BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Interstat) — The Indiana Hoosiers used a four-run sixth inning to break open a tight game and secure a series victory, defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 8-2 in Big Ten Conference baseball action Sunday at Bart Kaufman Field.

The rubber match of the weekend series saw the Hoosiers improve to 12-19 overall, while Rutgers fell to 16-15.

The game’s pivotal shift came in the bottom of the sixth inning with Indiana holding a narrow 3-2 lead. The Hoosiers sent nine batters to the plate, capitalizing on a walk and three consecutive singles to ignite the rally. With the bases loaded and one out, Hogan Denny delivered the decisive blow, a two-run single up the middle that scored two and extended the lead to 6-2. A sacrifice fly later in the inning brought home another run, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Indiana’s offense was powered by a 13-hit attack. Catcher Brayden Ricketts led the way, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a solo home run in the fourth inning that began the Hoosiers’ scoring. Denny finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Jake Hanley added two hits and an RBI.

The victory was anchored by a strong collective effort from the Indiana bullpen after starter Brayton Thomas set the tone. Thomas, named the top star for Indiana, worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and no earned runs while striking out five. He navigated early traffic, as Rutgers stranded six runners in the first three innings against him.

Jackson Yarberry and Jacob Vogel followed Thomas, with Yarberry earning key outs over 2 2/3 scoreless innings to preserve the lead after the big sixth inning.

Rutgers managed only five hits on the afternoon. Their two runs came in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Trevor Chatelle and a sacrifice fly from Johnny Carreras. The Scarlet Knights’ pitching staff, which used six hurlers, received scoreless outings from Jordan Saviñon (3 2/3 IP), Zach Gleason (2 IP), Matthew Cruz (1 IP) and Dallin Harrison (0.1 IP), but the damage in the middle innings proved too much to overcome.

The result gave Indiana the series win after the teams split the first two games. Rutgers won 9-6 on Saturday, while Indiana took the opener 11-0 in seven innings on Friday.

The outcome defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 5-4 Rutgers victory, though the service’s ELO rating system gave Indiana a 57.6% probability to win.

Rutgers travels to face Seton Hall on Tuesday before hosting UCLA for a three-game series next weekend. Indiana will host Ball State on Tuesday before hitting the road for a Big Ten series at Maryland.