Baseball Central: Michigan State

Sunday, April 6

Bloomington, Ind.

1:00 PM

Indiana University

Michigan State

4/5/2025 11:00:00 AM | Baseball

Game Notes Media Center

*Projected starters are TBD due to the big change in the weekend schedule*

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Due to inclement weather across the Midwest, the Indiana Baseball team (15-14, 6-6 B1G) is set to play a weekend series with Michigan State in a very strange format. The two teams will play the first game on Sunday (April 6) with a doubleheader set for Monday (April 7). It will be IU's fifth doubleheader of the season and the third and fourth Monday games of the year.

The Hoosiers have had chances to win each of their last two games (vs. USC, vs. No. 18 Louisville) but let late leads slip away in both games. A depleted bullpen hurt IU's chances against the Trojans while five defensive errors cost it a big opportunity against the Cardinals. In each game, IU's offense failed to score after the fourth inning.

With extra rest for all its players, IU is hoping to get things back on track against Michigan State this weekend. It's the first visit from the Spartans to Bart Kaufman Field since 2015. The two teams last played in the final weekend of the regular season in 2023.

Veteran southpaw Ryan Kraft has turned into a steady presence on IU's pitching staff – regaining some of the form that saw him earn All-Conference honors in 2023. In seven appearances (two starts) in the month of March, Kraft worked a 4.66 earned run average across 19.1 innings.

He's started the first game of the last two Big Ten weekends and has thrived in that role. The senior needs just four more outings to move into the top-5 in program history in appearances.

Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley went hitless on Tuesday but is coming off a prolific month of March. In 18 games, he hit .406 (28-69) with six home runs and 22 RBIs. He has bolstered his case to be Big Ten Freshman of the Year and will look to follow up with similar success in April.

This weekend's series will officially take IU to the midway point in league play. A series victory will keep the Hoosiers above .500 in Big Ten play and keep them in the hunt for a top-four seed in the conference tournament this May. As it stands, the Hoosiers are just a game out of a coveted top-four position.

Gameday Info
vs. Michigan State (Sunday, April 6th – 1:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3TGJSEx
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/42gcEA3

vs. Michigan State (Monday, April 7th – 12:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3TGJSEx
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/42fDsAu

vs. Michigan State (Monday, April 7th – 4:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3TGJSEx
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/3G92olF

Probable Starters
Michigan State
• Sunday: TBD
• Monday - 1: TBD
• Monday - 2: TBD

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 freshmen with 45 base hits and a .385 batting average. He had seven hits over the weekend in three games against USC.

Hanley's one of three IU players (Dickerson, Taylor) with at least 13 multi-hit games. He's been so good that he actually has more three-hit contests (7) than two-hit outings (6).

VETERAN SOUTHPAWS: IU relievers Ryan Kraft and Grant Holderfield have shaken off tough seasons last year and responded in a brilliant way for the Hoosier pitching staff. Each player has thrown 10+ innings in the last 10 games and has an ERA under 4.10 in that stretch.

Kraft and Holderfield were two of four pitchers to appear in seven games in the month of March. Kraft held a steady 4.66 ERA while Holderfield slowly improved over the month. The longtime friends have turned into the most reliable left-handed arms in IU's bullpen.

FRESHMEN ARE HERE: IU has quickly gone to its young crop of freshmen in the field to fill some holes to due to injury. Four different true freshmen offensive players have appeared in at least 20 games this year. First year bats have combined for 99 hits at the plate.

In IU's midweek loss to No. 18 Louisville, four of IU's nine offensive starters were true freshmen. Caleb Koskie and Cole Decker made appearances off the bench, meaning six of the 13 offensive players that featured in the game were first-year players.

BIG TEN HALFWAY: This is IU's fifth conference series of the year, meaning its reached the halfway point of the Big Ten season. IU is just 1-3 in conference weekends this year and will look to turn that around with Michigan State, Illinois and Maryland next on the docket.

IU's record in conference is 6-6 through the first 12 games. It was 7-5 through 12 games last year before winning 8-of-12 conference games down the stretch.

GOLDEN SPIKES: Outfielders Devin Taylor and Korbyn Dickerson made the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award. It was the first time since 2014 (Schwarber, Travis) that the Hoosiers had two different guys on the in-season update for the most prestigious individual award.

Scouting the Opponent
Michigan State
• The Spartans come to town on the heels of dropping a home series with Illinois last weekend. Illinois won both sides of a Friday doubleheader before Michigan State salvaged the Saturday finale. Michigan State played the local minor league team, the Lansing Lugnuts, in a 1-0 exhibition win on Tuesday.

• Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay leads Michigan State offensively with a .364 batting average and 36 hits. He's one of the toughest outs in the Big Ten and has 26 walks and 30 runs scored to his name. He was high school teammates with IU sophomore infielder Jasen Oliver at Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep in Michigan.

• On the mound, it starts and ends with junior southpaw Joseph Dzierwa. The 6-8 lefty is 5-0 with a 1.27 earned run average in 42.2 innings of work. He's allowed just six earned runs this season and has 54 strikeouts to 13 walks. The Spartans bullpen has struggled of late but the team still holds a 4.97 earned run average on the year.

Inside the Series
Michigan State
• These will be meetings 206, 207 and 208 in the history of this long series between IU and Michigan State. It's been nearly two years since they last played - a regular season finale in 2023.

• Ironic enough, it's been even longer since the two sides played in Bloomington. The last time Michigan State played at Bart Kaufman Field was in 2015. That was the first year of the Chris Lemonis tenure for the Hoosiers. IU was scheduled to play host to Michigan State in 2020 but that series never happened because of COVID-19.