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.

Author:
Jack Ankony
Updated:
Apr 21, 2023 10:38 AM EDT

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

Pitching

Ohio Bobcats stats

Hitting

Pitching

Big Ten standings

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