Indiana University Athletics
Tuesday, March 25
Bloomington, Ind.
5:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Bellarmine
Baseball Central: Bellarmine
3/24/2025 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A nine-game homestand begins for the Indiana Baseball team (13-11, 5-4 B1G) on Tuesday (March 25) evening against Bellarmine. This stretch will feature seven games against teams in the top-85 of the latest RPI rankings, giving IU plenty of resume-boosting opportunities on its own home field.
Bellarmine will visit to begin the run of games at Bart Kaufman Field before the other half of the Los Angeles schools, USC, makes its way to town for a three-game set. IU is coming off a closely-contested series loss at UCLA last weekend. The Hoosiers won the opener but suffered a pair of three-run defeats to close the weekend.
IU's pitching staff was the start of the weekend. The Hoosiers only allowed 14 runs (11 earned) in three games with the Bruins. Graduate student right-handed pitcher Cole Gilley and senior left-hander Ryan Kraft combined to throw all nine innings in Friday's (March 21) win while giving up just one run. Gilley will get the start against Bellarmine as part of his weekly pitching progression. Expect a handful of arms to throw in the game.
Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley had the best offensive weekend for the Hoosiers. He hit .417 (5-12) and supplied one home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Junior shortstop Tyler Cerny got his bat going with four hits, two home runs and four runs scored.
In midweek games this season, IU's true freshmen have been outstanding offensively. Hanley and third baseman Cooper Malamazian are each batting .417 (5-12) across four midweek contests. As a team, IU has worked more walks (25) than strikeouts (23) in four midweek affairs.
Tuesday's game will start at 5:00 p.m. at Bart Kaufman Field and will be streamed on B1G+ (Andrew Hillsman, Cruz Martin and Olivia Pierce). The radio stream will go through whcc105.com/iuhoosiers.com with Austin Render returning to his baseball duties as the Play-by-Play man.
Gameday Info
vs. Bellarmine (Tuesday, March 25th – 5:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/yTqCd
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/EIw-V
Probable Starters
Bellarmine
• Tuesday: RHP Cole Gilley, Gr. (3-1, 2.39 ERA)
Leading Off
HOME SWEET HOME: After the weekend out in California, IU will have an important nine-game homestand begin on Tuesday vs. Bellarmine. That stretch of contests includes two weekend series (USC, Michigan State) and three midweek games.
KEEPS HITTIN': Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley went hitless in the first two games of last week but broke out of the mini-slump with five hits in the final two games vs. UCLA. He is now tied for the Big Ten lead with 37 hits and is the early favorite for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
THE RISE OF GILLEY: Graduate student pitcher Cole Gilley has been a revelation for IU's pitching staff. His most impressive feat is his 33 strikeouts compared to just five walks. He has worked 11-straight innings without allowing a walk. He will open Tuesday's game with Bellarmine.
KRAFT ON TRACK: Since opening weekend, senior southpaw Ryan Kraft has settled back into an important role in IU's rotation. He had his best outing at UCLA (4.1 innings with zero earned runs). He's only allowed seven earned runs in his last 14.1 innings of action. Kraft has a 3.48 ERA in Big Ten play.
CERNY TIME: It was a very slow start for junior shortstop Tyler Cerny but the veteran seems to have figured out his swing in time for the heart of the season. He hit a pair of home runs in the weekend series at UCLA and is hitting .389 with five extra-base hits in the past five games.
RECORD WATCH: Junior outfielder Devin Taylor is closing in on Hoosier history over the next couple of weeks. He needs four home runs to break the program's all-time home run record. He also needs 15 hits to become the 25th player in IU history to reach 200 base knocks.
Scouting the Opponent
Bellarmine
• It has been a rough go of it this season for first-year head coach Ben Reel. The Knights are just 6-17 and 2-4 in the Atlantic Sun. Pitching has been a struggle for Bellarmine with a 10.65 team earned run average. It will turn to one of its more reliable arms in junior right-hander Oliver Ward (1-0, 2.63 ERA, 5 app.) to begin Tuesday's game.
• Redshirt junior utilityman Eli Watson has been on a tear at the top of the Bellarmine lineup. He's hitting .384 with 33 hits and 22 RBIs this season. Redshirt freshman infielder Landon Akers is another potent bat at the top of the lineup with four home runs, 11 RBIs and 36 base hits.
• Former IU reliever Cooper Hellman has made a team high 10 appearances on the mound for the Knights this season. He pitched for the Hoosiers in 2023 and appeared in the NCAA Regional against Kentucky.
Inside the Series
Bellarmine
• These two teams have played 31 times but just four times with both teams as division one members. They played 27 times when Bellarmine was a division two school.
