Tuesday, February 27
Bloomington, Ind.
4:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Purdue Fort Wayne
Baseball Central: Purdue Fort Wayne
2/26/2024 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A midweek tilt is in store for the Indiana Baseball team (6-1) as it looks to close the month of February on a seven-game winning streak. Purdue Fort Wayne visits from the north for the 10th all-time meeting between the programs.
Freshman righty Seth Benes gets the nod as the starting pitcher on Tuesday for the second-straight week. A host of pitchers will be available for the Hoosiers to throw in this week's contest.
Sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, Feb. 26 after hitting nearly .700 in last week's action. It marks the second straight week the Hoosiers have won a conference weekly award with Taylor following up Connor Foley's Pitcher of the Week award on Feb. 19.
Following Tuesday's action, IU heads back to Texas for the Frisco Classic. The weekend will feature two more ranked opponents on Friday (No. 16 Alabama) and Saturday (No. 25 Dallas Baptist).
Gameday Info
vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (Tuesday, February 27th)
Live Video: t.ly/2qqye
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/k2Xl0
Probable Starters
#20 Indiana vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
• Seth Benes (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. Sean Kasper (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
Notable
Weekend Recap – at Baylor
• Indiana continued its outstanding start to the season, sweeping Baylor in its own ballpark by a combined score of 29-10. The Hoosiers never trailed in the three-game series and took an early lead in the first inning of all three contests.
Weekend Notes
- First non-conference true road series sweep for IU since 2007 (at Florida A&M)
- Fewest runs conceded in a three-game series since 2019 (10)
- 15 runs scored in the Sunday game (Feb. 25) were most in non-conference road game since 2015
- Best start (6-1) to a full 56-game season since 2018
Moving Up in the Polls
• The Hoosiers find themselves in the four main baseball polls (D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game and NCBWA) this weekend after a 6-1 start to the season. IU is as high as No. 20 (D1 Baseball), setting the stage for two more ranked matchups this weekend.
• Friday's matchup with No. 16 and undefeated Alabama will be a top-20 matchup in Frisco and will also pit IU against former Maryland coach Rob Vaughn. The Hoosiers will then see No. 25 Dallas Baptist on Saturday afternoon, another undefeated program.
• IU's first three weekends see it play four different top-25 programs. Following the trip to Frisco Classic is a visit from undefeated Troy, one of the top mid-major teams in the entire country.
Sophomore Stud
• Sophomore Devin Taylor is tearing the cover off the ball to begin 2024, reaffirming his case to be one of the top available college bats in the 2025 MLB Draft. Through seven games this year, the Cincinnati native is batting .552 (16-29) with three home runs and eight RBIs.
• He leads an IU lineup that is hitting a collective .319 on the campaign with three players at a .364 average or better. The Hoosiers have mashed 15 home runs this year and have scored 60 runs. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Feb. 26 and currently leads the conference in batting average.
Foley's That Dude
• Facing the task of building the entire weekend rotation from a year ago, sophomore Connor Foley has helped ease the task for Saturdays. Through two starts, he has yet to concede a run and has struck out 14 batters in 10 scoreless innings. He dominated Baylor on Saturday afternoon with six innings and just one hit enroute to the victory.
• Fellow sophomores Brayden Risedorph (Friday) and Ethan Phillips (Sunday) have made consecutive starts in their respective roles as well.
Offense is Rolling
• It should be no surprise that the IU offense is starting to click in the early parts of the season. Despite leaving a number of runners on base, IU has scored 60 runs in seven games and put up at least nine hits in each contest so far. It also has hit 15 home runs in the early going led by four from Morgan Colopy.
• Six different players have eight-or-more hits and three Hoosiers are hitting .364 or better (Taylor, Tyler Cerny and Josh Pyne) so far this season.
Scouting the Opponent
Purdue Fort Wayne (1-6, 0-0)
• The Mastodons make the trip down from Fort Wayne after losing three of four to Western Kentucky last weekend. Purdue Fort Wayne was swept by Murray State on opening weekend.
• Camden Karczewski (.381) and Jacob Walker (.360) are both hitting .360 or better across the first seven games of the season.
• Purdue Fort Wayne's pitching staff boasts a 10.31 earned run average in seven games. Right-handed pitcher Sean Kasper (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will get the start on Tuesday afternoon.
Inside the Series
Indiana vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
• The two programs meet for the 10th time with IU winning all nine of the previous matchups. IU has won the last two games (2022 and 2023) by a combined score of 27-3.
