It was not the start Indiana baseball was looking for last weekend, which went 0-4 in the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic. Before they had the chance to redeem themselves this past Tuesday against Purdue University Fort Wayne, mother nature brought cold weather, allowing the Hoosiers more time to prepare for four straight days of baseball, including their home opener.
Despite the winless weekend, there were some positive signs for the Hoosiers to reflect on. Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley showed he can provide Indiana with some good at-bats this season, going 6-17 in his first weekend of college baseball. Similarly, University of Louisville transfer and redshirt sophomore Korbyn Dickerson slugged a home run and hit .333 on the weekend while also holding it down defensively in center field.
On the other hand, the Hoosiers will need more from their top players, such as junior outfielder Devin Taylor, who went just 4-17 in Surprise, Arizona. They now set their sights on the USA Round Robin in Cary, North Carolina, where they will take on Fordham University, Harvard University and Northwestern. After that, the Hoosiers return to Bart Kaufman Stadium for their second and final meeting against Xavier University in the home opener.
Fordham
Like Indiana, the Rams started their season off winless in three games against No. 13 North Carolina State University, while being outscored 42-9. They will kick off the weekend on Friday night against Harvard before playing the Hoosiers at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Offensively, senior outfielder Cian Sahler leads the Rams in his fourth season with the university. He went 3-9 against the Wolfpack, collecting a hit in all three games, which gives Sahler a six-game hitting streak dating back to last season.
Gavin Seebold, a redshirt senior transfer from the University of Southern Indiana, will get the start for Indiana on Saturday and is looking to bounce back from the loss he suffered to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Feb. 14. Seebold gave up four runs to the Rebels before recording a single out, but he settled in nicely after that, giving up just one hit after the first four batter.
Harvard
On Sunday, the Hoosiers will play Harvard, a squad playing their first games of the season after not having any contests during opening weekend. After taking on Fordham on Friday and Northwestern on Saturday, the Crimson will close their weekend out against Indiana.
Indiana will face sophomore right-handed pitcher Andrew Abler, who is looking to build off a solid freshman season. It’ll be Abler’s second career start after throwing two innings and giving up one earned run with two strikeouts and three walks in his first start back on Mar. 27 last season.
The Hoosiers will counter with Indiana State University transfer Cole Gilley who had a stellar performance against Xavier on Feb. 15. The redshirt senior who attended Columbus East High School in Indiana went 5 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run while striking out 11 batters. It was the most strikeouts from an Indiana pitcher on opening weekend since at least 2005.
Indiana will be fortunate not to face off against the reigning Ivy League Pitcher of the Year in junior Callan Fang, but Gilley will still have his hands full when he comes to the plate. Fang hit .345 a season ago in 55 at-bats, collecting 19 hits and one home run.
Northwestern
It’s important to note that this matchup between two Big Ten teams will not be considered a conference matchup. The Wildcats will face off with Harvard on Saturday, followed by a double-header with Fordham on Sunday before playing the Hoosiers on Monday.
Northwestern picked up a series win over Long Beach State University last weekend after taking two of three games in California. Graduate student and utility player Tyler Ganus led the Wildcats, collecting two hits in all three games and going 6-11 with five runs batted in.
Indiana football fans will be familiar with Jack Lausch, who went 3-10 on the weekend, including a two-hit performance on Feb. 15. Lausch, a junior outfielder from Chicago, also plays football for the Wildcats and gave the Hoosiers a headache back on Oct. 5 when he threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while also running it nine times for 34 yards.
Sophomore infielder Ryan Kucherak hit one of three home runs for Northwestern in its opening weekend, while going 4-11 with a 1.189 OPS and a team-leading four runs scored.
Xavier
The Musketeers handed the Hoosiers one of their four losses on the season in extra-innings after Indiana sophomore infielder Jasen Oliver hit a three-run home run to tie the game in the ninth inning. Still, Indiana owns the all-time series between the two teams 28-7.
It was an impressive weekend from Xavier sophomore infielder Jake Lambdin, who went 6-11 over four games, including two multi-hit games, four walks and three RBIs. He was also a threat on the basepaths, picking up two stolen bases in as many attempts. Lambdin went 2-4 with a walk and a run against the Hoosiers in their first meeting on Feb. 15.
Xavier also got great at-bats from senior outfielder Carter Hendrickson, who went 5-16 in the Musketeers’ four games. He had a monster game against UNLV on Feb. 16, where he went 4-5 with a home run, a double and four RBIs. Against the Hoosiers, he went 1-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
It was a slower weekend for the D1Baseball.com preseason Big East Player of the Year Isaac Wachsmann, who hit a home run in the Musketeers’ opening matchup against Oregon State University before going hitless the rest of the weekend.
The first of four games for the Hoosiers kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday against Fordham on USABaseball.TV, where all three games of the USA Round Robin will be broadcast.
