Baseball Central: Indiana State

Tuesday, March 11

Terre Haute, Ind.

4:00 PM

Indiana University

Indiana State

3/10/2025 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Media Center

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Following four-consecutive weekends away from home, the Indiana Baseball team (7-9, 1-2 B1G) is set to play five-straight games in the Hoosier state. Tuesday's (March 11) midweek tilt at Indiana State will lead directly into the first home weekend (Ohio State) of the season at Bart Kaufman Field.

The Hoosiers are still below .500 but find themselves up into the top-125 of the RPI. IU could use a big run of form before heading on a west coast swing to face UCLA in Los Angeles in two weeks. After the weekend in California, the Hoosiers will be at home for three of the next four Big Ten series.

IU's true freshmen played a big role in a productive weekend at the plate in State College. Third baseman Cooper Malamazian, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week today (March 10), provided five hits – all doubles – in the three-game set with Penn State. His counterpart, first baseman Jake Hanley, went 5-for-12 with a pair of doubles. Infielder Will Moore also made two starts and reached base four times.

While its bullpen struggled at times, IU found productive outings from freshman southpaw Brayton Thomas and redshirt junior right-hander Pete Haas. The two combined to throw 3.2 scoreless frames at the back end of each game in Friday's (March 7) doubleheader. Veteran starters Ben Grable and Cole Gilley continued to prove that they will be reliable weekend arms going forward.

IU is looking for its first win in Terre Haute since the 2022 season. The two programs have played twice in each of the last two years. On each occasion, the home team won on its own field. IU is searching for its first midweek win of the season after losses to Xavier (4-8) and Northern Kentucky (11-13).

Senior left-handed pitcher Deron Swanson will get the start and make his IU debut on Tuesday afternoon at Bob Warn Field. Expect a large contingent of arms to see action in the midweek contest. This game will be carried on ESPN+ with a first pitch at 4:00 p.m. Austin Render will have the radio call on whcc105.com/iuhoosiers.com.

Gameday Info
at Indiana State (Tuesday, March 11th – 4:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3DpNTco
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/3Fcz6SK

Probable Starters
Indiana State
• Tuesday: LHP Deron Swanson, Sr., (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Leading Off
LOVES TO LEADOFF: Sophomore outfielder Andrew Wiggins found himself in the leadoff role due to some team illnesses but has thrived in the top of the order. He is hitting .429 (9-21) in his last five games with five walks and four hit-by-pitches. He also has seven RBIs in that span. The Indianapolis native is fourth in the Big Ten in on-base percentage (.589).

SPLITTING DUTIES: Catchers Jake Stadler and T.J. Schuyler have split catching responsibilities over the last few weeks due to illnesses and injuries. But both have been great when called upon. The two have combined for 16 hits in the last 10 games and are each hitting above .360 in that stretch.

HISTORIC DAY: Freshman third baseman Cooper Malamazian put together a performance for the ages in the second game of last Friday's doubleheader against Penn State. He matched a Big Ten record with four doubles in one game. The rookie also set a single game program record at IU.

For his week's performance, he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. He is the 10th player in the Jeff Mercer era (since 2019) to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Both Jasen Oliver and Joey Brenczewski were recipients last season and went on to make the conference's All-Freshman team at the end of the season.

BACK HOME: After playing 14 of the first 16 games away from home, Indiana will stay in the state for the next five games. After this midweek against Indiana State, the Hoosiers will play four-consecutive games at Bart Kaufman Field before the west coast swing to UCLA.

FREE PASSES: IU has been one of the more disciplined teams in the Big Ten at times this season. The Hoosiers have worked a league-best 119 walks in 16 games (7.4 per game). On top of that, IU has struck out just two more times (121) on the year. It has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the league (1.02)

Six different players have at least 10 walks on the season. Wiggins leads the Big Ten at 19 walks with junior outfielder Devin Taylor not far behind at 17. Freshman infielder Will Moore has 10 walks despite making just eight starts this season.

DON'T COUNT 'EM OUT: IU struggled in March last year but used a big win over Indiana State to kick start five-consecutive conference series wins. After dropping the opening league weekend at Penn State, the Hoosiers will want a victory in Terre Haute before a big three-game set with Ohio State.

The Hoosiers still have 25 games left against teams in the top-150 of this week's RPI. There are also still 20 games left to be played inside the friendly confines of Bart Kaufman Field.

Scouting the Opponent
Indiana State
• After over a decade of success with former head coach Mitch Hannahs, the Sycamores move into a new era under skipper Tracy Archuleta. They are coming off a four-game split on the road with Southeast Missouri State. The only midweek game for Indiana so far was a loss at home to Purdue.

• It's a completely new look side in Terre Haute after the departure of Hannahs. Senior utilityman, and Missouri transfer, Carlos Pena leads the way with a .364 batting average and 20 base knocks. Redshirt senior outfielder Keegan Garis is the only other qualified hitter above .300.

• Indiana State has done well on the mound through one month this season. Six different pitchers have already thrown over 10.0 innings this year. After a four-game weekend on the road, the Sycamores will likely rotate through a number of arms on Tuesday.

• The lone connection between the two teams is through graduate student right-handed pitcher Cole Gilley. IU's Sunday starter was a four-year pitcher for the Sycamores and was part of the Super Regional team in 2023.

Inside the Series
Indiana State
• Indiana holds a 68-48-1 record in one of the most commonly played non-conference series in program history. The Hoosiers have lost two-straight games in Terre Haute but are 7-3 in the last 10 games played in the all-time series. The two teams have split each of the last two seasons, winning on their home field on each occasion.