Indiana University Athletics
Friday, May 2
Abilene, Texas
7:05 PM
Indiana University
at
Abilene Christian
Baseball Central: Abilene Christian
5/1/2025 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Baseball team (24-21, 12-12 B1G), fresh off a commanding midweek win over Evansville, is set to play its designated non-conference weekend series to begin May. The Hoosiers will travel to Texas to play Abilene Christian in their only true road series outside the Big Ten this year.
Because there are only 17 baseball teams in the Big Ten, each school plays one non-conference series over the course of a 11-week conference period. Last year's series came against Butler but this season will see IU head to the road to open the month of May.
The Hoosiers will finish up a stretch of eight-straight games away from home with three contests against Abilene Christian. IU is 2-3 in that timeframe but will look to get back to winning ways on the weekend. IU was swept by Big Ten leaders Iowa last weekend but are still in good position to make this year's Big Ten Tournament.
Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley had a career day at the ballpark in Wednesday's win over Evansville. It was the first four-hit and five-RBI day for the Ohio native. He had his third career multi-home run game and finished just a double short of the cycle. His freshman counterpart, shortstop Cooper Malamazian, ended just a home run short of the cycle as well.
Veteran reliever Drew Buhr made his return to the mound for the first time in six weeks against Evansville. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Heading down the stretch, the Hoosiers are hopeful to continue working up his pitch count. He will be back up against Abilene Christian – hopefully for more than one inning.
First pitch on Friday (May 2) evening is set for 7:05 p.m. ET from Abilene. All three games will be carried on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the radio at whcc105.com/iuhoosiers.com.
Gameday Info
at Abilene Christian (Friday, April 25th – 7:05 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3Ypr8N7
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/4lQitgx
at Abilene Christian (Saturday, April 26th – 4:05 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3YZ3erM
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/43838AC
at Abilene Christian (Sunday, April 27th – 1:05 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4d0T6Vp
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/43ceALu
Probable Starters
Abilene Christian
• Friday: LHP Ryan Kraft (1-1, 3.72 ERA)
• Saturday: TBD
• Sunday: TBD
Leading Off
HANLEY HITS: Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley had a career day in the win over Evansville. It was his first four-hit, five-RBI game during his time in Bloomington. Hanley leads all Big Ten freshmen in hits (61), home runs (12), RBI's (42) and runs scored (44).
On top of that, Hanley became the seventh true freshman for IU in the past four seasons to record a four-hit day. He's the second (Cooper Malamazian) to do it this season and is one of six players on the current roster that had one during their respective freshman campaigns.
KRAFT IS COOKING: Since the end of the Penn State series (March 10), senior southpaw Ryan Kraft has been dealing for the Hoosiers. He has a 2.53 ERA in that span and has been a critical part of IU's pitching staff. On the season he has 38 strikeouts to just 14 walks.
The veteran has had great command of his pitches and is working up a number of all-time charts in Bloomington. He's already top-5 in program history in appearances (78) but is also close to 200 career innings (168.2) and strikeouts (178).
MOORE BASES: Freshman third baseman Will Moore has statistically been one of the best at getting on base in the entire Big Ten conference. He is second in the league with a .515 on-base percentage and has 25 walks, 31 hits and 13 hit-by-pitches to his name this year.
Moore is one of two players on IU's team (Tyler Cerny) with at least 10 hit-by-pitches this season. He is tied for 11th nationally among freshmen in hit-by-pitches and leads all Big Ten first-year players in the category.
CLOSE TO 200: Head coach Jeff Mercer needs just one win 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.
If he's to reach the mark this weekend, Mercer will have done it in under 350 games at the helm and in under seven full seasons in Bloomington.
TOP-10 DT: Junior outfielder Devin Taylor hit his 50th career home run in the win over Evansville. Already the holder of IU's program record, he keeps adding to his tally. On top of that, he has 214 career hits, 181 runs scored, 114 walks and 165 RBIs.
He also moved into a tie for 10th on the program's all-time RBI list (165), tying legendary first baseman Sam Travis (2012-14) on the charts.
NEAR 2,500: As a program, the Hoosiers are just five 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
Abilene Christian
• The Wildcats have become of the best teams in the WAC and will serve as IU's out-of-conference weekend in 2025. Because there's only 17 teams in the Big Ten, each team is designated to play a non-conference three-game series each year.
• Abilene Christian is 27-15 (11-7) and has won 10 of its last 11 contest. That includes series sweeps over UT-Arlington and Seattle to move into the top half of the conference. The Wildcats had a midweek contest with Dallas Baptist get canceled due to weather.
• Its offense is balanced across the board with five players hitting at least.310 this season. Junior infielder Grant Watkins has been the biggest threat at the plate with a. .312 average, 12 home runs, 14 doubles and 42 RBIs. Junior infielder Diego Cardenas has hit nine home runs.
• The Wildcats have started the same three guys every weekend. Junior right-handed pitcher Dominick Reid has a 3.66 ERA to lead all starters and has 79 strikeouts to just 21 walks. Junior righty Cade McGarrh and sophomore southpaw Brett Lanman round out the rotation.
