Baseball Central: USC

Friday, March 28

Bloomington, Ind.

2:00 PM

Indiana University

USC

3/27/2025 7:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Media Center

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Baseball team (14-11, 5-4 B1G) continues a two-week homestand this weekend with a series against Big Ten newcomers USC at Bart Kaufman Field (March 28-29). The Hoosiers won a 13-0 contest over Bellarmine on Tuesday (March 25) following a series loss at UCLA last week in Los Angeles.

Heading into the weekend, IU has won five-straight Big Ten home games and each of the last four home conference weekend series. The Hoosiers began their home slate in league play two weeks ago with a commanding sweep of Ohio State.

IU's pitching staff has to come to life over the past 10 games – a stretch that the Hoosiers have gone 7-3 in. Graduate student right-handed pitcher Cole Gilley has been a revelation in those 10 games. He's made five appearances (three starts) in that timeframe with a 3-0 record. He's thrown 14 innings and worked a 0.64 earned run average with 15 strikeouts.

The Hoosiers have gone to graduate student right-handed pitcher Ben Grable in a one-starter rotation. The model has allowed head coach Jeff Mercer to use high-leverage arms at any point in the weekend to win games. Gilley, redshirt senior Gavin Seebold and senior Ryan Kraft have thrived in those roles and haven given IU quality innings in Big Ten series.

As has been the case under Mercer, IU's true freshmen have been tremendous offensive producers in the lineup this season. First baseman Jake Hanley leads all conference first-year players in hits (38) and is top five in the entire conference in base knocks. Infielder Cooper Malamazian has swung a hot bat with three home runs, nine doubles and 18 RBIs this year.

The weekend series is slated to start on Friday (March 28) with IU's fourth Friday doubleheader of the season. The first game will go at 2:00 p.m. and the second one is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Saturday's game (March 29) has been moved up to Noon.

Gameday Info
vs. USC (Friday, March 28th – 2:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/08fXl
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/OtMRl

vs. USC (Friday, March 28th – 6:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/jdsYf
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/qu8ME

vs. USC (Saturday, March 29th – 12:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/4ofz0
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/1h6y9

Probable Starters
USC
• Friday - 1: LHP Ryan Kraft, Sr. (0-1, 5.29 ERA)
• Friday - 2: TBD
• Saturday: TBD

Leading Off
IMPORTANT STRETCH: IU picked up a 13-0 win over Bellarmine to kick off a nine-game homestand at Bart Kaufman Field. Still on the docket in this run of home games are seven top-85 RPI games (USC, Louisville and Michigan State). This is IU's longest stretch of home games the rest of the season.

Last year, IU got hot right as April began. It beat Indiana State at home before taking series against Maryland and Penn State. The Hoosiers will hope to do something similar in the upcoming stretch. IU has won four-straight Big Ten series at home and are looking to extend that streak to six by the end of next week.

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 the freshman leader in the conference with 38 hits and is the early favorite for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

The Hoosiers started four true freshmen in the lineup in Tuesday's win over Bellarmine and played seven in total. On the season, IU's freshmen offensive players have combined for 80 hits, 68 runs scored, 53 RBIs, 18 doubles and nine home runs.

THAT DUDE KD: Redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson had a tough weekend at UCLA but has been one of the best players in the entire league this year. He's the first Big Ten player to reach both 40 hits and 40 RBIs this season and is tied for the conference lead with 11 home runs.

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 15.1 innings of action. Kraft has a 3.48 ERA in Big Ten play.

PITCHING PROVIDES: IU's pitching staff has quietly been outstanding over the past 10 games. The Hoosiers are 7-3 in that stretch with the team holding a 4.12 ERA. Graduate student Cole Gilley has a 0.64 ERA in five appearances during that 10-game stretch.

The Hoosiers are hoping to get some impact arms back into the rotation in the coming months. Junior right-handed pitcher Aydan Decker-Petty threw an inning on Tuesday while redshirt sophomore Jacob Vogel and sophomore Jackson Yarberry will likely be back in the coming weeks.

RECORD WATCH: Junior outfielder Devin Taylor is closing in on Hoosier history over the next couple of weeks. He needs three home runs to break the program's all-time home run record. He also needs 13 hits to become the 25th player in IU history to reach 200 base knocks.
Taylor's fellow junior teammate, Tyler Cerny (167), isn't far behind him in the chase for 200. Cerny and Taylor could be the first pair of teammates from the same recruiting class to reach 200+ career hits since Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis (2012-14). Josh Pyne and Brock Tibbitts fell just short last year with Tibbitts finishing on 199 career base knocks.

Scouting the Opponent
USC
• The Trojans were one of the hottest teams to end last season, finishing a win short of qualifying from the NCAA Tournament. They've kept that momentum going and are 14-10 on the year. After getting swept by Oregon to begin the Big Ten season, the Trojans have won consecutive series over Michigan and Nebraska.

• USC's strength has been on the mound this year. It has worked a 4.63 team earned run average, led by junior lefty Caden Hunter and senior right-handed pitcher Caden Aoki. Those two have combined for 68 strikeouts and just 16 walks this year. Aoki has a 15-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio this year.

• The bulk of USC's offense has come through the bat of junior Ethan Hedges. He leads the team with 34 hits, 25 RBIs, three triples and six home runs. He has a .374 batting average, over 70 points higher than the next qualified hitter for the Trojans. He also doubles as the team's closer and has a 4.50 ERA with six saves.

• The Trojans have impressive wins over Michigan, UConn and Vanderbilt this season. The only common opponent between the two teams has been UCLA. USC lost a 5-1 non-conference tilt while the Hoosiers lost two-of-three to the Bruins last weekend in Los Angeles.

Inside the Series
USC
• These two teams have played just one time ever. Same as before the UCLA series began, the lone meeting came on a neutral field in Riverside, California. USC won that matchup 7-0. This is believed to be the first time any of the new west coast programs have visited Bloomington in a baseball series.