Indiana University Athletics
Wednesday, April 30
Evansville, Ind.
7:00 PM
Indiana University
at
Evansville
Baseball Central: Evansville
4/28/2025 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After getting swept by Big Ten leaders Iowa, the Indiana Baseball team (23-21, 12-12 B1G) will look to quickly put the weekend behind them. The final game in the month of April keeps the Hoosiers on the road as they head to Evansville to finish out the season series with the Purple Aces.
IU was a winner over Evansville in the middle of March with late home runs from junior outfielder Devin Taylor and freshman shortstop Cooper Malamazian sealing the 7-4 midweek victory. The Hoosiers are set to play just their fourth game in Evansville since head coach Jeff Mercer took over. IU last won down south in 2019.
Freshman third baseman Will Moore continues to be an on-base merchant at the top of IU's lineup. He has worked 37 free passes on the year with 25 walks and 12 hit-by-pitches. He also has 30 hits to his tally and is batting .330 during his first campaign in Bloomington.
Fellow freshman shortstop Cooper Malamazian has thrived in midweek contests this year. He's hitting a scorching .419 in weekday contests with two home runs, eight runs scored and 11 RBIs. Moore is also thriving in such contests with eight hits and four runs scored.
In nine midweek contests this year, IU has pitched the ball fairly well. An early-season loss to Northern Kentucky kept IU off schedule but the Hoosiers have worked a 5.03 team ERA across midweek action. Redshirt junior Pete Haas and senior Deron Swanson have both pitched to a sub-3.00 ERA in those games. Haas has allowed just one earned run in 9.1 midweek innings.
All four of IU's games this week will be out of the Big Ten. After Tuesday's (April 29) game with Evansville, the Hoosiers head to Texas for a three-game set with Abilene Christian on the weekend (May 2-4). First pitch on Tuesday from Charles H. Braun Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.
Gameday Info
vs. Evansville (Tuesday, April 28th – 6:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/GD6vd
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/KdOdD
Probable Starters
Evansville
• Tuesday – RHP Drew Buhr (0-1, 2.29 ERA)
Leading Off
BENES CONNECTION: Sophomore pitcher Seth Benes has some connections to Evansville royalty. His uncles - Andy and Alan - both played in the MLB after growing up in Evansville. Andy played at the University of Evansville and was the No. 1 pick in 1998. Seth's father, Adam, also played at Evansville.
CLOSING APRIL: Getting swept last weekend in Iowa put a damper on the month of April but IU still has a chance to finish in strong fashion. A win over Evansville would give IU a winning record (9-8) to close out a long month and take some positive momentum into May.
MOORE BASES: Freshman third baseman Will Moore has statistically been the best at getting on base in the entire Big Ten conference. He leads the league with a .523 on-base percentage and has 25 walks, 30 hits and 12 hit-by-pitches to his name this year.
CLOSE TO 200: Head coach Jeff Mercer needs just two wins to become the fourth coach in program history to reach 200 career victories. He has a chance to do it in the series vs. Abilene Christian this weekend. He is also four Big Ten wins away from reaching 100 career league victories as the IU skipper.
BUHR RETURNS: Veteran pitcher Drew Buhr is back and available for IU's bullpen after missing over six weeks through injury. He didn't get the chance to pitch against Iowa but will start for an inning against Evansville. Before getting hurt, he had a 2.29 ERA on the season in 19.2 innings pitched.
NEAR 2,500: As a program, the Hoosiers are just six wins away from reaching 2,500 all-time victories. The program has risen to national relevance over the last decade plus but has produced high-level players and managers. IU can reach that mark as early as the Purdue series.
Scouting the Opponent
Evansville
• The Purple Aces had to replace a lot of players off a team that was one win away from the College World Series last season. They are coming off of winning the Sunday game at Missouri State to salvage one game in the weekend series. Evansville is 14-28 (8-10) on the year.
• Evansville is hitting just .268 on the season with only 23 home runs but it is always one of the more disciplined teams in the area. It has 73 doubles on the season and is very meticulous in scoring runs. Senior infielder Cal McGinnis leads the team with a .336 batting average. Senior outfielder Ty Rumsey also is hitting above .330.
• On the weekend, Evansville has pitched the ball well. But the midweeks have been an adventure. Both Parker MacCauley and Kellen Roberts pitched the last time the two teams played but each threw on Sunday afternoon. Parker MacCauley only threw 10 pitches against Missouri State and could be up to start a second time this season against IU.
Inside the Series
Evansville
• This will be the 57th all-time meeting between the two in-state foes. IU won the 56th all-time meeting earlier this season in Bloomington. There have been 12 meetings between the sides since head coach Jeff Mercer took over in 2019.
