Swanson Sets Tone in Homestand Finale

Tuesday, April 8

Bloomington, Ind.

6:00 PM

Indiana University

19-14

Ball State

23-11

Ball State

Indiana

4/8/2025 10:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Senior lefty Deron Swanson (W, 2-1) was only supposed to be in the game for an inning or two. But on a day that IU desperately needed a standout performance on the mound, the Fort Wayne, Indiana native provided 13 outs and 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball.

The Indiana Baseball team (19-14, 9-6 B1G) needed just five pitchers to finish off a 7-5 midweek victory over Ball State. Senior southpaw Ryan Kraft (SV, 1) was called on with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth but picked up the final three outs to preserve a 7-5 win over Ball State on Tuesday (April 8) at Bart Kaufman Field.

IU finished off a season-long nine-game homestand with a 6-3 record. The Hoosiers won the final four games during the stretch by a combined score of 45-13. The effective start to the month of April has helped boost the IU RPI all the way up to 67 heading into this weekend's series with Illinois.

Timely hitting was the name of the game for the home team on Tuesday night. Redshirt sophomore Korbyn Dickerson matched the Big Ten lead with his 15th home run of the season – a mammoth two-run blast in the second inning. Freshman shortstop Cooper Malamazian had a two-run single to hand the Hoosiers the lead for good.

Junior second baseman Tyler Cerny recorded his 39th hit-by-pitch, breaking one of the more peculiar program records. He moved past Chris Hervey (38 – 2006-09) to take over the top spot on the all-time IU list in hit-by-pitches. He has 78 free passes in his three-year career, 39 of those coming via the hit-by-pitch.

Coming off of four games in just over 50 hours, the Hoosiers will get just a little bit of rest before heading to Champaign to begin the back half of the Big Ten slate. IU and Illinois have exchanged turns winning on each other's home fields the last two years. IU will hope to continue that trend this season as it looks to keep climbing up the league table. First pitch on Friday (April 11) is set for 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT.

Scoring Recap
Top First
The visitors got on the board early thanks to a couple well-placed hits. Nick Husovsky singled through the left side to score the first run of the game. Houston King grounded out to the first baseman but was able to add to the tally early in the game.
Ball State 2, Indiana 0

Bottom Third
Korbyn Dickerson got things going for the Hoosiers with a big two-run blast over the bullpen in left field. Cooper Malamazian gave IU the lead with a two-run single through the right side. For good measure, Will Moore scored on a wild pitch to push the advantage to three runs.
Indiana 5, Ball State 2

Bottom Fifth
Devin Taylor added insurance in the fifth inning. He worked a single through the right side to bring home Joey Brenczewski and Will Moore.
Indiana 7, Ball State 2

Top Ninth
Things got dangerous in the ninth inning. Brayton Thomas loaded the bases to bring Ryan Kraft on in relief for the Hoosiers. Alex Richter grounded out to the first baseman to score the first run. With two outs and two strikes, Husovsky stuck his bat out and roped a single into right field to score two more. Kraft immediately struck out the ensuing batter to finish out the game.
Indiana 7, Ball State 5

Top Hoosier Performers
#5 Taylor, Devin
2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB

#41 Swanson, Deron
4.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 K

#15 Malamazian, Cooper
2-4, 2 RBI

Inside the Box Score
• The Hoosiers won the ballgame despite being outhit by Ball State.
• IU's pitching staff racked up 12 strikeouts and walked just two batters.
• The Cardinals were held scoreless for seven-straight innings.
• IU needed just seven hits and seven runs to win the contest.
• The defense went errorless for the third-straight game.

Notes to Know
• Junior second baseman Tyler Cerny broke one of the more peculiar records in program history. He was hit by his 14th pitch of the season, taking his career tally to 39. He broke a 16-year school record, held by Chris Hervey (38 – 2006-09), on Tuesday against Ball State.

• Redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson slugged his 15th home run of the season with his second-inning blast against Ball State. He moved into a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten in home runs (15) and has an eight-run advantage in RBIs (56) at the top of the conference leaderboard.

• Junior outfielder Devin Taylor will be on milestone watch on Friday in Illinois. He picked up a pair of hits against Ball State, taking his career tally to 199. He is looking to become the 25th member of the 200-hit club at IU. It was most recently done by his teammate Josh Pyne (222 – 2024).

• Taylor became the 20th player in program history to record at least 150 RBIs in their career. He picked up a two-run single on Tuesday's win to take his three-year total to 151. He currently sits in a three-way tie for 17th place on the all-time list with Carter Mathison (2022-24) and Kevin Orie (1991-93).

• Senior pitcher Ryan Kraft moved into a tie for sixth on IU's all-time appearance list. He was called on to pick up the save in Tuesday's win, making his 74th career appearance in the process. He is tied with Eric Jaques (74 – 1986-89) and will likely move into a tie for fifth this weekend in his home state of Illinois.

Up Next
The Hoosiers begin a three-game set in Champaign on Friday night against Illinois. All three games will be broadcasted on B1G+. The series with Illinois can also be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.