Indiana baseball will kick off a nine-game homestand Tuesday against Bellarmine University (6-17). The Hoosiers played just six of their first 24 games at Bart Kaufman field in Bloomington, Indiana, where they went 4-2.
The Hoosiers will play seven games in two weeks against teams ranked in the top 85 in the Rating Percentage Index.
Redshirt senior pitcher Cole Gilley will get the start for the Hoosiers coming off his performance in Indiana’s 4-2 win over UCLA on March 21. Gilley threw 4 2/3 innings, giving up just two hits and one earned run. He also fanned six batters and handed out zero walks. The Hoosiers have won four of Gilley’s seven starts this season.
Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley and redshirt sophomore center fielder Korbyn Dickerson are tied with Penn State junior outfielder Paxton King at the top of the Big Ten in hits with 37.
After going 0-4 on March 21, Hanley collected five hits over the final two games of the series, while also slugging a home run along with two RBIs. He had the best batting average of any Hoosier with .417 on the weekend. Hanley holds that same batting average in Indiana’s four midweek matchups thus far.
Junior shortstop Tyler Cerny found the hot bat over the last five games, hitting .389 with seven hits — five of them for extra-bases — two home runs and four RBIs. Against UCLA, Cerny collected four hits in 11 at-bats, two of which resulted in home runs. Cerny has been yet another reliable bat in the Indiana offense and was pivotal for the six-game win streak it experienced March 11-21.
Indiana’s offense can thrive against Bellarmine, which has a 10.65 ERA as a team under first-year head coach Ben Reel.
Former Indiana pitcher Cooper Hellman — who made an appearance for the Hoosiers against the University of Kentucky during the 2023 regionals — leads the Knights with 10 appearances on the season. Hellman, a senior right-handed pitcher, got off to a hot start this season but has allowed eight of his nine earned runs in his last five appearances— which included a season-high four hits and two earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against Lipscomb University on March 22.
Bellarmine redshirt junior utilityman Eli Watson had a solid weekend, going 6-12 with four RBIs during the final game of the series. Watson raised his batting average to a team-high .384 with 33 hits and 22 RBIs.
The Knights are not known for their power hitting, with their team leader, redshirt senior infielder Seth Sweet-Chick, hitting just five home runs on the season. Sweet-Chick is coming off a rough weekend where he went just 1-10 at the plate, as he’s now hitting .258 on the season with a .982 OPS.
Redshirt freshman infielder Landon Akers has been great for Bellarmine on the season, starting all 23 games while hitting .340 with a team-high 36 hits. Akers holds a .903 OPS and is second on the team in home runs with four. He has hit safely in nine straight games and has two or more in eight of those. During those nine games, Akers hit .400 with seven RBIs, two home runs and 20 hits.
Despite the Knights’ pitching staff struggling, the offense has found ways to plate plenty of runs. Bellarmine has scored 10 or more runs eight times this season, including March 22 when the Knights scored 19 runs against Lipscomb.
While there will be plenty of chance for Indiana to bolster its resume over the next nine games, it’s pivotal that the Hoosiers don’t overlook the two games against teams outside of the power four in Bellarmine and Ball State University on April 8.
Tuesday’s game against the Knights is slated to begin at 5 p.m. at Bart Kaufman Field and will be streamed on Big Ten +.
