Indiana Baseball Hosts Ohio With Postseason Implications Heating Up

Indiana baseball is on a roll, winning in seven of its last eight games before a weekend series against Ohio at Bart Kaufman Field. With roughly a month left in the regular season, the Hoosiers are in the mix to host a Regional in the College World Series.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana returns to Bart Kaufman Field this weekend for a three-game series against the Ohio Bobcats. Despite a 15-17 overall record, the Bobcats are in second place in the Mid-American Conference at 13-5 in conference play.

Coach Jeff Mercer and the Hoosiers started the week with perhaps their most impressive win of the season, a 7-3 victory over No. 10 Louisville on Tuesday at Bart Kaufman Field. Despite an early one-run deficit, the Hoosiers' bats exploded for a five-run third inning behind RBI singles from Phillip Glasser, Bobby Whalen, Devin Taylor and Brock Tibbitts. Freshman Ethan Phillips highlighted a strong day for the pitching staff, tossing 4.2 innings with zero earned runs and one hit. 

The Hoosiers' win streak grew to four games on Wednesday, claiming an 11-9 win at Cincinnati. Indiana scored the game's first seven runs, and a pair of freshmen, Tyler Cerny and reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week Devin Taylor, hit their fourth and ninth home runs of the season, respectively. Cincinnati stormed back with a five-run ninth inning, but Indiana reliever Luke Hayden induced a flyout to give the Hoosiers their seventh win in the last eight games.

At 27-11 overall, 9-3 in Big Ten play and its résumé-boosting win on Tuesday over No. 10 Louisville, Indiana is in a solid position for the College World Series with roughly one month left in the regular season. The top 16 seeds host Regionals, a four-team, double-elimination tournament, and Indiana is currently projected to be the No. 15 overall seed. 

A lot can happen in a month, but a strong end to the season in series against Ohio, Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue and Michigan State could see Indiana hosting a Regional at Bart Kaufman Field, where the Hoosiers boast a 19-1 record this season.

Indiana's Josh Pyne runs to first base during a NCAA Big Ten Conference baseball game against Iowa, Friday, May 20, 2022, at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa :: Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Weekend schedule

(All games at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Ind.)

• Friday: 6 p.m. ET on BTN-plus
• Saturday: 1 p.m. ET on BTN-plus
• Sunday: Noon ET on BTN-plus

Probable pitchers

• Friday: Indiana RHP Brooks Ey (1-0, 7.41 ERA) vs. Ohio RHP Luke Olson (3-1, 5.80 ERA)
• Saturday: Indiana RHP Luke Sinnard (3-1, 4.21 ERA) vs. Ohio RHP Colin Sells (1-1, 11.17 ERA)
• Sunday: Indiana RHP Seti Manase (2-1, 1.61 ERA) vs. Ohio RHP Zach Weber (1-4, 8.89 ERA)

Indiana Hoosiers stats

Hitting

Indiana hitting statistics entering weekend series against Ohio

Pitching

Indiana pitching statistics entering weekend series against Ohio

Ohio Bobcats stats

Hitting

Ohio hitting statistics entering weekend series at Indiana

Pitching

Ohio pitching statistics entering weekend series at Indiana

Big Ten standings

1. Nebraska (21-11-1, 7-2)
2. Indiana (27-11, 9-3)
3. Michigan State (23-11, 6-3)
4. Maryland (23-14, 6-3)
5. Michigan (19-17, 7-5)
6. Purdue (18-18, 7-5)
7. Iowa (26-10, 4-5)
8. Rutgers (21-16, 4-5)
9. Minnesota (10-24, 4-5)
10. Illinois (15-18, 4-8)
11. Northwestern (6-25, 3-6)
12. Ohio State (20-17, 3-9)
13. Penn State (20-13, 2-7)

Indiana's full schedule

• L, 8-4 at Auburn, Feb. 17
• L, 6-1 at Auburn, Feb. 18
• W, 11-2 at Auburn, Feb. 19
• W, 13-5 vs. Miami (OH), Feb. 21
• L, 4-2 at Texas, Feb. 24
• L, 5-2 at Texas, Feb. 25
• W, 4-2 at Texas, Feb. 26
• W, 13-2 vs. Butler, Feb. 28
• L, 17-4 at East Carolina, March 3
• W, 4-3 vs. Georgetown in Greenville, N.C, March 4
• L, 10-4 vs. Long Beach State in Greenville, N.C. March 5
• W, 15-1 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, March 8
• W, 5-3 vs. Bellarmine, March 9
• W, 9-7 vs. Bellarmine, March 10
• W, 13-3 vs. Bellarmine, March 11
• W, 3-2 vs. Bellarmine, March 12
• L, 12-2 at Kentucky, March 14
• W, 6-5 vs. Morehead State, March 15
• W, 23-5 vs. Morehead State, March 16
• W, 5-4 vs. Morehead State, March 17
• W, 15-5 vs. Indiana State, March 21
• W, 14-6 vs. Ohio State, March 25
• W, 9-6 vs. Ohio State, March 26
• W, 7-5 vs. Ohio State, March 26
• W, 4-3 vs. Kent State, March 28
• L, 7-2 at Penn State, April 1
• W, 4-1 at Penn State, April 2
• W, 22-11 at Penn State, April 2
• L, 4-0 at Indiana State, April 4
• L, 7-1 vs. Iowa, April 7
• W, 2-0 vs. Iowa, April 8
• W, 4-1 vs. Iowa, April 9
• W, 16-13 vs. Ball State, April 11
• L, 7-5 at Illinois, April 14
• W, 6-4 at Illinois, April 15
• W, 16-3 at Illinois, April 15
• W, 7-3 vs. Louisville, April 18
• W, 11-9 at Cincinnati, April 19
• April 21, 6 p.m. ET vs. Ohio, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• April 22, 1 p.m. ET vs. Ohio, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• April 23, Noon ET vs. Ohio, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• April 25, 5 p.m. ET at Ball State, Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex
• April 28, 6 p.m. ET vs. Maryland, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• April 29, 1 p.m. ET vs. Maryland, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• April 30, Noon ET vs. Maryland, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• May 5, 4 p.m. ET at Northwestern, Rocky and Bernice Miller Park, BTN-plus
• May 6, 2 p.m. ET at Northwestern, Rocky and Bernice Miller Park, BTN-plus
• May 7, 2 p.m. ET at Northwestern, Rocky and Bernice Miller Park, BTN-plus
• May 9, 6 p.m. ET vs. Southern Indiana, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• May 12, 6 p.m. ET vs. Purdue, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• May 13, 1 p.m. ET vs. Purdue, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• May 14, Noon ET vs. Purdue, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN-plus
• May 16, 6 p.m. ET vs. Evansville, Bart Kaufman Field, BTN
• May 18, 6 p.m. ET at Michigan State, McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field, BTN-plus
• May 19, 6 p.m. ET at Michigan State, McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field, BTN-plus
• May 20, 1 p.m. ET at Michigan State, McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field, BTN-plus
• May 24-28, Big Ten Tournament at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., BTN/BTN-plus