Baseball Central: Penn State

Friday, March 7

University Park, Pa.

12:00 PM

Indiana University

Penn State

3/6/2025 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Media Center

NOTE: Game times and probable pitchers are expected to adjust with potential weather and schedule changes.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Big Ten play begins around the league this weekend. As part of conference expansion, and a new 30-game league schedule, the beginning of Big Ten action was moved up two weeks to the first weekend in March. The Indiana Baseball team (6-7, 0-0 B1G) will make the trek to University Park for a three-game set against Penn State at Medlar Field (Lubrano Park).

IU is looking to put a tough midweek contest behind itself as the 30-game conference gauntlet begins. The Hoosiers open league play on the road for the first time since the 2021 COVID season. Penn State is the first opponent on the docket for head coach Jeff Mercer. IU won last year's series in Bloomington, winning the Saturday game on a walk-off wild pitch before Joey Brenczewski mashed two home runs to win the rubber match on Sunday.

The top five hitters in IU's batting order have been tremendous through the first 13 games of the year. Brenczewski, redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson, freshman first baseman Jake Hanley, sophomore outfielder Andrew Wiggins and junior outfielder Devin Taylor are all hitting above .350 on the campaign. Brenczewski has a team-leading batting average of .432 (16-37).

For the first time in years, the Hoosiers have seemingly found a trio of weekend starters. Graduate student Ben Grable made his first start for IU last weekend and dealt five scoreless innings in an 8-1 win over Stetson. Fellow fifth-year pitchers Gavin Seebold and Cole Gilley have each shown the ability to land multiple pitches for strikes and work deep into games.

Last year's Penn State series is where graduate student reliever Drew Buhr broke onto the scene. The Hoosiers would like for another long-relief arm to have the same impact this season. Buhr has worked nine-straight scoreless innings but the rest of IU's bullpen has yet to establish a true role. Sophomore southpaw Ryan Rushing and redshirt junior right-hander Pete Haas have each thrown well in limited relief innings this year.

Potential weather has caused for a doubleheader on Friday starting at Noon ET. There will be no game on Saturday and the finale will be played on Sunday. All three contests will be carried on B1G+. Ben Haller will continue to have the radio call on whcc105.com/iuhoosiers.com throughout the weekend.

Gameday Info
vs. Penn State (Friday, March 7th – 12:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4h8nVrK
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/4h4N8mV

vs. Penn State (Friday, March 7th – 45 Minutes after Game One)
Live Video: bit.ly/4i5d3fx
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/4i3WUH1

vs. Penn State (Sunday, March 9th – 1:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4ibjpKf
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/4ktF81q

Probable Starters
Penn State
• Friday: RHP, Gavin Seebold, R-Sr. (1-1, 6.23 ERA)
• Friday: RHP, Ben Grable, Gr. (2-0, 2.57 ERA)
• Sunday: TBD

Leading Off
KD & DT: Indiana has found a lethal duo in the middle of its order. Redshirt sophomore Korbyn Dickerson and junior Devin Taylor have combined for 42 hits, 10 home runs, 42 RBIs and 31 runs this season. The duo has hit back-to-back home runs on two occasions this year batting in the two and three holes.

Both players are riding a 10-game reached base streak, dating back to the UNLV (Feb. 17) game on opening weekend in Arizona. Dickerson has nine multi-hit games and Taylor leads the way with six multi-RBI contests on the campaign. The Hoosiers are 6-3 with those two hitting back-to-back in the order.

SCHUYLER STEPS UP: Due to illness and injury, sophomore catcher T.J. Schuyler has had to catch nearly every inning over the past six games. In that time frame, he's provided seven hits, seven runs and eight RBIs. He also had a walk-off single in the game before against Northwestern (Feb. 24).

IU has run into unfortunate luck at the catching position in each of the last three year. In 2023, it was Pete Serruto that stepped up down the stretch behind the plate. Last year, Jake Stadler ended up starting over 40 games. Now, it is Schuyler in 2025 that has broken onto the scene.

HANLEY HACKS: Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley has gone under the radar in IU's lineup but already has 21 hits to his name through 13 games. He had eight hits in Florida including two three-hit contests. Hanley has hit safely in 12 of 13 games this year.

As of the last NCAA stat update on March 3rd, Hanley had the most hits in the country among true freshmen position players. On top of his bat, Hanley has an immaculate fielding percentage. He's yet to make an error and has 98 putouts with three infield assists.

OFFENSE ERRUPTS: The Hoosiers put up 50 runs across four games this past weekend, including a 20-run outburst against Mount St. Mary's on Sunday. They are top five in the Big Ten in runs (118), hits (140) and home runs (19). Korbyn Dickerson leads the team in all three categories.

EMOTIONAL MOMENT: Redshirt sophomore Ryan Gilbert homered in his first career at-bat on Friday against Mount St. Mary's. He originally was on campus for the 2022 season but left in the fall of 2021 due to illness. After over two years off from baseball, he is back and thriving with the Hoosiers.

PATIENCE IS KEY: Indiana has had a great eye at the plate this season. The Hoosiers are tops in the Big Ten with 99 walks. Andrew Wiggins and Devin Taylor are both top five in the conference in walks. On top of that, IU has also been hit by 23 pitches this year.

Four different players, led by Wiggins and Taylor, have at least 10 walks this season. Six different Hoosiers have taken at least eight base on balls through the opening three weeks of the campaign. Through 15 games last season, IU only had 70 free passes. This year's squad has passed that mark by 29 in two fewer contests.

Scouting the Opponent
Penn State (9-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
• The Nittany Lions were a surprise team in 2024, making the Big Ten Tournament title under first-year head coach Mike Gambino. They aren't sneaking up on anyone this year and are among the favorites to make the NCAA Tournament this season.

• Penn State is off to a 9-1 start this season with wins over Missouri and UConn. The only common opponent between the teams this year is Stetson. Penn State lost 8-4 to the Hatters in Puerto Rico. The Hoosiers went down to DeLand and split a pair of games with Stetson.

• One of the most prolific offenses in the league is led by returning hitters in senior infielder Joe Jaconski, senior catcher Matt Maloney and redshirt sophomore Bryce Molinaro. With the addition of LSU transfer and junior outfielder Paxton Kling, Penn State is off to a hot start at the plate. Kling has already slugged six home runs this year.

• Sophomore right-handed pitcher Mason Horwat and junior southpaw Ryan DeSanto lead the charge on the mound for Penn State. Horwat has thrown 16 innings this season and holds a 2.25 earned run average. DeSanto has worked a 2.84 ERA over 12.2 innings.

Inside the Series
Penn State
• These two teams have met 93 times – all of them coming since Penn State joined the league in the 1990's. IU has won nine-consecutive series (at least three games played) over Penn State. In 2015, weather caused the sides to play just two games.

• The Hoosiers won a wild series in Bloomington last season. Penn State hit seven home runs in the Friday contest but IU struck back to win the Saturday game on a walk-off wild pitch. Then redshirt freshman Joey Brenczewski slugged two home runs and recorded seven RBIs to win the Sunday rubber match.