Inside the Series
Abilene Christian
• These two sides have never played in baseball. It's IU's first trip to Texas since playing in the Frisco Classic last March (2024).
Because there are only 17 baseball teams in the Big Ten, each school plays one non-conference series over the course of a 11-week conference period. Last year's series came against Butler but this season will see IU head to the road to open the month of May.
The Hoosiers will finish up a stretch of eight-straight games away from home with three contests against Abilene Christian. IU is 2-3 in that timeframe but will look to get back to winning ways on the weekend. IU was swept by Big Ten leaders Iowa last weekend but are still in good position to make this year's Big Ten Tournament.
Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley had a career day at the ballpark in Wednesday's win over Evansville. It was the first four-hit and five-RBI day for the Ohio native. He had his third career multi-home run game and finished just a double short of the cycle. His freshman counterpart, shortstop Cooper Malamazian, ended just a home run short of the cycle as well.
Veteran reliever Drew Buhr made his return to the mound for the first time in six weeks against Evansville. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Heading down the stretch, the Hoosiers are hopeful to continue working up his pitch count. He will be back up against Abilene Christian – hopefully for more than one inning.
First pitch on Friday (May 2) evening is set for 7:05 p.m. ET from Abilene. All three games will be carried on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the radio at whcc105.com/iuhoosiers.com.
Gameday Info
at Abilene Christian (Friday, April 25th – 7:05 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3Ypr8N7
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/4lQitgx
at Abilene Christian (Saturday, April 26th – 4:05 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3YZ3erM
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/43838AC
at Abilene Christian (Sunday, April 27th – 1:05 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4d0T6Vp
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/43ceALu
Probable Starters
Abilene Christian
• Friday: LHP Ryan Kraft (1-1, 3.72 ERA)
• Saturday: TBD
• Sunday: TBD
Leading Off
HANLEY HITS: Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley had a career day in the win over Evansville. It was his first four-hit, five-RBI game during his time in Bloomington. Hanley leads all Big Ten freshmen in hits (61), home runs (12), RBI's (42) and runs scored (44).
On top of that, Hanley became the seventh true freshman for IU in the past four seasons to record a four-hit day. He's the second (Cooper Malamazian) to do it this season and is one of six players on the current roster that had one during their respective freshman campaigns.
KRAFT IS COOKING: Since the end of the Penn State series (March 10), senior southpaw Ryan Kraft has been dealing for the Hoosiers. He has a 2.53 ERA in that span and has been a critical part of IU's pitching staff. On the season he has 38 strikeouts to just 14 walks.
The veteran has had great command of his pitches and is working up a number of all-time charts in Bloomington. He's already top-5 in program history in appearances (78) but is also close to 200 career innings (168.2) and strikeouts (178).
MOORE BASES: Freshman third baseman Will Moore has statistically been one of the best at getting on base in the entire Big Ten conference. He is second in the league with a .515 on-base percentage and has 25 walks, 31 hits and 13 hit-by-pitches to his name this year.
Moore is one of two players on IU's team (Tyler Cerny) with at least 10 hit-by-pitches this season. He is tied for 11th nationally among freshmen in hit-by-pitches and leads all Big Ten first-year players in the category.
CLOSE TO 200: Head coach Jeff Mercer needs just one win 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.
If he's to reach the mark this weekend, Mercer will have done it in under 350 games at the helm and in under seven full seasons in Bloomington.
TOP-10 DT: Junior outfielder Devin Taylor hit his 50th career home run in the win over Evansville. Already the holder of IU's program record, he keeps adding to his tally. On top of that, he has 214 career hits, 181 runs scored, 114 walks and 165 RBIs.
He also moved into a tie for 10th on the program's all-time RBI list (165), tying legendary first baseman Sam Travis (2012-14) on the charts.
NEAR 2,500: As a program, the Hoosiers are just five 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
Abilene Christian
• The Wildcats have become of the best teams in the WAC and will serve as IU's out-of-conference weekend in 2025. Because there's only 17 teams in the Big Ten, each team is designated to play a non-conference three-game series each year.
• Abilene Christian is 27-15 (11-7) and has won 10 of its last 11 contest. That includes series sweeps over UT-Arlington and Seattle to move into the top half of the conference. The Wildcats had a midweek contest with Dallas Baptist get canceled due to weather.
• Its offense is balanced across the board with five players hitting at least.310 this season. Junior infielder Grant Watkins has been the biggest threat at the plate with a. .312 average, 12 home runs, 14 doubles and 42 RBIs. Junior infielder Diego Cardenas has hit nine home runs.
• The Wildcats have started the same three guys every weekend. Junior right-handed pitcher Dominick Reid has a 3.66 ERA to lead all starters and has 79 strikeouts to just 21 walks. Junior righty Cade McGarrh and sophomore southpaw Brett Lanman round out the rotation.
Inside the Series
Abilene Christian
• These two sides have never played in baseball. It's IU's first trip to Texas since playing in the Frisco Classic last March (2024).
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
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