IU swept a four-game home set in Bloomington in 2023 behind a strong weekend of pitching. The Hoosiers have won 15-straight matchups and last lost a game to the Knights in 1985.
Bellarmine will visit to begin the run of games at Bart Kaufman Field before the other half of the Los Angeles schools, USC, makes its way to town for a three-game set. IU is coming off a closely-contested series loss at UCLA last weekend. The Hoosiers won the opener but suffered a pair of three-run defeats to close the weekend.
IU's pitching staff was the start of the weekend. The Hoosiers only allowed 14 runs (11 earned) in three games with the Bruins. Graduate student right-handed pitcher Cole Gilley and senior left-hander Ryan Kraft combined to throw all nine innings in Friday's (March 21) win while giving up just one run. Gilley will get the start against Bellarmine as part of his weekly pitching progression. Expect a handful of arms to throw in the game.
Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley had the best offensive weekend for the Hoosiers. He hit .417 (5-12) and supplied one home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Junior shortstop Tyler Cerny got his bat going with four hits, two home runs and four runs scored.
In midweek games this season, IU's true freshmen have been outstanding offensively. Hanley and third baseman Cooper Malamazian are each batting .417 (5-12) across four midweek contests. As a team, IU has worked more walks (25) than strikeouts (23) in four midweek affairs.
Tuesday's game will start at 5:00 p.m. at Bart Kaufman Field and will be streamed on B1G+ (Andrew Hillsman, Cruz Martin and Olivia Pierce). The radio stream will go through whcc105.com/iuhoosiers.com with Austin Render returning to his baseball duties as the Play-by-Play man.
Gameday Info
vs. Bellarmine (Tuesday, March 25th – 5:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/yTqCd
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/EIw-V
Probable Starters
Bellarmine
• Tuesday: RHP Cole Gilley, Gr. (3-1, 2.39 ERA)
Leading Off
HOME SWEET HOME: After the weekend out in California, IU will have an important nine-game homestand begin on Tuesday vs. Bellarmine. That stretch of contests includes two weekend series (USC, Michigan State) and three midweek games.
KEEPS HITTIN': Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley went hitless in the first two games of last week but broke out of the mini-slump with five hits in the final two games vs. UCLA. He is now tied for the Big Ten lead with 37 hits and is the early favorite for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
THE RISE OF GILLEY: Graduate student pitcher Cole Gilley has been a revelation for IU's pitching staff. His most impressive feat is his 33 strikeouts compared to just five walks. He has worked 11-straight innings without allowing a walk. He will open Tuesday's game with Bellarmine.
KRAFT ON TRACK: Since opening weekend, senior southpaw Ryan Kraft has settled back into an important role in IU's rotation. He had his best outing at UCLA (4.1 innings with zero earned runs). He's only allowed seven earned runs in his last 14.1 innings of action. Kraft has a 3.48 ERA in Big Ten play.
CERNY TIME: It was a very slow start for junior shortstop Tyler Cerny but the veteran seems to have figured out his swing in time for the heart of the season. He hit a pair of home runs in the weekend series at UCLA and is hitting .389 with five extra-base hits in the past five games.
RECORD WATCH: Junior outfielder Devin Taylor is closing in on Hoosier history over the next couple of weeks. He needs four home runs to break the program's all-time home run record. He also needs 15 hits to become the 25th player in IU history to reach 200 base knocks.
Scouting the Opponent
Bellarmine
• It has been a rough go of it this season for first-year head coach Ben Reel. The Knights are just 6-17 and 2-4 in the Atlantic Sun. Pitching has been a struggle for Bellarmine with a 10.65 team earned run average. It will turn to one of its more reliable arms in junior right-hander Oliver Ward (1-0, 2.63 ERA, 5 app.) to begin Tuesday's game.
• Redshirt junior utilityman Eli Watson has been on a tear at the top of the Bellarmine lineup. He's hitting .384 with 33 hits and 22 RBIs this season. Redshirt freshman infielder Landon Akers is another potent bat at the top of the lineup with four home runs, 11 RBIs and 36 base hits.
• Former IU reliever Cooper Hellman has made a team high 10 appearances on the mound for the Knights this season. He pitched for the Hoosiers in 2023 and appeared in the NCAA Regional against Kentucky.
Inside the Series
Bellarmine
• These two teams have played 31 times but just four times with both teams as division one members. They played 27 times when Bellarmine was a division two school.
IU swept a four-game home set in Bloomington in 2023 behind a strong weekend of pitching. The Hoosiers have won 15-straight matchups and last lost a game to the Knights in 1985.
Players Mentioned
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