurance run.
Indiana 4, Washington 2

Top Hoosier Performers
#29 Neubeck, Tony
6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K

#40 Seebold, Gavin
2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K

#17 Koskie, Caleb
2-3, RBI, R

Inside the Box Score
• Seven IU players had a hit but Caleb Koskie provided the lone multi-hit effort.
• IU's pitching staff scattered just two hits and walked zero batters over nine innings.
• Four different IU batters recorded an RBI.

Notes to Know
• The Hoosiers picked up a win in the Big Ten opener for the first time since 2023. After dropping the first game of conference play in 2024 (vs. Illinois) and 2025 (at Penn State), IU got back on the board to begin the 2026 campaign. IU will go for the series win tomorrow afternoon. It also extends IU's all-time record against Washington to 3-0.

• For the first time since head coach Jeff Mercer's first season as the skipper, IU recorded at least 10 strikeouts and walked zero batters in a Big Ten game. The Hoosiers picked up 13 punchouts and walked zero batters in the win over Washington. The last time that happened was April 27, 2019 against Minnesota with 16 strikeouts and zero walks.

• Graduate student pitcher Gavin Seebold was fantastic again in relief. He provided two scoreless frames and racked up four strikeouts. He still hasn't given up a run in five appearances and 13.2 innings on the season. He's tallied 15 strikeouts and walked just six batters. Opposing teams are hitting only .152 against him.

• Graduate student left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck matched a career high with nine strikeouts. In his last two starts, he's worked 11.1 innings and hasn't walked a batter. It's just the third time in his career – and first time since 2022 – that Neubeck has gone six-or-more innings in a start. In all three of those efforts, he's allowed three-or-fewer earned runs.

Up Next
IU will look to take the series on Saturday (March 7) afternoon. All three games this weekend will be streamed on B1G+ and will be carried on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.