Freshman righty Seth Benes gets the nod as the starting pitcher on Tuesday for the second-straight week. A host of pitchers will be available for the Hoosiers to throw in this week's contest.
Sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, Feb. 26 after hitting nearly .700 in last week's action. It marks the second straight week the Hoosiers have won a conference weekly award with Taylor following up Connor Foley's Pitcher of the Week award on Feb. 19.
Following Tuesday's action, IU heads back to Texas for the Frisco Classic. The weekend will feature two more ranked opponents on Friday (No. 16 Alabama) and Saturday (No. 25 Dallas Baptist).
Gameday Info
vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (Tuesday, February 27th)
Live Video: t.ly/2qqye
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/k2Xl0
Probable Starters
#20 Indiana vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
• Seth Benes (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. Sean Kasper (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
Notable
Weekend Recap – at Baylor
• Indiana continued its outstanding start to the season, sweeping Baylor in its own ballpark by a combined score of 29-10. The Hoosiers never trailed in the three-game series and took an early lead in the first inning of all three contests.
Weekend Notes
- First non-conference true road series sweep for IU since 2007 (at Florida A&M)
- Fewest runs conceded in a three-game series since 2019 (10)
- 15 runs scored in the Sunday game (Feb. 25) were most in non-conference road game since 2015
- Best start (6-1) to a full 56-game season since 2018
Moving Up in the Polls
• The Hoosiers find themselves in the four main baseball polls (D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game and NCBWA) this weekend after a 6-1 start to the season. IU is as high as No. 20 (D1 Baseball), setting the stage for two more ranked matchups this weekend.
• Friday's matchup with No. 16 and undefeated Alabama will be a top-20 matchup in Frisco and will also pit IU against former Maryland coach Rob Vaughn. The Hoosiers will then see No. 25 Dallas Baptist on Saturday afternoon, another undefeated program.
• IU's first three weekends see it play four different top-25 programs. Following the trip to Frisco Classic is a visit from undefeated Troy, one of the top mid-major teams in the entire country.
Sophomore Stud
• Sophomore Devin Taylor is tearing the cover off the ball to begin 2024, reaffirming his case to be one of the top available college bats in the 2025 MLB Draft. Through seven games this year, the Cincinnati native is batting .552 (16-29) with three home runs and eight RBIs.
• He leads an IU lineup that is hitting a collective .319 on the campaign with three players at a .364 average or better. The Hoosiers have mashed 15 home runs this year and have scored 60 runs. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Feb. 26 and currently leads the conference in batting average.
Foley's That Dude
• Facing the task of building the entire weekend rotation from a year ago, sophomore Connor Foley has helped ease the task for Saturdays. Through two starts, he has yet to concede a run and has struck out 14 batters in 10 scoreless innings. He dominated Baylor on Saturday afternoon with six innings and just one hit enroute to the victory.
• Fellow sophomores Brayden Risedorph (Friday) and Ethan Phillips (Sunday) have made consecutive starts in their respective roles as well.
Offense is Rolling
• It should be no surprise that the IU offense is starting to click in the early parts of the season. Despite leaving a number of runners on base, IU has scored 60 runs in seven games and put up at least nine hits in each contest so far. It also has hit 15 home runs in the early going led by four from Morgan Colopy.
• Six different players have eight-or-more hits and three Hoosiers are hitting .364 or better (Taylor, Tyler Cerny and Josh Pyne) so far this season.
Scouting the Opponent
Purdue Fort Wayne (1-6, 0-0)
• The Mastodons make the trip down from Fort Wayne after losing three of four to Western Kentucky last weekend. Purdue Fort Wayne was swept by Murray State on opening weekend.
• Camden Karczewski (.381) and Jacob Walker (.360) are both hitting .360 or better across the first seven games of the season.
• Purdue Fort Wayne's pitching staff boasts a 10.31 earned run average in seven games. Right-handed pitcher Sean Kasper (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will get the start on Tuesday afternoon.
Inside the Series
Indiana vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
• The two programs meet for the 10th time with IU winning all nine of the previous matchups. IU has won the last two games (2022 and 2023) by a combined score of 27-3.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballBig Ten Tournament Press Conference - vs. Rutgers
Wednesday, May 21
NCAA Postgame Press Conference - Southern Miss - 2
Sunday, June 02
NCAA Postgame Press Conference - Tennessee
Sunday, June 02
NCAA Postgame Press Conference - Southern Miss
Friday, May 31