'A pretty special moment': Indiana's Wrigley win provides full-circle experience for Jeff Mercer

As Jeff Mercer slowly made his way down the right-field line, the satisfaction on his face was clear. Walking with a modest grin, he led the media contingent of about a dozen student reporters toward the foul pole that read “Hey, Hey.” — not what you would usually find at Bart Kaufman Field, or any of the other Big Ten ballparks.

Because Friday night’s ballgame wasn’t played at a Big Ten stadium. “Hey, Hey” is in reference to famed broadcaster Harry Caray, and how he’d open each telecast during his time as play-by-play man for the Chicago Cubs on WGN. Indiana baseball was playing Northwestern at Wrigley Field — and it was as memorable of a moment as it might sound.

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Mercer was one of the millions who listened to Caray’s voice on national television in the ’80s and ’90s, and did so with his grandfather, who influenced the young Mercer to become a Cubs fan as he grew up in Bargersville, Ind. They watched on the screened-in back porch on hot midwestern summer days, sometimes for more than 100 of the 162 games in an MLB regular season.

For Indiana’s manager, it was one of the reasons he fell in love with the game of baseball — a love that turned into a career in the college game and a return home to Indiana. It’s something he remembers fondly to this day, and a memory he couldn’t pass up sharing as he stood underneath the right-field bleachers beside the historic ivy-padded walls for his postgame interview.

“But to be here with family, to grow up a Cubs fan, thinking about my grandpa Mercer he came to every single one of my ballgames,” Indiana’s manager said. “He’s smiling from heaven. This is a pretty special moment.”

The special moment culminated in a 9-2 victory for Mercer’s Hoosiers over the Wildcats, with the W flag in center field not just signaling a Cubs win over the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier that afternoon, but an Indiana win to conclude a Friday doubleheader.

The entire experience would have been rewarding for Mercer no matter the outcome of the contest, but what transpired during the nine innings on the North Side of Chicago certainly added to the novelty that playing at Wrigley provides.

In the sixth inning, third baseman Will Moore was hit by a breaking ball from Wildcat right-hander Sam Hliboki — or so it seemed at first. But upon a meeting by the umpires, it was deemed that Moore did not make an attempt to get out of the way of the pitch, resulting in batter interference and Moore being called out.

Mercer was irate. He sprinted onto the field and started yelling at whichever umpire would hear his case. First, he was told to get back into the dugout, but Mercer never relented. He kept pleading that Moore should have been awarded first base, but those with the power to make the decision thought differently.

After nearly two minutes of heated discussion — albeit from just one side — Mercer was ejected. He hadn’t been ejected before in his baseball career, and just like that, his Wrigley experience was cut short with the Hoosiers ahead 5-0.

“If you’re going to get ejected for the first time, Wrigley Field’s the place to do it,” Mercer said jokingly.

He didn’t mind that he wasn’t in the dugout for all nine innings. Mercer was just happy to be at Wrigley, and extremely pleased about the way his team played in all facets of the ballgame.

Indiana hit well, scoring nine runs on 11 hits. The Hoosiers also had a stellar night on the mound, with starting left-hander Tony Neubeck going six scoreless innings to set the tone for what was an efficient night that ended with just two runs allowed.

“To go out and to play well, not only to be here, but then to go play well, is a real blessing,” Mercer said.

With the memory of his grandpa in mind, and his team playing well, it wrapped up a memory Mercer won’t forget. He certainly won’t forget his ejection either, but having to watch the final three and a half innings from the clubhouse will just be a footnote in an otherwise fantastic day for Indiana baseball.

The 2026 season hasn’t panned out the way Mercer or the program wanted it to (currently sitting at 21-25), but Friday night is a positive experience that everyone around IU can point to once the season comes to a close. It might not make up for what can be seen as an underwhelming year, but it’s a silver lining that this season didn’t previously have — and it’s clear that it meant a whole lot to Indiana’s manager.

So as Mercer concluded talking to the media on what was an unseasonably cold May 1 in the Windy City, he walked back to the Indiana dugout not only with a win in his pocket, but with a remarkable experience along the way.

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