BLOOMINGTON —Indiana baseball closed out a 8-6 win over Purdue in the opening game of the Big Ten tournament on Tuesday night.
The rare postseason showdown between the in-state rivals didn't disappoint. They hadn't played each other in the Big Ten tournament since 2012.
No. 3 seed Indiana (31-22) snuffed out a four-run rally in the ninth inning to advance in the winners bracket in the program’s 11th-straight tournament appearance. The loss dropped No. 6 seed Purdue (33-23) to the losers bracket in the double-elimination tournament.
The teams faced a lengthy weather delay that pushed back the first pitch back from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The rain continued to fall as the action got underway and the heavy winds blowing out created a series of near miscues in the outfield.
Indiana baseball survives Purdue's ninth-inning rally
Purdue put the tying run to the plate with no outs after going into the ninth inning trailing 8-2.
The rally started with a lead off home run from Keenan Taylor off right-hander Jacob Vogel. Vogel’s appearance ended up being a brief one after putting two more runners on base without getting an out.Vogel came into the game with a 0.43 ERA in 21 innings pitched (18 appearances) and hadn't given up a run in 13-plus innings.
Indiana baseball coach Jeff Mercer turned to sophom*ore Brayden Risedorph, who came into the game with eight career saves, to close out the game. It turned into a nailbiter when Keenan Spence hit a three-run homer off Risedorph to make it 8-6.
Spence also hit a home run in the eighth.
The key at-bat came when Risedorph got Couper Cornblum to ground into a double-play with Jo Stevens at first base.
He struck out Thomas Green to end the game.
Purdue left 11 runners stranded on base in the loss and ran into a key out to close out the eighth inning with the bases loaded. Cornblum was called out trying to take home on a passed ball with Taylor, the team’s No. 2 hitter, at the plate.
Indiana baseball true freshman Jasen Oliver powers up
Oliver’s second ever at-bat in the Big Ten tournament was a memorable one.
The true freshman out of Almont, Michigan put his team up 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth with his ninth home run of the season. He launched a ball to right field that just carried over the fence.
It was in a nearly identical spot where Purdue right fielder Keenan Spence robbed Carter Mathison of a home run in the second inning with a leaping grab. He stayed hot with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth. The former high school All-American ended up 3 of 4 and just a triple shy of the cycle with two runs and four RBIs.
Indiana batted around the order in the sixth to make it 8-1. Oliver had one of three extra-base hits in the inning as part of a five-run inning. The Hoosiers knocked starting pitcher Jordan Morales out of the game in the inning. Morales allowed five earned runs on seven hits and one walk.
Indiana baseball flirts with trouble in early innings
Indiana starter Ty Bothwell hit Purdue’s leadoff hitter Mike Bolton to open the game. The Boilermakers scored 70% of the time this season when he got on base to lead off an inning, but he didn’t make it past first base.
First baseman Brock Tibbitts made a nice catch in foul territory leaning over the fence for the second out.
Indiana got through the second inning unscathed as well after Bothwell loaded the bases. Cornblum and Green hit back-to-back singles and Camden Gasser reached first on a two-out walk.
Bolton flied out to left field to end the inning.
The Boilermakers broke through with a run in the fourth inning when Indiana made a pitching change with Drew Buhr entering the game. Bothwell threw 53 pitches (34 strikes) over three innings while allowing three hits and a walk.
Stevens hit the third pitch he saw for a double to leadoff the inning. He came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Green. Mathison limited the damage by making an incredible diving grab in center on the play.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
