After dropping a road series at Maryland over the weekend, Indiana baseball looks to rebound with two midweek rematches against in-state opponents it narrowly lost to earlier this season.
The Cream and Crimson travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, to face Indiana State University on Tuesday night before returning to Bloomington the next day to match up against the University of Evansville.
Indiana dropped a 5-4 game to the Sycamores on March 24 at home. The Hoosiers also fell 5-4 in 11 innings to the Purple Aces on March 31 in Evansville.
The starting pitchers for Indiana on Tuesday and Wednesday are to be determined.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher/outfielder Caleb Koskie and sophomore infielder Jake Hanley lead the Hoosiers offensively.
Koskie went 2 for 3 at the plate despite Indiana’s 8-6 road loss to Maryland on Sunday. It was his 10th multi-hit game of the season and his third in the last seven games.
The Excelsior, Minnesota, native extended his hitting streak to 16 straight games Sunday, becoming the first Indiana player to accomplish that feat since Brad Hartong and Dustin DeMuth in 2014.
Hanley hit his ninth and 10th home runs this season in the last two games. The 6-foot-6 infielder is the first Hoosier player since Devin Taylor and Tyler Cerny in 2023-24 to reach double-digit home runs in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
The Hoosiers enters Tuesday’s contest with a 14-21 overall record and 5-2 in midweek games. They will look to build on that midweek success against familiar opponents. Starting pitchers for both contests have not been announced.
Indiana State enters Tuesday’s contest with an 18-18 record. The Sycamores hold a .500 winning percentage at home in 12 contests.
In their victory over the Hoosiers on March 24, junior outfielder Carter Beck and sophomore outfielder Andrew Ortiz — the top two hitters in the lineup — powered the Sycamores. Ortiz went 3 for 5, while Beck had a 2 for 4 performance. Both outfielders chipped in RBI singles in the top of the fifth inning.
Beck has continued his productive season, posting a .351 batting average and 1.074 OPS through 36 games played.
The 5-foot-11 junior held a 17-game hitting streak heading into Sunday at Illinois State University, but it was snapped after he went 0 for 4. However, he extended his on-base streak to 20 games after drawing a walk in the affair.
Ortiz has only played in 21 games but holds a .311 average. He has yet to hit a home run this season, and only has six RBIs, but has drawn 13 walks.
Another player to watch at the plate is junior first baseman Weston Fulk, who’s coming off a breakout performance against Illinois State.
Fulks hit two home runs in the last game, his first two long balls of the season, while driving in four runs. The Ankeny, Iowa, native has a .765 OPS through 42 at-bats.
A closer look at the Purple Aces
The Purple Aces enter Wednesday’s contest with a 13-20 record and are 6-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. They have struggled on the road this year, going 4-12 in away games.
Evansville’s offense is spearheaded by sophomore infielder Drew McConnell and freshman catcher Spike Magill. Sophomore outfielder Ryan Seddon has been a key contributor, with a .274 batting average and .884 OPS, but has only played in 19 games.
McConnell went 1 for 3 with two RBIs in Evansville’s 5-4 comeback win over Indiana earlier in the season. He hit an RBI double in the seventh inning to make the score 4-3 at the time. This season, the Blue Springs, Missouri, native is batting .302 with a .842 OPS in 116 at-bats.
Magill went 1 for 4 with an RBI single on March 31. He’s played in 30 games this season, posting a .241 batting average with 12 RBIs. He carries a .991 fielding percentage with 200 putouts behind the plate.
Evansville’s relief pitching was a major factor when the two teams faced off earlier this year, blanking Indiana over the final seven innings.
Graduate student right-handed pitcher Parker MacCauley struck out two batters and allowed one hit in an inning of work against the Hoosiers. He maintains a 3.86 ERA in nine appearances this year.
Junior right-handed pitcher Chris McCormack picked up the win, throwing the final two scoreless innings with two strikeouts for the Purple Aces. The Naperville, Illinois, native has posted a 4.97 ERA in 25.1 innings pitched this season.
First pitch Tuesday is set for 6:30 p.m. inside Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium in Terre Haute on ESPN+. Wednesday’s game will begin at 6 p.m. at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington and will be streamed on Big Ten+.