BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Interstat) — The Illinois Fighting Illini avoided a second straight loss to the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday, May 15, 2026, at Bart Kaufman Field, outlasting the home team 9-7 in 10 innings in a Big Ten Conference game that featured dramatic momentum swings.

Illinois improved to 27-24 overall, while Indiana dropped to 22-31. The Hoosiers had won the previous night 10-4. The Fighting Illini managed only five hits to Indiana’s nine, but made the most of timely hitting and key extra-base blows.

The game began with Illinois scoring in the top of the first. N Groves walked, and Michael Farina doubled down the left-field line to drive him in. After a groundout and a strikeout, Kyle Schupmann homered to left, scoring Farina for a 3-0 lead. The inning ended with another strikeout.

Indiana answered in the bottom half. Hogan Denny doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Caleb Koskie groundout to cut the deficit to 3-1. After a walk to ten Oever and another wild pitch, Will Moore struck out looking to end the inning.

The score remained 3-1 until the bottom of the third. Indiana’s Hanley was hit by a pitch, and Koskie doubled to left center to bring him home, making it 3-2. The inning ended with a strikeout and a groundout.

Illinois added a run in the top of the seventh. Will Johannes doubled, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Farina sacrifice bunt, pushing the lead to 4-2.

The decisive rally came in the top of the eighth. C Jennings walked, D Contreras was hit by a pitch, and Johannes homered to center field, driving in three runs and giving Illinois a 7-2 lead. The inning ended with two strikeouts and a popup.

Indiana refused to fold in the bottom of the ninth. Moore homered to left, cutting the lead to 7-3. Decker doubled, Gates walked, and after a double play that moved Decker to third, Ricketts walked. Denny then crushed a three-run homer to left, scoring Crouse and Decker to tie the game 7-7. Reed Gannon relieved and got a single and a lineout to end the inning.

In the top of the 10th, Jennings walked, CHEE-ALOY was hit by a pitch, and Johannes walked to load the bases with no outs. J Nelson grounded into a double play, but Jennings scored and CHEE-ALOY advanced to third. CHEE-ALOY then scored on a wild pitch to give Illinois a 9-7 lead. The bottom of the 10th saw Indiana go down in order: ten Oever struck out looking, Moore singled up the middle, Decker popped out, and pinch hitter Mador popped out to shortstop to end the game.

The most important part of the game was Indiana’s three-run homer by Denny in the bottom of the ninth, which erased a four-run deficit and forced extra innings. Denny finished 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. Will Moore also homered and finished 2-for-5 with an RBI. Koskie drove in three runs on a double and a sacrifice fly.

For Illinois, starting pitcher Aidan Flinn was the top star. Flinn threw 5.0 innings, allowing no hits but two earned runs and striking out four. He did not factor in the decision. Gannon earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings. Catcher Will Johannes went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. Farina had two hits and two RBIs. Schupmann added a home run and two RBIs.

Illinois’s previous results included a 10-4 loss to Indiana on Thursday. The Fighting Illini had won three of their last four games before Friday. Indiana had lost four of its last five entering the contest.

The next game between the two teams is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, at Bart Kaufman Field.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Illinois 6, Indiana 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Indiana with a 52.30 percent probability to win.