• These matchups tend to produce close ballgames. The last nine meetings between IU and Evansville have been decided by four-or-fewer runs. IU hasn't gone down to Evansville since 2022 - a 4-8 loss. The Hoosiers last won in Evansville in Mercer's first year (April 2019).
IU was a winner over Evansville in the middle of March with late home runs from junior outfielder Devin Taylor and freshman shortstop Cooper Malamazian sealing the 7-4 midweek victory. The Hoosiers are set to play just their fourth game in Evansville since head coach Jeff Mercer took over. IU last won down south in 2019.
Freshman third baseman Will Moore continues to be an on-base merchant at the top of IU's lineup. He has worked 37 free passes on the year with 25 walks and 12 hit-by-pitches. He also has 30 hits to his tally and is batting .330 during his first campaign in Bloomington.
Fellow freshman shortstop Cooper Malamazian has thrived in midweek contests this year. He's hitting a scorching .419 in weekday contests with two home runs, eight runs scored and 11 RBIs. Moore is also thriving in such contests with eight hits and four runs scored.
In nine midweek contests this year, IU has pitched the ball fairly well. An early-season loss to Northern Kentucky kept IU off schedule but the Hoosiers have worked a 5.03 team ERA across midweek action. Redshirt junior Pete Haas and senior Deron Swanson have both pitched to a sub-3.00 ERA in those games. Haas has allowed just one earned run in 9.1 midweek innings.
All four of IU's games this week will be out of the Big Ten. After Tuesday's (April 29) game with Evansville, the Hoosiers head to Texas for a three-game set with Abilene Christian on the weekend (May 2-4). First pitch on Tuesday from Charles H. Braun Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.
Gameday Info
vs. Evansville (Tuesday, April 28th – 6:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/GD6vd
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/KdOdD
Probable Starters
Evansville
• Tuesday – RHP Drew Buhr (0-1, 2.29 ERA)
Leading Off
BENES CONNECTION: Sophomore pitcher Seth Benes has some connections to Evansville royalty. His uncles - Andy and Alan - both played in the MLB after growing up in Evansville. Andy played at the University of Evansville and was the No. 1 pick in 1998. Seth's father, Adam, also played at Evansville.
CLOSING APRIL: Getting swept last weekend in Iowa put a damper on the month of April but IU still has a chance to finish in strong fashion. A win over Evansville would give IU a winning record (9-8) to close out a long month and take some positive momentum into May.
MOORE BASES: Freshman third baseman Will Moore has statistically been the best at getting on base in the entire Big Ten conference. He leads the league with a .523 on-base percentage and has 25 walks, 30 hits and 12 hit-by-pitches to his name this year.
CLOSE TO 200: Head coach Jeff Mercer needs just two wins to become the fourth coach in program history to reach 200 career victories. He has a chance to do it in the series vs. Abilene Christian this weekend. He is also four Big Ten wins away from reaching 100 career league victories as the IU skipper.
BUHR RETURNS: Veteran pitcher Drew Buhr is back and available for IU's bullpen after missing over six weeks through injury. He didn't get the chance to pitch against Iowa but will start for an inning against Evansville. Before getting hurt, he had a 2.29 ERA on the season in 19.2 innings pitched.
NEAR 2,500: As a program, the Hoosiers are just six wins away from reaching 2,500 all-time victories. The program has risen to national relevance over the last decade plus but has produced high-level players and managers. IU can reach that mark as early as the Purdue series.
Scouting the Opponent
Evansville
• The Purple Aces had to replace a lot of players off a team that was one win away from the College World Series last season. They are coming off of winning the Sunday game at Missouri State to salvage one game in the weekend series. Evansville is 14-28 (8-10) on the year.
• Evansville is hitting just .268 on the season with only 23 home runs but it is always one of the more disciplined teams in the area. It has 73 doubles on the season and is very meticulous in scoring runs. Senior infielder Cal McGinnis leads the team with a .336 batting average. Senior outfielder Ty Rumsey also is hitting above .330.
• On the weekend, Evansville has pitched the ball well. But the midweeks have been an adventure. Both Parker MacCauley and Kellen Roberts pitched the last time the two teams played but each threw on Sunday afternoon. Parker MacCauley only threw 10 pitches against Missouri State and could be up to start a second time this season against IU.
Inside the Series
Evansville
• This will be the 57th all-time meeting between the two in-state foes. IU won the 56th all-time meeting earlier this season in Bloomington. There have been 12 meetings between the sides since head coach Jeff Mercer took over in 2019.
• These matchups tend to produce close ballgames. The last nine meetings between IU and Evansville have been decided by four-or-fewer runs. IU hasn't gone down to Evansville since 2022 - a 4-8 loss. The Hoosiers last won in Evansville in Mercer's first year (April 2019).
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