Indiana Baseball Has 3-1 Weekend In Florida As Big Ten Play Beckons

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – College baseball has only had three weekends worth of games. Indiana baseball is still trying to find its way, but the games that really count are just around the corner.

Indiana had a 3-1 weekend trip to Stetson. The Hoosiers hammered Mount St. Mary’s 18-5 and 20-7 in two games and split with Stetson in the other two. The Hoosiers defeated the Hatters 8-1 on Friday, but lost a rematch 8-4 on Saturday. The victories over Mount St. Mary’s occurred on Friday and Sunday.

The Hoosiers’ 3-1 trip comes on the heels on a mid-week home loss to Xavier last Wednesday. The Musketeers won 8-4. Indiana is now 6-6 for the season.

With 12 games in the books, some players are emerging as standouts for the Hoosiers.

As expected, All-American outfielder Devin Taylor has been productive. Taylor is hitting .367 with five home runs and 20 RBI already, but Taylor has been Indiana’s best slugger.

That honor goes to Louisville transfer Korbyn Dickerson. The outfielder has hit seven home runs and has 22 RBI to go with his .426 batting average.

Indiana’s third outfielder, Andrew Wiggins, has also hit well. Wiggins is batting .367 with 7 RBI.

Designated hitter Joey Brenczewski is hitting .406 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Freshman Jake Hanley is off to an excellent start. The first baseman is hitting .385 with 6 RBI. T.J. Schuyler is hitting .318 as he has emerged as a threat at the plate in recent contests.

Pitching-wise, reliever Drew Buhr has followed up on his solid 2024 season with another effective start. Buhr has a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings of relief work.

Anthony Gubitosi (2.25) and Ben Grable (2.57) have also been good out of the bullpen, though Grable did make one start for the Hoosiers over the weekend against Stetson as coach Jeff Mercer hopes to find the right combination of pitchers to anchor the staff.

Among Indiana’s rotation, Indiana State transfer Cole Gilley has been the most effective. Gilley has a 4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings of work. Indiana has struggled with its starting pitching otherwise. None of Indiana’s other starting pitchers have an ERA under 6.23.

Mercer used Gavin Seebold, Grable, Gilley and Jackson Yarberry as his starters in the four games in Florida over the weekend.

There is only one mid-week game – a Tuesday home contest against Northern Kentucky – before Big Ten series begin this weekend.

Indiana will travel to Penn State for a three-game series starting on Friday. If it seems like it’s an early start to the Big Ten season, it is.

In 2024, Big Ten teams played eight conference series. With the Big Ten having expanded to the West Coast in what is now a 17-team league (Wisconsin does not sponsor baseball), the conference expanded its slate to have 10 conference series.

Every weekend but one from this point to the end of the regular season features Big Ten Conference series.

Indiana plays at Penn State, UCLA, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. Indiana hosts Ohio State, Southern California, Michigan State, Maryland and Purdue.