Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In a tightly-contested Big Ten series opener, Rutgers baseball fell Friday 4-3 to Indiana on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. The game was played in front of 2,528 fans at Bart Kaufman Field.

Junior Mark McCoy (Barnegat, N.J.) was effective in his eighth start of the season for the Scarlet Knights with a career-high eight strikeouts over six innings. The left-hander permitted three earned runs in a no-decision.

At the plate, junior Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.) kept up his hot hitting in the Big Ten with two hits, two steals, a run and an RBI. The second baseman is batting .385 (15-for-39) in conference play through 10 games. Senior Joe D'Annunzio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) also had a pair of hits Friday, including a game-tying triple in the eighth inning, while sophomore Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) picked an RBI.

After each side went down in order in the first inning, Indiana (19-11, 3-6) started the scoring with a run in the bottom of the second. Logan Sowers reached on an infield single and came home on a two-out double to the left field corner by Austin Cangelosi.

No runs were scored in the third before the Scarlet Knights (11-21, 5-5) rallied for two in the top of the fourth to take the lead. D'Annunzio singled to left to start, scoring two batters later from first base on a double to the left field corner by Suseck. Suseck then stole third and Campbell knocked him in on a groundout up the middle.

The Hoosiers put up single runs in both the fifth and sixth to reclaim the lead, but McCoy was able to minimize the damage and strand three runners on in those frames. Then in the seventh, sophomore Kyle Driscoll (Toms River, N.J.) faced a one-out, bases-loaded jam and escaped on a nifty assist to home and fielder's choice to keep it at a 3-2 deficit.

The RU momentum carried into the eighth when the Scarlet Knights knotted the game at three. Freshman Milo Freeman (Millburn, N.J.) hit a leadoff single and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by junior John Jennings (Berkeley Heights, N.J.). Following an out, D'Annunzio drilled a three-bagger off the wall in center. He is now tied with Nick Favatella (2011-14) for seventh in program history with 12 triples, including five this year.

Campbell singled in the ninth and stole second, but was stranded there. Then in the last of the inning, the first two IU were hit and Casey Rodrigue scored three batters later on a single by Sowers on a full count. Driscoll (0-4) took the loss.

Sowers led all hitters with three hits in the game, while Luke Harrison (4-0) earned the win in relief for the hosts. It was the first meeting between the programs since 1937.

Game two of the series is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and will air on BTN Plus. Junior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) is scheduled to make the start for Rutgers.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (@BaseballRU), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball) and Tumblr.