Baseball Central: Louisville

Tuesday, April 1

Bloomington, Ind.

6:00 PM

Indiana University

#18 Louisville

3/31/2025 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Media Center

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The month of April – and 17 scheduled games – begins for the Indiana Baseball team (15-13, 6-6 B1G) on Tuesday (April 1st) with a big test against No. 18 Louisville at Bart Kaufman Field. The Big Ten Network will carry the game on national television with Connor Onion and Scott Pose on the call.

IU finds itself in a similar spot through the halfway point of this season as it did last season. The Hoosiers ended the final game of March in both 2024 and 2025 with the opposing team hitting a go-ahead ninth-inning home run to win the series finale. The Hoosiers dug themselves out of a hole last year and have all the means necessary to make a run again in 2025.

Senior southpaw Ryan Kraft will open the game on the mound for the Hoosiers in a game that could see a multitude of arms. IU used seven arms last week in a midweek win over Bellarmine while Louisville used eight in a loss at Cincinnati last Tuesday. The Hoosiers are in search of some young pitchers to make a big jump in April and will call on a handful of them to pitch on Tuesday evening.

Reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, first baseman Jake Hanley, has been on a tear over the past week. He's hitting .476 (10-21) over the last five games with three home runs, two doubles, eight runs scored and nine RBIs. Hanley is the third IU player (Malamazian, Denny) to win Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors this year.

Junior outfielder Devin Taylor is inching closer to program history in his final go-around in an IU uniform. He has 46 career home runs in his three years in Bloomington. He needs one more to tie the all-time record at 47 and two more to grab it for himself. Three IU alumni are currently tied at 47 home runs – the last to do it was former big leaguer Alex Dickerson.

The midweek contest with Louisville will roll right into a Big Ten home series with Michigan State. The Spartans haven't been to Bloomington since the 2015 season. That series is set to begin on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. pending potential weather in the area.

Gameday Info
vs. #18 Louisville (Tuesday, April 1st – 6:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/pGlkQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/1WwPy

Probable Starters
Louisville
• Tuesday – LHP Ryan Kraft, Sr. (0-1, 5.57 ERA)

Leading Off
RECORD WATCH: Junior outfielder Devin Taylor is closing in on Hoosier history over the next couple of weeks. He needs two home runs to break the program's all-time home run record. He also needs nine hits to become the 25th player in IU history to reach 200 base knocks.

Taylor's fellow junior teammate, Tyler Cerny (173), 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.

HANLEY HITS: Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley is the early runaway favorite to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He leads all Big Ten players with 45 base hits and is fifth among qualified hitters with a .398 batting average. He had seven hits over the weekend in three games against USC.

In the NCAA, Hanley is second in hits and seventh among all freshmen in batting average. He and LSU's Derek Curiel have been the top two freshmen among all power four schools this year in most statistical categories.

FRESHMAN RETURNS: IU has gotten great return from its offensive freshmen this season. Three different IU freshmen have combined to win a Big Ten Freshman of the Week award this year. It's the 4th time in program history that IU has had at least three different players win a FOTW award in the same year.

2011 – Downing, DeMuth, DeNato
2012 – Sujka, Schwarber, Travis, Hart
2017 – Matheny, Krueger, Saalfrank
2025 – Malamazian, Denny, Hanley

FAMILIAR FACE: Redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson will take on his former team when IU plays Louisville on Tuesday. His transfer to Bloomington has helped him rocket into a candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year. He is top three in the Big Ten in hits (44), home runs (13), RBIs (46) and runs (36).

NEED A BREAKOUT: It's make-or-break time for the Hoosiers on the mound. Down a couple arms through injury, IU needs a couple people to step up and take on a new load. Freshmen Henry Brummel and Brayton Thomas or sophomores Ryan Rushing and Seth Benes have the talent to take that role.

START OFF APRIL: Last year, IU began April with a thrashing of top-25 Indiana State at home. That kickstarted a 10-4-1 record in the month and a climb right back into the postseason picture. With No. 18 Louisville in town, there's no better time for a big win at Bart Kaufman Field.

Scouting the Opponent
Louisville
• The Cardinals finished off a weekend series victory over ACC newcomers California. Louisville won 11-10 Friday on a walk-off hit before finishing off the series with a 13-6 win in the rubber match. Louisville is 3-4 in its last seven games. That includes a 12-2 loss to Cincinnati last midweek.

• Junior utilityman Jake Munroe hasn't missed a beat in his first season at the NCAA level. After two years of junior college, Munroe leads the Cardinals with a .398 batting average in 27 games. He also has five home runs and 28 RBIs. The Cardinals have slugged 34 home runs – 10 of those coming off the bat of first baseman Tague Davis.

• Louisville ran out eight pitchers in last midweek's loss to Cincinnati. Each player got one inning. It will likely be a similar model on Tuesday in Bloomington as both teams try and find young arms to pitch leverage innings. The Cardinals used at least four pitchers in all three games against Cal. They called on seven pitchers on Sunday.

• At home this season, Louisville is 17-3. However, it is just 3-4 away from Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville lost its last trip to Bloomington in 2023. The Cardinals have conceded at least eight runs on three occasions in midweek baseball games this year.

Inside the Series
Louisville
• This will be the 56th all-time meeting between the two teams separated by just a couple hours. The first game with Louisville came in 1937. A rainout canceled last year's game at Jim Patterson Stadium. IU won the previous meeting in 2023.

• IU and Louisville played every year from 2007 to 2019. Due to COVID-19, the series took a brief two-year hiatus. It was picked back up in 2022 and 2023 before weather caused a cancelation in 2024.