Indiana University Baseball Takes Down Rutgers in Series Finale The starting pitching from the Indiana Baseball team (12-19, 5-10 B1G) this weekend was as good as it has seen all season. Sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas continued that in an 8-2 win over Rutgers (16-15, 5-7 B1G) on Sunday (April 5) afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field. Thomas was the first in a line of three pitchers that helped keep the visitors to just two runs on five hits. He worked 4.2 scoreless innings while picking up five strikeouts. Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Vogel (W, 1-1) worked out of trouble in the fifth inning to pick up his first win of the year.
Junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Yarberry got the final eight outs of the game on just one hit. IU’s offense broke the game open in the middle of the contest with a collection of singles and walks. Redshirt freshman catcher Brayden Ricketts started the scoring with a solo home run in the fourth inning. A big two-run single in the sixth from red hot sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny helped put the lead away for good. The Hoosiers racked up 13 hits, led by three from Ricketts. Sunday’s win in the rubber match moved IU to 11-1 against Rutgers at Bart Kaufman Field.
The Hoosiers have won all four conference series between the two sides in Bloomington. Head coach Jeff Mercer is now 24-5 in Big Ten weekends played at his home stadium during his tenure. Midweek action against Ball State on Tuesday (April 7) will keep IU in town for one more game. Big Ten play takes the Hoosiers on the road for the final road weekend of April as they head to College Park for a three-game set at Maryland (April 10-12).
Indiana University Softball Swept at #9 UCLA After three tight innings and a scoreless game; Indiana fell behind to No. 9 UCLA who pulled ahead to an eventual 4-0 win on Sunday at Easton Stadium. With the loss, the Hoosiers are now 27-10 on the year and are 7-5 in Big Ten play. With UCLA having the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, Madalyn Strader caught a line drive off of Kaniya Bragg’s bat to escape the jam and keep the game scoreless. UCLA opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth when they had an RBI double to right center and scored two on an error to go up 3-0. The Hoosiers strung together hits from Hannah Haberstroh and Alex Cooper in the fifth and sixth innings but could not keep the offense going to cut into the deficit. UCLA extended the lead on a solo home run from Alexis Ramirez to make it 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Troutt pitched 3.2 innings and had two strikeouts while not allowing an earned run. Hannah Haberstroh had a hit in every game of the series. Indiana will be at home for its next five games. Indiana will next play on Wednesday (April 8) in a home game against Butler with a 6 p.m. start at Andy Mohr Field.
Indiana University Women’s Tennis falls at #40 Maryland The Indiana (13-8, 3-6 B1G) women’s tennis team dropped their match on the road to No.40 ranked Maryland (14-4, 6-3 B1G) in College Park after securing just one singles match on the day. After falling in three singles matches, the Hoosiers fell 1-4. The No.64 ranked freshman duo of Alessandra Teodosescu and Hi’ilani Williams were unable to push past their Maryland opponents at doubles No. 1 (6-0), followed by a loss at No.2 doubles (Elisabeth Dunac/ Ameia Sorey, 6-1) to allow Maryland the 1-0 edge with the doubles point. In singles play, Elisabeth Dunac had a strong showing at singles No.3 to put the lone Hoosier point on the board, concluding the first singles match of the day 6-3,6-3 and tie it up 1-1. A. Teodosescu fought at singles No.1 against No.70 ranked Oliwia Orlinska to take the first set to tie breaker points, but was unable to claw back as Orlinska took the match. Senior Nicole Teodosescu was also able to fight and bring her first set at singles No.4 to tie-breaker points, but followed suit and dropped the singles court. IU stays at home to face No. 46 Penn State at 12 p.m. on Saturday and No.3 Ohio State at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, both at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana University Men’s Tennis falls at #68 Northwestern The No. 62 Indiana men’s tennis team fell 4-3 on the road Sunday to No. 68 Northwestern in Evanston. Northwestern grabbed the first point by winning at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Indiana’s No. 68-ranked duo of Sam Landau and Braeden Gelletich won at No. 2 doubles, 6-4, over Owen Megargee and Cooper Han. Gelletich and Landau now improve to 5-0 as a doubles team this season. At No. 1 doubles, Northwestern’s Cyrus Mahjoob and Ethan Schiffman defeated Facundo Yunis and Jip van Assendelft 7-6 (8-6), while at No. 3, Greyson Casey and Chad Miller topped Matteo Antonescu and Aidan Atwood 7-6 (7-3) to clinch the point for Northwestern.
In singles play, Indiana won three of six courts but could not overcome the early deficit. Northwestern got its three points with wins at singles Nos. 1, 2, and 3. At No. 3, Northwestern’s Ethan Schiffman defeated Facundo Yunis 7-5, 6-1 for the first singles point of the day. Indiana fought back to win three points at singles Nos. 4, 5, and 6. Aryan Badlani gave Indiana life with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win over Owen Megargee at No. 6, while Braeden Gelletich defeated Chad Miller 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4 and Aidan Atwood rallied to beat Cooper Han 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5. Greyson Casey then defeated Indiana’s Jip van Assendelft in two tiebreaks, 7-6 (7-4) and 7-6 (7-3), at No. 2 singles, earning Northwestern its third point of the game. With the match tied at 3-3, Cyrus Mahjoob clinched the match for Northwestern with a tight 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sam Landau at No. 1 singles. Indiana falls to 9-9 overall and 3-6 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers return home next weekend against Wisconsin and Nebraska.
Auburn beats Tulsa in the NIT Championship Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse The NIT championship took place inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, with Auburn defeating Tulsa, 92-86. The Tigers dominated Tulsa in the first half, taking a 48-31 lead at the break. Auburn sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford exploded in the first half, scoring 15 points on 5-10 shooting. Auburn connected on six three-pointers as a team in the first half. Auburn also out-rebounded Tulsa 19-11 heading into halftime. Tulsa shot just 1-10 from three as a team in the first half, and committed seven turnovers.
The second half was a much different story. To open the second half, Tulsa went on a 29-11 run. Tulsa’s run allowed them to take a 60-59 lead with 10 minutes to play. Tulsa outscored Auburn 47-30 in the second half and led 78-75 with 8 seconds left in regulation. Then, Auburn junior guard Kevin Overton hit a game-tying catch-and-shoot three to force overtime. Overton ended with a game-high 26 points while going 5-8 from three. In overtime, the Tigers took control and never looked back. Auburn outscored Tulsa 14-8 in overtime, and went 4-5 from the field as a team to close out the game. Overall, Tulsa shot just 6-26 from three as a unit and could not complete its second half comeback. Sunday’s win for Auburn marks the program’s first ever NIT championship.
Mary Washington Wins the Division Men’s Basketball National Championship with a Buzzer Beater at Gainbridge Fieldhouse The University of Mary Washington defeated Emory College, 75-73 on a buzzer-beating put-back to win the Division III national championship. Emory College erased a 10-point deficit with just over two minutes to play, and even tied the game at 73-73 with 12 seconds left on an Ethan Fauss made three-pointer. As Mary Washington went down the floor for the final possession, sophomore guard Kyle Robinson missed a jumper with one second left. After the miss, sophomore forward Colin Mitchell put himself in perfect position for a put-back layup right as time expired. Mary Washington’s buzzer-beating layup marked the program’s first national championship in men’s basketball history, and the first national championship for the school since women’s tennis in 1991. Robinson led all scorers with 27 points on 12-22 shooting, while playing all 40 minutes. Robinson started every game for the Eagles and led the team in scoring with 24.3 points per-game. As a team, Mary Washington forced 10 steals and dished 20 assists in the school’s championship thriller. The Mary Washington Eagles ended the season on a 12-game win streak, and finish with a 30-3 record.
Shorthanded Indiana Pacers Fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the Road Donovan Mitchell scored 23 of his 38 points in the second half, James Harden had 28 points and seven assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the injury-plagued Indiana Pacers 117-108 on Sunday night. Thomas Bryant added 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first start of the season for Cleveland, which didn’t take its initial lead until the third quarter. It went ahead for good early in the fourth at 99-96 on Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s 3-pointer, eventually going up by 15. The playoff-bound Cavaliers (49-29) reduced their magic number for home-court advantage in the first round to one, despite resting their starting frontcourt of Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Sam Merrill. Mitchell made 16 of 27 shots and had six rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes. Fourth-place Cleveland is four games ahead of Atlanta in the Eastern Conference with four to play. It hosts the Hawks on Wednesday night, then plays at Atlanta on Friday night.
Obi Toppin scored a season-high 21 points with eight rebounds, and Micah Potter had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers (18-60). Two-way forward Jalen Slawson scored a career-best 19 points. Indiana only had nine players in uniform — and was missing its top five scorers — after losing All-Star forward Pascal Siakam (left ankle sprain) and guard Ben Sheppard (right hip sprain) to injuries in its previous game Friday at Charlotte. The Pacers have the second-worst record in the NBA, one game in front of Washington. Slawson scored 14 points and had four 3-pointers as the Pacers built a 47-35 advantage early in the second. Indiana made eight threes in the first half. Indiana carried a 58-55 lead into the break as Potter had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Harden scored 19 and Mitchell had 15 points for the Cavaliers.